The 2017–18 season of Levante UD Femenino was the 19th season of the women's team of football club Levante UD. The team was 8th in Primera División and a quarterfinalist in the Copa de la Reina.
| 2017–18 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Quico Catalán | |||
| Manager | Andrés Tudela (until February 13) Kino García | |||
| Stadium | Buñol Sports City | |||
| Primera División | Eighth | |||
| Copa de la Reina | Quarterfinalist | |||
| Top goalscorer | Charlyn Corral (25) | |||
| Highest home attendance | 14,000 | |||
| Lowest home attendance | 50 | |||
|
| ||||
Season summary edit
Levante had ended the previous season's championship in the 4th position, same as in 2015–16, ending the league campaign on a positive note by defeating Barcelona, which needed a victory and an Atlético Madrid miss to win the title, after a 4-game away losing streak including a record 6–0 defeat against local rival Valencia in Mestalla before an attendance of 17,000.[1] Valencia ended the competition third with an unseen 11 point advantage over Levante.
Few days later it was reported in the media that the squad's captains had expressed a lack of tune with manager Andrés Tudela, who had its contract renewed for two more seasons in April,[2] along with objections to the planning of the trainings and an alleged lack of functionality in the section's structure in a meeting with the club's chairman, Quico Catalán.[3] After a loss against lower-ranked Granadilla in the Copa de la Reina's quarterfinals against lower-ranked Granadilla put an end to the season, it was reported that this rift would likely result in the departure of over half the squad.[4]
In the end ten players left the team in the summer transfer market, including internationals Noelia Bermúdez, Raquel Infante, Olivia Oprea, Nagore Calderón, Adriana Martín and María José Pérez, with Bermúdez joining Valencia along with Andrea Esteban. Levante signed Noelia Ramos, Patricia Padilla, Natalia Ramos, Alba Aznar, Marta Cardona and 6-times league champion Miriam Diéguez within Primera División, and Greta Espinoza, 2017 Euro finalist Sofie Junge Pedersen and Jéssica Silva from abroad. After five seasons working on a €250,000 budget, the team's was increased to €300,000, the highest in nearly a decade.[5]
Levante won 7 of the 13 first games of the championship, settling in the 4th position near the halfway point of the league with two victories over direct rivals Athletic Bilbao and Valencia. However, two wide losses against Atlético and Barcelona started a 5-games losing streak and by February the team had plummeted to the 8th position.[6] On February 13, Andrés Tudela was sacked following a draw against newly-promoted Madrid. It was the third dismissal of a manager in the campaign, after Real Sociedad's Juanjo Arregi and Madrid's Jesús Núñez.[7]
Tudela was replaced by Kino García, the coach of the section's B team.[8] After a 0–6 debut rout over Espanyol, the team attained an essential three home games winning streak, but lost the remaining seven games in the championship and ended it in the 8th spot, barely qualifying for the Copa de la Reina on the head-to-head over Sporting Huelva thanks to Madrid losing its last game.[9] This was Levante's worst result in the championship since the 2010–11 season, after six seasons always ending either 4th or 5th. Charlyn Corral scored 25 goals, more than those scored by the rest of the team combined, and she was the top scorer of the championship with a five goals over Atlético's Sonia Bermúdez.[10] She is to become the second Mexican player awarded the Pichichi Trophy after Hugo Sánchez.[11]
In the Copa de la Reina Levante faced defending champion Barcelona in the quarterfinals, and lost both games by single goals scored by former Levante player Alexia Putellas.[12]
