Club de Fútbol Extremadura was a Spanish football team based in Almendralejo, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 1924, it played two seasons in La Liga, and held home games at Estadio Francisco de la Hera, with a capacity of 11,580 seats. The club folded in 2010 following several years of financial problems.
History Extremadura was founded in 1924, and spent the first 30 years of its existence in the regional leagues, promoting to the second division after winning the regional championship in the third.
The club lasted seven seasons in the category, finishing in fifth position in the 1958–59 season. Subsequently, the following 29 years were spent in the third level – in 1977 it became the fourth, after the creation of Segunda División B – with the addition of three relegations to the regional championships.
In 1990, after finishing first, Extremadura promoted to division three. Four years later, after winning its group, it returned to the second after an absence of 34 years; during that period of time, football in the region of Extremadura experienced a rise, with CD Badajoz and CP Mérida also competing in that level in the mid-1990s.
Extremadura finished in fifth position in the 1995–96 campaign. However, Real Madrid Castilla was ineligible for the playoffs, and Extremadura took its place, achieving promotion to La Liga for the first time ever after disposing of Albacete Balompié 2–0 on aggregate – Iosu Ortoundo was the manager.
The first season in the top flight was difficult as expected: the team lost its first nine matches and only won one of the first 19, but eventually recovered, finishing only one point from the safety zone. In the following year, with a young Rafael Benítez in charge, immediate promotion back was easily attained, as runner-up.
In the 1998–99 season Extremadura finished in 17th position, and the second top flight campaign also ended in relegation, after losing in the playoffs against Rayo Vallecano. The club's financial situation was precarious, and it dropped another division in 2002; in the first season in level three, a fifth position meant a narrow miss in the subsequent promotion playoffs, and the following four years were also spent in the division, with the club never finishing higher than tenth.
After the regular season in 2006–07, Extremadura faced UD Pájara Playas de Jandía from the island of Fuerteventura in the relegation playoffs: after a 0–3 away loss, a 1–1 home draw returned the club to the fourth division, after 17 years. Shortly afterwards it emerged that the club could not settle its economic problems, with players being due several months in wages. After confirmation by the Royal Spanish Football Federation on 1 August 2008, the club was relegated a further category.El Extremadura, en Preferente (Extremadura, in Preferente); Diario Hoy, 1 August 2007
Extremadura's sporting and financial troubles continued in the following years, with the club never ranking higher than 16th. In August 2010 it folded, being dissolved by its major shareholder, the Almendralejo City Hall;La agonía del CF Extremadura llega a su fin (CF Extremadura's agony comes to an end) ; Diario Hoy, 5 August 2010 that fate had already befallen Mérida, with Badajoz being saved in the last minute, replaced by another team in the city and being dropped to level four.
Season to season
SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1950–5141ª Reg.3rd1951–5241ª Reg.1st1952–5333ª3rd1953–5433ª1st1954–5522ª11th1955–5622ª7th1956–5722ª9th1957–5822ª9th1958–5922ª5thRound of 321959–6022ª12thFirst round1960–6122ª15thFirst round1961–6233ª4th1962–6333ª6th1963–6433ª2nd1964–6533ª8th1965–6633ª1st1966–6733ª3rd1967–6833ª6th1968–6933ª15th1969–7033ª15th |valign="top" width=0%| SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1970–7141ª Reg.2nd1971–7241ª Reg.1st1972–7333ª18th1973–7441ª Reg.1st1974–7533ª19th1975–764Reg. Pref.2nd1976–774Reg. Pref.1st1977–7843ª6th1978–7943ª16th1979–8043ª13th1980–8143ª11th1981–8243ª13th1982–8343ª13th1983–8443ª4th1984–8543ª2nd1985–8643ª5th1986–8743ª4th1987–8843ª3rd1988–8943ª2nd1989–9043ª1st
|valign="top" width=0%| SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1990–9132ª B14th1991–9232ª B3rd1992–9332ª B6thThird round1993–9432ª B1st1994–9522ª15th1995–9622ª5th1996–9711ª19thRound of 161997–9822ª2ndRound of 161998–9911ª17thThird round1999–200022ª8thFirst round |valign="top" width=0%| SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey2000–0122ª11thRound of 162001–0222ª21stRound of 642002–0332ª B5thRound of 642003–0432ª B13thFirst round2004–0532ª B10th2005–0632ª B11th2006–0732ª B16th2007–085Reg. Pref.17th2008–095Reg. Pref.17th2009–105Reg. Pref.19th
2 seasons in La Liga 13 seasons in Segunda División 9 seasons in Segunda División B 26 seasons in Tercera División (13 on 3rd tier)
Honours Extremadura Championship Runners-up (2): 1927–28, 1939–40
Stadium CF Extremadura's first permanent ground was called Campo de Santa Aurora, which was located on Camino Alange. It was used from 1928 to 1935, when the club moved to nearby Campo Santa Elvira.
In 1950, the idea of building a municipal stadium was formed, and the club moved to a plot of land adjacent to the proposed stadium. For just over one season, it played at the site, called Los Cañizos. On 12 October 1951, Extremadura played Sevilla FC in the inaugural match at the new grounds, Estadio Francisco de la Hera. The stadium remained relatively unchanged until 1996, when it was demolished to make way for a revamped one, with and a seated capacity of 11,580.
Famous players Note: this list includes players that have played at least 100 league games and/or have reached international status.
José Basualdo Fernando D'Amico Carlos Duré Ronny Gaspercic Renaldo Raymond Kalla Carlos Navarro Montoya Ahmed Ouattara Iván Zarandona Virgilio Ferreira Quique Estebaranz Ito Juanito Kiko Óscar Montiel Pedro José Pier Poli Antonio Esposito Víctor López
Famous coaches Rafael Benítez Josu Ortuondo
See also CF Extremadura B, reserve team
References
External links
Unofficial website