From the northern Spanish province of Asturias come Real Sporting de Gijón, one of Spain's oldest football clubs and current tenants of the oldest football stadium in Spain. The Rojiblancos have a long history in the Primera, though it was only in the 2008-09 season that Sporting returned after 10 years in the wilderness of the Segunda. A major title still eludes them but they can point to a 2nd place league finish, two appearances in the final of the Copa del Rey and six UEFA Cup campaigns over the years.
El Molinón:
Every second weekend Sporting Gijón defend the grounds of El Molinón, the oldest stadium in Spain. It is located at the eastern end of the Parque de Isabel La Católica along the banks of the Rio Piles. It takes its name from a large windmill (molino in Spanish) previously located where the stadium was eventually constructed. The first recorded instance of a match being played there was in 1908 while Sporting began using it in 1915 and purchased it outright nine years later. El Molinón played host to three matches at the 1982 World Cup.
Before taking up permanent residence at El Molinón Sporting contested matches at several locations around Gijón, including Playa de San Lorenzo, Prau Redondu, La Matona and La Flor de Valencia.
The 1928-29 season saw the introduction of league football in Spain. Sporting were initially assigned to the Second Division, where they remained until 1944 (including the break from official competition during the Spanish Civil War). The Rojiblancos finally won promotion from the Ñåãóíäà Äèâèçèîí in 1944, winning the league title that season. Just a few years before the club had been forced to change their name to Real Gijón as part of a Franco era decree banning the use of foreign words in official entities. Despite this change the club continued to be popularly known as Sporting.
Real Gijón bounced between the Primera and Segunda for the next twenty-five years, never surviving more than four seasons in the Primera, before the beginning of their golden era at the start of the 1970s. During this period the club maintained membership in the Primera for 27 of 28 seasons, including 21 in a row from 1977 to 1998. The Rojiblancos had their best-ever league finish during this period (2nd place in 1979), two appearances in the final of the Copa del Rey (1981 and 1982 - losing to Barcelona 3-1 and Real Madrid 2-1) and six campaigns in the UEFA Cup, reaching the Round of 32 on two occasions. In the midst of this period the club regained its traditional name Real Sporting de Gijón when Franco passed away and the transition to a democratic government began in Spain.
The golden era of Sporting eventually came to an end. After several near-misses and a series of financial crises the Rojiblancos were relegated after the 1997-98 season, finishing last place with a miserable haul of thirteen points and two wins from 38 matches. The end of an era indeed. Sporting drifted for several years in the Segunda but eventually regrouped on and off the field and in 2008 were finally promoted back to the top echelon of Spanish football.
Colors and Logo:
Sporting take their red and white colors from the official flag of the city of Gijón. The red and white of the city flag have their origins in the colors given to the Maritime Province of Gijón. Dating as far back as the early 17th century, the Spanish coastline has been divided into a series of maritime provinces (now 30), each with their own distinctively colored flag (Gijón's is pictured to the right) which is flown by boats based in the region.
Sporting's uniform has traditionally consisted of red and white vertically striped shirts, blue shorts (though they have also used black and white) and blue socks (many variations on these as well).
The logo of Sporting is a triangle with red and white vertical stripes (mirroring their Rojiblanco shirts) with S (for Sporting) and G (for Gijón) entertwined in gold across the stripes. A crown sits at the top, symbolizing the club's royal patronage. During the reign of Franco, when the club were forced to remove Real from their name, a different crown was included in the emblem - a mural crown, something used in heraldry to symbolize a city-state or other political entity not explicitly tied to a royal family.
Previous Logos:
Nicknames:
Sporting are most commonly called the Rojiblancos - the Red and White - for their red and white vertically-striped shirts. They also are called Real Sporting, RSG and often just Sporting. The club's supporters are called Sportinguistas.
Rival:
Sporting's most important rival is Real Oviedo from the city of Oviedo and when the two clubs meet they they contest the Derbi asturiano. While Gijón is the largest city in the province of Asturias, Oviedo is the capital and meetings between the two clubs take on an importance beyond sports and symbolizes the struggle for preeminence within the province. The two teams have not met in a competitive match since the 2002-03 season as Real Oviedo currently compete in the third-tier Ñåãóíäà Äèâèçèîí B and recently drifted as far south as the Tercera División.
Details:
Sporting take their red and white colors from the official flag of the city of Gijón. The red and white of the city flag have their origins in the colors given to the Maritime Province of Gijón. Dating as far back as the early 17th century, the Spanish coastline has been divided into a series of maritime provinces (now 30), each with their own distinctively colored flag (Gijón's is pictured to the right) which is flown by boats based in the region.