Transfers edit
| In | Out | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Pos. | Player | Origin | Date | Pos. | Player | Destination | |
| 24 May 2017 | DF |  Patricia Padilla[13] |
Albacete |
9 Jun 2017 | MF | Alba Merino[14] |
Santa Teresa
| |
| 7 Jun 2017 | MF | Alba Aznar[15] |
Zaragoza |
14 Jun 2017 | DF | Mariajo Rocafull [16] |
Aldaia
| |
| 7 Jun 2017 | MF | Marta Cardona[17] |
Zaragoza |
16 Jun 2017 | FW | Adriana Martín[18] |
Málaga
| |
| 20 Jun 2017 | GK | Noelia Ramos[19] |
Granadilla |
30 Jun 2017 | FW | Sheila Guijarro[20] |
Málaga
| |
| 20 Jun 2017 | DF | Natalia Ramos |
Granadilla |
2 Jul 2017 | DF | Nagore Calderón[21] |
Sevilla
| |
| 30 Jun 2017 | FW |  Jéssica Silva[22] |
Sporting Braga |
4 Jul 2017 | FW | María José Pérez[23] |
Granadilla
| |
| 4 Jul 2017 | DF |  Greta Espinoza[24] |
 Oregon State Beavers |
6 Jul 2017 | FW | Andrea Esteban[25] |
Valencia (2017–18)
| |
| 9 Aug 2017 | MF | Miriam Diéguez[26] |
Barcelona (2016–17) |
7 Jul 2017 | GK |  Noelia Bermúdez[27] |
Valencia (2017–18)
| |
| 11 Aug 2017 | MF |  Sofie Junge Pedersen[28] |
 Rosengård |
19 Jul 2017 | DF |  Olivia Oprea[29] |
Sevilla
| |
| 10 Aug, 2017 | DF | Raquel Infante[30] |
 Rodez
| |||||
Results edit
Pre-season edit
| 6 August 2017 COTIF – G2 | Levante | 2–1 | Morocco (national team) |  L'Alcúdia |
Gutiérrez  35' Casado 55' |
Report | Hayat 30' |
| 8 August 2017 COTIF – G3 | Levante | 2–3 | Atlético Madrid | L'Alcúdia |
| Corral 11', 16' |
Report | Calligaris 30' Falcón 42', 72' |
| 26 August 2017 Friendly | Albacete | 1–3 | Levante |  Albacete |
| Matsukawa 66' |
Report | Corral 40' Jiménez 55', ?' |
Primera División edit
| 3 September 2017 1 | Levante | 1–1 | Madrid | Paiporta |
| 17:00 | Corral 2' |
Report | Mascaró 16' |
Stadium: El Terrer Municipal Field Attendance: 600 Referee:  Huerta de Aza |
| 10 September 2017 2 | Granadilla | 1–2 | Levante | Granadilla de Abona |
| 13:00 | Pérez 45' |
Report | Guehai 25' Corral 60' |
Stadium: Francisco Suárez Football Field Attendance: 600 Referee:  Sánchez Miguel |
| 23 September 2017 3 | Levante | 0–1 | Betis | Buñol |
| 16:00 | Report | Parra 78' |
Stadium: Buñol Sports City Attendance: 350 Referee: Acevedo Dudley |
| 1 October 2017 4 | Sevilla | 5–5 | Levante |  Sevilla |
| 12:00 | Piemonte 18', 62' Carmona 47' Albarrán 69' Morilla 85' |
Report | da Silva 2', 53' Corral 42', 65' Na. Ramos 44' |
Stadium: Viejo Nervión Stadium Attendance: 300 Referee:  Kinga-Hajnalka |
| 8 October 2017 5 | Levante | 1–1 | Espanyol | Buñol |
| 12:00 | Corral 33' |
Report | Roque 90+6' |
Stadium: Buñol Sports City Attendance: 300 Referee: Villegas Navas |
| 14 October 2017 6 | Rayo Vallecano | 0–4 | Levante | Madrid |
| 16:00 | Report | Corral 25', 79' Pedersen 49' Corral 79' |
Stadium: Rayo Vallecano Fundation Sports City Attendance: 250 Referee:  Frías Acedo |
| 29 October 2017 7 | Sporting Huelva | 0–1 | Levante | Huelva |
| 12:15 | Report | Corral 48' |
Stadium: La Orden Federative Fields Attendance: 400 Referee: Líndez Ciurana |
| 4 November 2017 8 | Levante | 5–1 | Zaragoza | Buñol |
| 16:00 | da Silva 18', 61' Corral 49', 90+2' Pérez 90+6' |
Report | López 56' |
Stadium: Buñol Sports City Attendance: 250 Referee:  González Sánchez |
| 9 November 2017 9 | Albacete | 1–0 | Levante | Albacete |
| 18:30 | Rodríguez 34' |
Report | Stadium: Andrés Iniesta Sports City Attendance: 568 Referee:  Martínez Martínez |
| 18 November 2017 10 | Levante | 1–1 | Real Sociedad | Buñol |
| 10:45 | Guehai 89' |
Report | Zornoza 31' |
Stadium: Buñol Sports City Attendance: 350 Referee: Prieto Martínez |
| 3 December 2017 11 | Santa Teresa | 0–3 | Levante |  Badajoz |
| 12:00 | Report | Casado 11', 77' Corral 80' |
Stadium: El Viejo Vivero Sports City Attendance: 500 Referee:  Fernández Ceferino |
| 6 December 2017 12 | Levante | 3–2 | Athletic Bilbao | Buñol |
