Tenerife

HISTORY

The team is currently playing in the Primera División (the top flight of Spanish football) after finishing the 2008-09 season in third place in the Segunda División. Club Deportivo Tenerife was founded in 1922, but some documents show the existence of Sporting Club Tenerife earlier, in 1912. This may have been the precursor of the current club.  Spain's La Liga started in 1928, but Tenerife played in regional divisions until they were promoted to Segunda División in 1953. They were first promoted to the top flight in 1961, but couldn't prevent the relegation at the season's end.

The team operated between the second and third levels from 1962 to 1976. In that year, The Segunda División B was created, and Tenerife competed 6 seasons there before rejoining the second level. In 1985, when Tenerife were relegated to second division B for a second time, Javier Pérez became president of the club. The side was promoted this year to the second level and, two years later, returned to the first, after winning a 1989 promotion against Real Betis. In 1992, with Jorge Valdano as trainer, Tenerife beat Real Madrid in the last match of the season, escaping relegation and helping FC Barcelona take the league championship, in a situation that would befall exactly in the following season. This time, Tenerife finished in fifth place and qualified to play in the UEFA Cup, where they lost to Juventus 4-2 on aggregate, in round-of-16.

In 1995, Jupp Heynckes became the trainer of the club. Tenerife again qualified for the UEFA Cup, beating Maccabi Tel Aviv, SS Lazio, Feyenoord and Brøndby IF (the winner coming late in extra time from an Antonio Mata free kick), before eventually bowing out to winners Schalke 04 in the semifinals.

Tenerife then went on a downward spiral which eventually led to relegation to the Segunda División in 1999, prompting various managerial changes within the club. In 2001 they were again promoted, led by Rafael Benítez, who promptly left to take up the manager's job at Valencia CF. Tenerife won promotion to the top flight on the last match of the season thanks to a goal from Hugo Morales.
Match: CD Tenerife - Real Sociedad in 2008  Pepe Mel became the new trainer but the first division season never took off, as Tenerife were beaten heavily at home by Barcelona 0-6, costing Mel his job. Javier Clemente, the former manager of Spain, took the reins, eventually falling just short of saving Tenerife, again relegated.

Tenerife have been in various trouble due to the enormous debt, more than €40 million. President Pérez was replaced with Víctor Perez de Ascanio, who resigned due to bad management. The current president, Miguel Concepción, has been negotiating with politicians and businessmen, and created a construction company as a subsidiary of the side. Tenerife finally secured return to the La Liga after beating Girona 0-1 at an away match in June 13, 2009 after 7 years of absence.  Fans of Tenerife are called chicharreros because in early days, the inhabitants of a small fishing village called Santa Cruz (now the capital of Tenerife) consumed "chicharros" (Atlantic horse mackerel) as a main part of their diet. Other inhabitants of Tenerife and Canary Islands used the moniker as a pejorative name, but finally the inhabitants of Santa Cruz accepted it affectionately.