It is known as the third most successful team in the Basque Country after Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad. He achieved his greatest success in 2001, the season in which he competed in European cups for the first time, by reaching the 2001 UEFA Cup final against Liverpool. Maçı altın golle 5-4 kaybetti. Reached the Copa del Rey final in 2017, losing 3-1 to Barcelona.
The team's home uniform consists of a blue-white striped jersey, blue shorts and white socks. They play their matches at the Mendizorrotza Stadium, which has a capacity of 19,840 people, and use other facilities in Ibaia for training.
History
Founded in 1920, the club's initial name was Sport Friends, but its name was changed to its current form on 23 January 1921, and this date is considered the official founding date. Alavés became the first club to be promoted from the Segunda División to La Liga in 1929–30 and spent three years there. In their first season in the Primera División, Alavés finished 8th out of 10 teams and were just 1 point away from relegation.
In 1953–54 the club was promoted back to the top division for a two-year period. Under the management of Roman Galarraga, the club achieved the long-awaited promotion to the Segunda División in the 1973–74 season. In June 1983, after avoiding relegation the previous season, Alavés were relegated to Segunda División B and remained there until the 1985–86 season.
After years in serious danger of disappearance, which continued until the late 1990s (playing in the fourth division in the late 1980s), Alavés managed to return to the Segunda División in 1994–95. This success came after they had won their group in the Segunda División B (the league created as the new third tier in 1977) for two consecutive years but failed to make the promotion play-offs.
After winning the Segunda División in 1997–98, Alavés returned to the top division after a 42-year absence. After avoiding relegation by just one point in their comeback season, they recorded two wins against Barcelona in the following season and qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time with a sixth-place finish (their highest placing so far) (just 12 years after finishing eighth in the group in the fourth division, the club's lowest placing).
In 2000–01, in addition to finishing tenth in the domestic league, the Basque club reached the UEFA Cup final. They reached the final by eliminating Internazionale, Rayo Vallecano and 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the process; in particular they beat 1. FC Kaiserslautern with a crushing aggregate score of 9-2. The final ended in a 4-5 defeat to Liverpool.
Alavés was defeated by scoring a "golden own goal" after taking the match to extra time. The match also featured two red cards and two goals disallowed in extra time, with nine goals scored in total, and has been described by some observers as one of the greatest finals in the tournament's history.
Alavés finished 2001–02 in seventh place, qualifying for the UEFA Cup for the second time. However, 2002–03 was much less successful than two years earlier; The opening victory against Ankaragücü was followed by a defeat against another Super League club, Beşiktaş. On 26 January 2003, the club celebrated its 100th victory in La Liga by beating Valladolid 3-1.
Although Alavés were relegated after 2002–03, they were promoted back to the top division two years later. During this period, Alavés was bought by Ukrainian-American businessman Dmitry Piterman, and there were many conflicts with the club's coaches, players and fans. A return to the top division lasted only one season, as the club had three different managers and finished in 18th place, one point behind relegation.
Piterman left in 2007 and the club was left heavily in debt following his tenure. Struggling to avoid relegation to the third league for two years, Alavés eventually failed to avoid relegation in 2008-09.
Alavés' next dark period in Segunda B' lasted four years, when it was bought by José Antonio Querejeta and promoted back to the second division in 2013 as overall champions of the third tier. This presented the club with an opportunity to solve its economic woes. Three years later, on 29 May 2016, Alavés beat Numancia 2-0 to win promotion to La Liga as the second league champion, and managed to overtake Leganés on the final day.
On 10 September 2016, Alavés achieved their first win of the return season to La Liga, beating champions Barcelona 2–1 at Camp Nou. On 7 February 2017, Alavés reached the 2017 Copa del Rey final by eliminating Celta de Vigo in the semi-finals of the tournament. This; It was the club's first ever national cup final appearance; their previous best successes had failed to advance past the semi-finals in 1998 and 2004.