| 10:45 | Corral 16', 21', 32' |
Report | Díez 39' Gimbert 77' |
Stadium: Buñol Sports City Attendance: 350 Referee: Prieto Martínez |
| 3 December 2017 13 | Valencia | 2–3 | Levante UD | Paterna |
| 10:45 | Vilas 36' Peiró 90+1' |
Report | Álvarez 62' (pen.) Casado 75', 82' |
Stadium: Antoni Puchades Stadium Attendance: 1,600 Referee: Huerta de Aza |
| 16 December 2017 14 | Levante | 0–4 | Atlético Madrid | Buñol |
| 16:00 | Report | da Silva 28', 47' Sampedro 49' Sosa 75' |
Stadium: Buñol Sports City Attendance: 350 Referee: Martínez Madrona |
| 7 January 2018 15 | Barcelona | 5–0 | Levante | Sant Joan Despí |
| 13:00 | Bussaglia 9' Guijarro 13', 23' Putellas 43' Martens 55' |
Report | Stadium: Joan Gamper Sports City Attendance: 670 Referee: Villegas Navas |
| 13 January 2018 16 | Madrid | 2–1 | Levante | San Sebastián de los Reyes |
| 16:00 | Mascaró 68' Boho 85' |
Report | Corral 22' (pen.) |
Stadium: Matapiñonera Municipal Stadium Attendance: 150 Referee: Fernández Ceferino |
| 28 January 2018 17 | Levante | 0–1 | Granadilla | Buñol |
| 12:00 | Report | Pérez 72' |
Stadium: Buñol Sports City Attendance: 50 Referee:  González González |
| 4 February 2018 18 | Betis | 2–0 | Levante | Seville |
| 13:00 | Moreno 30', 65' |
Report | Stadium: Luis del Sol Sports City Attendance: 418 Referee: Cebollada López |
| 10 February 2018 19 | Levante | 1–1 | Sevilla | Buñol |
| 10:45 | Corral 86' |
Report | Morilla 6' |
Stadium: Buñol Sports City Attendance: 150 Referee: Martínez Martínez |
| 18 February 2018 20 | Espanyol | 0–6 | Levante | Sant Adrià de Besòs |
| 12:30 | Report | Corral 4', 16', 56', 80' Prim 19' Pérez 67' (o.g.) |
Stadium: Dani Jarque Sports City Attendance: 325 Referee: Prieto Martínez |
| 25 February 2018 21 | Levante | 2–3 | Rayo Vallecano | Buñol |
| 12:00 | López 25' Marín 79' |
Report | Pablos 9' (pen.), 55' Morales 84' |
Stadium: Buñol Sports City Attendance: 275 Referee: Sánchez Miguel |
| 11 March 2018 22 | Levante | 2–1 | Sporting Huelva | Buñol |
| 12:45 | Casado 75' Corral 76' |
Report | Bernal 38' |
Stadium: Buñol Sports City Attendance: 256 Referee:  Rivera Olmedo |
| 18 March 2018 23 | Zaragoza | 3–0 | Levante | Zaragoza |
| 12:00 | Darlene 5' Mayara 27' Mallada 68' |
Report | Stadium: Pedro Sancho Stadium Attendance: 550 Referee: Arregui Gamir |
| 24 March 2018 24 | Levante | 4–2 | Albacete | Buñol |
| 16:30 | Casado 74' Guehai 76' Matsukawa 78' (o.g.) Corral 84' |
Report | Redondo 13', 90' |
Stadium: Buñol Sports City Attendance: 200 Referee: Villegas Navas |
| 30 March 2018 25 | Real Sociedad | 2–1 | Levante | Lasarte-Oria |
| 12:00 | García 21' Ramajo 37' |
Report | Pérez 51' |
Stadium: Zubieta Facilities Attendance: 1,000 Referee: González Sánchez |
| 15 April 2018 26 | Levante | 3–0 | Santa Teresa | Buñol |
| 12:00 | Corral 13' (pen.), 62', 90+1' |
Report | Stadium: Buñol Sports City Attendance: 250 Referee: Huerta de Aza |
| 21 April 2018 27 | Athletic Bilbao | 1–0 | Levante | Lezama |
| 10:45 | Vázquez 12' |
Report | Stadium: Lezama Facilities Attendance: 526 Referee: Kinga-Hajnalka |
| 28 April 2018 28 | Levante | 0–1 | Valencia | València |
| 13:00 | Report | Lomba 36' |
Stadium: Ciutat de València Stadium Attendance: 14,000 Referee: Martínez Madrona |
| 5 May 2018 29 | Atlético Madrid | 1–0 | Levante | Majadahonda |
| 18:15 | Bermúdez 3' |
Report | Stadium: Cerro del Espino Mini Stadium Attendance: 1,224 Referee: Frías Acedo |
| 13 May 2018 30 | Levante | 0–5 | Barcelona | Buñol |
| 16:00 | Report | Guijarro 18' Martens 30' Torrjeón 60' Andressa 65' Andonova 85' |
Stadium: Buñol Sports City Attendance: 600 Referee: González González |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Betis | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 46 | Qualification for the Copa de la Reina |
