El Molinón
Encyclopedia
Estadio El Molinón is an association football stadium in Gijón
, Asturias
-Spain. The stadium is the home ground of Sporting de Gijón
.
The stadium's address is Parque de Isabel la Católica, 33390 Gijón.
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El Molinón is the oldest professional football field in Spain. It has been in use since at least 1908, and is located on the site of an old watermill
, hence the stadium's name, the Spanish word for "big mill".
Real Sporting started to use El Molinón as official ground in 1915. The first official match was held on April 22, 1917 between Real Sporting and Arenas Club de Getxo
of Copa del Rey. Arenas won 0-1. On May 2, 1920, El Molinón held the 1920 Copa del Rey Final
, where FC Barcelona
defeated Athletic Bilbao
by 2–0.
On 1924, Real Sporting bought El Molinón and became the owner of the stadium. On 1931, the principal tribune was destroyed because of fire but later, it was re-built and on 1944, the Gijón City Hall
re-buys El Molinón due to Sporting's financial situation.
On 1968, four light towers were installed in El Molinón and the stadium started to hold matches at night. The first one was against Valencia CF
. On November 30, 1969, El Molinón became the first all-covered stadium in Spain and on January 28, 1970, there was the first match on TV in El Molinón. Sporting defeated that day Osasuna
by 3–0.
On 1997–98, El Molinón prepared to adapt to the new UEFA
and FIFA
security legislation: all people must be seated and the fences must be removed. The stadium capacity was reduced from 42,000 to 25,885.
After the expansion between 2009 and 2010, El Molinón grew up to 30,000 seats.
and Italy national football team
. El Molinón had that day a capacity about 36,000 people. The match finished 1–1.
50 years later, El Molinón held again another international match between Spain and Czechoslovakia
. Apart from Spain matches, in this stadium Sporting played all his UEFA Cup
matches, including the winning against AC Milan by 1–0 on September 30, 1987.
's shock 1-2 defeat to Algeria
being the first. After the result of Algeria's final group game was known, a rather uncontested 1-0 victory
of Germany against Austria
which sent both teams through at Algeria's expense. In German the match is known as Nichtangriffspakt von Gijón (lit. Non-aggression pact of Gijón) or Schande von Gijón (lit. Shame of Gijón). This shameful game at Gijon directly led to a change of the rules requiring the last matches in the group phase to be played simultaneously.
----
----
. The last one was in 2001 against Lithuania
.
, people started to south "Así, así, así gana el Madrid" (that is how Madrid win) for criticize the supposed arbitral aid to Real. Years later, Real Madrid fans adopted this song to celebrate the triumphs of their team.
The stadium has hosted concerts by many famous artists, including Bon Jovi
, Paul McCartney
, The Rolling Stones
, Bruce Springsteen
, Sting and Tina Turner
, among others.
Gijón
Gijón , officially Gijón / Xixón, is a coastal industrial city and a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain. Early mediaeval texts mention it as "Gigia". It was an important regional Roman city, although the area has been settled since earliest history...
, Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
-Spain. The stadium is the home ground of Sporting de Gijón
Sporting de Gijón
Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club from Gijón, Asturias. Founded in 1 June 1905, it currently plays in Spanish first division....
.
The stadium's address is Parque de Isabel la Católica, 33390 Gijón.
History
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
, hence the stadium's name, the Spanish word for "big mill".
Real Sporting started to use El Molinón as official ground in 1915. The first official match was held on April 22, 1917 between Real Sporting and Arenas Club de Getxo
Arenas Club de Getxo
Arenas Club de Getxo is a Spanish football club based in the town of Getxo, near Bilbao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1914, it currently plays in Tercera División, holding home games at Campo Municipal de Gobela, with a 1,200-seat capacity.It was among the pioneering...
of Copa del Rey. Arenas won 0-1. On May 2, 1920, El Molinón held the 1920 Copa del Rey Final
1920 Copa del Rey Final
The 1920 Copa del Rey Final was the 16th final of the Spanish cup competition, the Copa del Rey. The final was played at El Molinón, in Gijón, on May 2, 1920. FC Barcelona beat Athletic de Bilbao 2–0 and won their fourth title.-Match details:...
, where FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
defeated Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Club, also known as Athletic Bilbao, is an association football club from Bilbao in Biscay, Spain. The club has played in the Primera División of La Liga since its start in 1928. They have won La Liga on eight occasions...
by 2–0.
On 1924, Real Sporting bought El Molinón and became the owner of the stadium. On 1931, the principal tribune was destroyed because of fire but later, it was re-built and on 1944, the Gijón City Hall
Gijón
Gijón , officially Gijón / Xixón, is a coastal industrial city and a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain. Early mediaeval texts mention it as "Gigia". It was an important regional Roman city, although the area has been settled since earliest history...
re-buys El Molinón due to Sporting's financial situation.
On 1968, four light towers were installed in El Molinón and the stadium started to hold matches at night. The first one was against Valencia CF
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
. On November 30, 1969, El Molinón became the first all-covered stadium in Spain and on January 28, 1970, there was the first match on TV in El Molinón. Sporting defeated that day Osasuna
CA Osasuna
Club Atlético Osasuna, known as Osasuna, is a Spanish football team based in Iruñea-Pamplona, in the autonomous community of Navarre.Founded in 1920, it currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at the 19,553-capacity Estadio Reyno de Navarra...
by 3–0.