Their opponent in the final would be Barcelona, and coincidentally the two clubs met in the league immediately after the cup semi-finals; The Catalans avenged their defeat in the previous match of the season by beating Alavés 6-0 at the Mendizorrotza Stadium. Barcelona won the final 3-1 at the Vicente Calderón Stadium, which prevented Alaves' return to European competition.
That season Alavés; It finished La Liga in 9th place with 14 wins, 13 draws and 11 losses. In the 2021-22 season, Alavés lost to Levante in the last two weeks and were relegated from La Liga (from which Levante also relegated), ending their six-year period in the top league; this was the longest spell in the top division in the club's history.
seasons
from season to season
- 20 season in La Liga
- 38 season in Segunda División
- 12 season in Segunda División B
- 22 season in Tercera División
- 1 season in Categorías Regionales
Seasons in Europe
- 2000-01 — UEFA Cup — First round — Gaziantepspor — 0-0 — 3-4 — 3-4
- 2000-01 — UEFA Cup — Second round — Lillestrøm SK — 1-3 — 2-2 — 3-5
- 2000-01 — UEFA Cup — Third round — Rosenborg — 1-1 — 1-3 — 4-2
- 2000-01 — UEFA Cup — Last 16 — Internazionale — 3-3 — 0-2 — 5-3
- 2000-01 — UEFA Cup — Quarter-final — Rayo Vallecano — 3-0 — 2-1 — 4-2
- 2000-01 — UEFA Cup — Semi-final — Kaiserslautern — 5-1 — 1-4 — 9-2
- 2000-01 — UEFA Cup — Final — Liverpool — 5-4
- 2002-03 — UEFA Cup — First round — Ankaragücü — 1-2 — 3-0 — 1-5
- 2002-03 — UEFA Cup — Second round — Beşiktaş — 1-1 — 1-0 — 1-2
Cast
Current squad
- 2 As of September 2025
jerseys
The team wore jerseys of Danish brand Hummel for several seasons. In the 2017-2018 season, they started wearing new jerseys from Kelme. They had a contract with Kelme until 2022. That same year, the team signed a new four-season deal with German company Puma.
For the launch of the new brand, they chose to bring back the traditional vertical stripes and keep the original black shorts.
coats of arms
Deportivo Alavés has changed its crest several times since its founding in 1921. The first coat of arms looked quite similar to the official coat of arms of the municipality of Álava. However, instead of an arm holding a sword, the team's crest featured a blue-white pennant. At the top of the coat of arms was a medallion with the initials "DA".
In 1922 the coat of arms was simplified to just a pennant. The pennant was white with a blue stripe down the middle and featured the team's initials "DA" in a square in the upper left corner. This design was used until 1950, but when the team was renamed Club Deportivo Alavés, the initials also changed. In 1950, the team redesigned its crest to look more like the traditional Álava symbol.
They brought back the castle and lion and also added a sword. "C.D.A." The pennant was moved behind the goal and the entire design was enclosed in a circle, with a crown placed on top.
achievements
local tournaments
- Copa del Rey
- Second place: 2016-17
- Segunda División
- Championship (4): 1929-30, 1953-54, 1997-98, 2015-16
- Segunda División play-offs
- Championship (1): 2023
- Segunda División B
- Championship (4): 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 2012-13
- Royal Spanish FA Cup
- Championship: 1945-46
- Tercera División
- Championship (5): 1940-41, 1960-61, 1964-65, 1967-68, 1973-74
- Championship: 1989-90
- Regional Championship
- Biscay Championship: 1929-30
- Gipuzkoa Championship: 1938-39
European tournaments
- UEFA Cup
- Second place: 2000-01
Stadium information
- Ad - Mendizorrotza
- City - Vitoria-Gasteiz
- Capacity - 19,840
- Opening - 1924
- Field size – 105 m x 67 m
- Other facilities - El Glorioso and José Luis Compañón
famous actors
World Cup players
The following players were selected by their country in the World Cup Finals while playing for Alavés.