| 7 | Real Sociedad | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 42 | 37 | +5 | 38[a] | |
| 8 | Levante | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 38[a] | |
| 9 | Sporting de Huelva | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 35 | 42 | −7 | 38[a] | |
| 10 | Madrid CFF | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 34 | 56 | −22 | 36 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored
Notes:
Copa de la Reina edit
| 20 May 2018 QF – L1 | Barcelona | 1–0 | Levante | Sant Joan Despí |
| 16:00 | Putellas 53' |
Report | Stadium: Joan Gamper Sports City Attendance: 309 Referee: Villegas Navas |
| 23 May 2018 QF – L2 | Levante | 0–1 | Levante | Buñol |
| 17:00 | Report | Putellas 82' |
Stadium: Buñol Sports City Attendance: 600 Referee: Peláez Arnillas |
Primera División statistics edit
| No. | Pos. | Born | Since | FIFA | Player | Games | Goals | Disciplinary record | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | FC |  |
| |||||||
| 1 | GK | 1999 | 2016–17 | Spain |
Sandra Torres | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | DF | 1995 | 2017–18 | Mexico |
2014 | Greta Espinoza | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | 1996 | 2017–18 | Spain |
Patricia Padilla | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | DF | 1984 | 2011–12 | Spain |
Sonia Prim | 27 | 1 | 7 | 1 | |
| 5 | MF | 1994 | 2013–14 | Spain |
Laura Gutiérrez | 24 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| 6 | DF | 1998 | 2015–16 | Spain |
Andrea Palacios | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 7 | MF | 1992 | 2012–13 | Spain |
Ana Buceta | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | FW | 1996 | 2015–16 | Spain |
Lucía Gómez | 28 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 9 | MF | 1995 | 2015–16 | Spain |
Maitane López | 27 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
| 10 | FW | 1991 | 2015–16 | Mexico |
2011 | Charlyn Corral | 29 | 25 | 5 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | 1993 | 2017–18 | Spain |
Alba Aznar | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 12 | FW | 1998 | 2017–18 | Spain |
Maribel Ortega | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 13 | GK | 1999 | 2017–18 | Spain |
Noelia Ramos | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 14 | MF | 1994 | 2011–12 | Spain |
Nerea Pérez | 25 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| 15 | DF | 1999 | 2017–18 | Spain |
Natalia Ramos | 21 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| 16 | MF | 1986 | 2017–18 | Spain |
2005 | Miriam Diéguez | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | 1990 | 2012–13 | Spain |
2009 | Alharilla Casado | 30 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | 1994 | 2017–18 | Portugal |
2011 | Jéssica Silva | 20 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | 1995 | 2017–18 | Spain |
Marta Cardona | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 20 | MF | 1994 | 2016–17 |  Ivory Coast |
2011 | Ida Guehai | 19 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | 1996 | 2014–15 | Spain |
Carol Marín | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 22 | MF | 1992 | 2017–18 | Denmark |
2011 | Sofie Junge Pedersen | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | 1997 | 2016–17 | Spain |
Andrea Jiménez | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
References edit
- ^ Valencia wins by a landslide in a historical women's derby before 17,000 spectators. El Mundo (in Spanish), 23 April 2017
- ^ Official: renewed the manager of Levante Femenino. Super Deporte (in Spanish), 5 April 2017
- ^ Divorce in the women's team. Levante-EMV (in Spanish), 9 June 2017
- ^ Lack of tune with the mister and unprecedented revolution in Levante UD Femenino. Super Deporte (in Spanish), 12 June 2017.
