The lowdown on Real Valladolid
WHERE ARE THEY FROM?
About 190 km northwest of Madrid and with a population of just over 300,000, Valladolid is the thirteenth biggest city in Spain. Capital of the former Kingdom of Castile, it was also capital of Spain before it was moved to Madrid in 1606.
CLUB HISTORY
Formed in 1928, the club with the distinctive violet and white striped shirts are ranked thirteenth in the all-time Liga table Since 1980, they have more or less been first division regulars. They have been relegated four times but have always managed to win their way back up again.
The club’s only major honour was the now defunct League Cup, which they won in 1984.
HEAD TO HEAD
Barça were on a 22-match unbeaten streak against Valladolid, including six games scoring four or more goals at Camp Nou, until a 1-0 defeat at the José Zorrilla put a serious dent in their 2013/14 title challenge, with Atlético Madrid going on to take the trophy.
Despite that win, Valladolid were relegated. They were back last season, and Barça win both games 1-0. Ousmane Dembélé scored the goal at José Zorilla and Leo Messi was on target at Camp Nou.
FORM GUIDE
Ten games into the season and Valladolid have only been beaten twice (by Levante and Villarreal), although the 2-0 defeat of Eibar on Saturday was just their third win.
The other five games ended in draws, but two of those were against Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid, the latter at the Santiago Bernabeu – and they’re now on a five-match unbeaten streak.
THE PLAYERS
Most capped internationals: Moctar Sidi El Hacen (Mauritania, 37), Enes Ünal (Turkey, 12), Andriy Lunin (Ukraine, 4), Stiven Plaza (Ecuador, 2), Anuar Tuhami (Morocco, 1)
Top scorer 2019/20: Óscar Plano (3)
BARÇA CONNECTIONS
Jordi Masip was our third-choice goalie for several years but who only made one competitive appearance. But he’s the regular starter for Valladolid, who he joined in 2017 and for whom has been a huge success.
Striker Sandro Ramírez (pictured) was part of the same Barça squad at Masip, making 17 official appearances but also spending most of his time on the bench. He left for Malaga and then his present club Everton, who have loaned him to Sevilla, Real Sociedad and now Valladolid.
Striker Sergi Guardiola (no relation) spent a short spell with Barça B in 2015.
And, of course, the majority shareholder of Valladolid is none other than ‘The Phenomenon’, former Brazilian superstar Ronaldo Nazario who of course spent one dazzling year at Barça in the nineties
THE BOSS
Born in L’Hospitalet on the outskirts of Barcelona, as a player Sergio González was best known for his days at Espanyol and Deportivo and also won 11 caps for Spain. He was appointed coach of Espanyol in 2014 but failed to last beyond Christmas and before joining Valladolid two summers ago, his only other senior role had been as manager of the Catalan national team.