On 1997–98, El Molinón prepared to adapt to the new UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
and FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
security legislation: all people must be seated and the fences must be removed. The stadium capacity was reduced from 42,000 to 25,885.
After the expansion between 2009 and 2010, El Molinón grew up to 30,000 seats.
International matches
The first international match in El Molinón was held on April 22, 1928 between Spain national football teamSpain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
and Italy national football team
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
. El Molinón had that day a capacity about 36,000 people. The match finished 1–1.
50 years later, El Molinón held again another international match between Spain and Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia national football team
The Czechoslovakia national football team was the national association football team of Czechoslovakia from 1922 to 1993. At the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the team was participating in UEFA qualifying Group 4 for the 1994 World Cup; it completed this campaign under the name...
. Apart from Spain matches, in this stadium Sporting played all his UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
matches, including the winning against AC Milan by 1–0 on September 30, 1987.
1982 FIFA World Cup
The stadium played host three matches of the Group B. Two of them were famous in the 1982 World Cup, GermanyGermany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
's shock 1-2 defeat to Algeria
Algeria national football team
The Algeria national football team , nicknamed الأفنــاك, Les Fennecs , represents Algeria in association football and is controlled by the Fédération Algérienne de Football. Algeria's home ground is the Stade 5 Juillet 1962 in Algiers and their head coach is Vahid Halilhodžić.Algeria has qualified...
being the first. After the result of Algeria's final group game was known, a rather uncontested 1-0 victory
West Germany v Austria (1982)
-Aftermath:With West Germany's 1–0 victory, they joined Austria and Algeria with four points in three matches. The teams were separated by goal difference, with West Germany and Austria progressing to the next round of the tournament at the expense of Algeria....
of Germany against Austria
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
which sent both teams through at Algeria's expense. In German the match is known as Nichtangriffspakt von Gijón (lit. Non-aggression pact of Gijón) or Schande von Gijón (lit. Shame of Gijón). This shameful game at Gijon directly led to a change of the rules requiring the last matches in the group phase to be played simultaneously.
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All Spain matches in El Molinón
| Data | Opponent | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 April 1928 | |
Friendly match | |
| 29 March 1978 | |
Friendly match | |
| 16 April 1980 | |
Friendly match | |
| 24 September 1986 | |
Friendly match | |
| 12 September 1990 | |
Friendly match | |
| 11 October 1997 | |
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the European zone .A total of 50 UEFA teams entered the competition. The European zone was allocated 15 places in the final tournament... |
|
| 31 March 2004 | |
Friendly match | |
| 17 August 2005 | |
Friendly match |
Asturias autonomous football team
Especially in the decade of the 1920s and 1930s, El Molinón held some friendly matches of the Asturias autonomous football teamAsturias autonomous football team
The Asturias national football team is the national football team for Asturias. They are not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA, because it is represented internationally by the Spanish national football team. The team only plays friendly matches.-Matches played:...
. The last one was in 2001 against Lithuania
Lithuania national football team
The national football team of Lithuania is under the auspices of the Lithuanian Football Federation. It played its first match in 1923. In 1940, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union; the country regained its independence in 1990 and played their first match as a new nation against Georgia on...
.
| Date | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1922 | St. Mirren FC St. Mirren F.C. St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St... |
|
| 12 November 1922 |  EuskadiBasque Country national football team The Basque Country football team is considered the national team of the Basque Country greater region as selected players from the Basque Country Autonomous Community, the nearby Navarre and the Northern Basque Country in France play for it... |
|
| 13 November 1922 | Euskadi Basque Country national football team The Basque Country football team is considered the national team of the Basque Country greater region as selected players from the Basque Country Autonomous Community, the nearby Navarre and the Northern Basque Country in France play for it... |
|
| 14 January 1923 |  CataloniaCatalonia national football team Catalonia national football team is the official football team of Catalonia. It is organized by the Catalonia Football Federation. The team has been referred to by various names including Selecció Catalana, Selecció de Barcelona and the Catalan XI... |
|
| 21 June 1925 |  CantabriaCantabria autonomous football team The Cantabria autonomous football team is the regional football team for Cantabria, Spain. They are not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA, because it is represented internationally by the Spanish National Football Team... |
|
| 5 September 1926 | Catalonia Catalonia national football team Catalonia national football team is the official football team of Catalonia. It is organized by the Catalonia Football Federation. The team has been referred to by various names including Selecció Catalana, Selecció de Barcelona and the Catalan XI... |
|
| 10 July 1932 | SL Benfica | |
| 16 June 1934 |  MexicoMexico national football team The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre... |
|
| 28 June 1936 | Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... |
|
| 29 December 2001 |  LithuaniaLithuania national football team The national football team of Lithuania is under the auspices of the Lithuanian Football Federation. It played its first match in 1923. In 1940, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union; the country regained its independence in 1990 and played their first match as a new nation against Georgia on... |
Curiosities and other events
On November 25, 1979, during a match between Real Sporting and Real MadridReal Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, people started to south "Así, así, así gana el Madrid" (that is how Madrid win) for criticize the supposed arbitral aid to Real. Years later, Real Madrid fans adopted this song to celebrate the triumphs of their team.
The stadium has hosted concerts by many famous artists, including Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
, Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, Sting and Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
, among others.