- ^ The 'Súper Levante' of the half million euros. Super Deporte (in Spanish), 23 July 2018
- ^ Week 18 Primera División table in Mundo Deportivo's website
- ^ Andrés Tudela, dismissed as Levante's manager. Marca (in Spanish), 14 February 2018
- ^ Kino, new manager of Levante after Tudela's dismissal. As (in Spanish), 14 February 2018
- ^ Levante loses but qualifies for the Cup. Levante-EMV (in Spanish), 13 May 2018
- ^ Charlyn Corral, the Mexican that has 'goleado' the Spanish league El País (in Spanish), 13 May 2018
- ^ Charlyn Corral adjudicates herself Spain's Pichichi. Récord (in Spanish), 13 May 2018
- ^ Alexia Putellas again rescues Barcelona against Levante. Marca (in Spanish), 23 May 2018
- ^ Patri Padilla moves to Levante. Aúpa Alba (in Spanish), 24 May 2017.
- ^ Santa Teresa attains the return of Alba Merino. El Periódico de Extremadura (in Spanish), 9 June 2017.
- ^ Alba Aznar, new incorporation to Levante UD Femenino. El Desmarque (in Spanish), 07 June 2017.
- ^ Mariajo Rocafull signs for UD Aldaia after leaving Levante UD Femenino. Som Granotes (in Spanish), 14 June 2017.
- ^ Alba Aznar and Marta Cardona, new players of Levante UD Femenino. Macho Levante (in Spanish), 07 June 2017.
- ^ The international Adriana Martín, signed by the Femenino Archived 2017-12-06 at the Wayback Machine. El Remate Málaga (in Spanish), 16 June 2017.
- ^ Double ration of Ramos for Levante Femenino. El Desmarque (in Spanish), 20 June 2017.
- ^ Sheila Guijarro, a deluxe reinforcement for the Femenino Archived 2018-02-19 at the Wayback Machine. El Remate Málaga (in Spanish), 30 June 2017.
- ^ Nagore Calderón is Sevilla's second signing. Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish), 2 July 2017.
- ^ Levante UD Femenino signs Portuguese international player Jéssica Silva. Levante-EMV (in Spanish), 30 June 2017.
- ^ UD Granadilla officializes the incorporation of María José Pérez. La Opinión de Tenerife (in Spanish), 4 July 2017.
- ^ Greta Espinoza, international for Mexico, signs for Levante Femenino. Super Deporte (in Spanish), 4 July 2017.
- ^ Valencia CF Femenino signs Andrea Esteban, from Levante UD. Las Provincias (in Spanish), 6 July 2017.
- ^ Miriam Diéguez signs for Levante UD Femenino. El Desmarque (in Spanish), 9 August 2017.
- ^ Noelia Bermúdez, from Levante UD to Valencia CF. Las Provincias (in Spanish), 7 July 2017.
- ^ Danish European Championship silver medal-winner moves to Spanish football. Danmarks Radio (in Danish), 11 August 2017.
- ^ Romania's Olivia Oprea returns to Sevilla Femenino from Levante. ABC (in Danish), 19 July 2017.
- ^ Raquel Infante leaves Levante UD. Futebol Feminino Portugal (in Portuguese), 19 July 2017.