Galicia national football team

This article is about national football team representing Spanish autonomous community. For team representing former Austro-Hungarian crown land, see Galicia national football team (Eastern Europe).

Galicia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)A Irmandiña[1][2] (The Fellowship)
AssociationReal Federación Galega de Fútbol (RFGF)
Head coachDiego Martínez
CaptainIago Aspas
Top scorerRamón Polo Pardo (8)
First colours
First international
 Galicia 4–1 Castile
(Vigo, Galicia; 19 November 1922)
Biggest win
 Galicia 8–2  Royal Navy XI
(Vigo, Galicia; 21 January 1923)
Biggest defeat
 Galicia 1–3 Asturias 
(Vigo, Galicia; 25 February 1923)

The Galicia national football team is the official football team of Galicia. It is organised by the Galician Football Federation. The team is not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA and is, therefore, only allowed to play friendly matches.

History

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Early years

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The first game of the Galician national football team took place on 19 November 1922 in Coia, Vigo, beating the Centro team (which encompassed Madrid and the wider Castile region) 4–1 in the quarter-finals of the 1922–23 Copa del Príncipe de Asturias, an official inter-regional tournament organized by RFEF;– This was at a time when there was no national club championship per se, Galician teams would play each other in the Galician Championship[3] and the winner would then go on to face the other regional champions in the Copa del Rey. Galicia then beat the South team in the semi-finals again by a score of 4–1, with the star of the game being local hero Ramón González. Their surprising campaign arose a wave of enthusiasm among the Galician fans, which prompted the Galician federation to organize several friendlies in January and February of 1923, as a warm-up for the final that would be held on the 25th February, and Galicia excelled, winning all 5 games with at least 3 goals scored in each, including an 8-2 win over an English Royal Navy XI and a 7-1 win over a Ferrol/A Coruña XI, the latter of which coming just 7 days before the final, with Ramón González showing great goalscoring form with a hat-trick, but unfortunately, he was unable to play in the final due to injury, and without him, they ended up losing to Asturias 1-3, despite scoring first thanks to Balbino.[4] Three months later they lost for a second time, this time to a Lisbon XI (1-2). However, later political developments in Spain made it impossible for the Galicia national football team to take part in official competitions. Hence, after the Copa del Príncipe de Asturias was discontinued in 1924, all games were merely friendlies. The Galician national football team as such ceased all activity during the time of the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent dictatorship (1936–1975).

Revival in 2000s

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Galicia vs. Ecuador, 28 December 2006.
Galicia vs. Cameroon, 27 December 2007.

The project was retaken in the early 1980s, and the first match of the Galician national team after the dictatorship was supposed to be played on 24 July 1980 in Compostela against the Basque Country, but the players ended on holiday instead. In 1982, before the World Cup in Spain, there was an attempt to organize a match against Cameroon, but they failed in their efforts.[citation needed] Galicia had to wait 20 years to finally play again, facing the powerful Uruguay on 29 December 2005. Fernando Vázquez, a former Mallorca and Betis coach, was chosen as the coach, and he formed a Galicia XI which had the likes of Diego López, Ricardo Cabanas and José Luis Deus. The San Lázaro stadium was packed for the occasion and surprisingly, they found themselves 3-0 up with 10 minutes to go with goals from Deus (2) and Nano, and even though Uruguay scored two late goals in a 3-2 Galician win, the Galician fans were very pleased with the team's performance.[5] In December 2006, another game was contested against Ecuador, played in Riazor in A Coruña and Galicia held them to a 1–1 draw. The following year, against Cameroon, the result was the same, with Cameroon only equalizing thanks to a last-minute penalty converted by Rigobert Song. In 2008, the Irmandiña played another friendly game, this time against Iran and won 3–2 with goals from Nacho Novo (2) and Roberto Losada.

Amateur era

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Changes in the composition of the Galician Government after the 2009 elections resulted in a lack of official support for the national team. However, the supporters' group Siareiros Galegos managed to organise a number of non-official international games involving Galician players from lower categories as a sign of protest, giving continuation to the project. These efforts were supported by a number of local governments, which would allow the use of their facilities. Galicia played teams representing Palestine, Western Sahara, Iraqi Kurdistan and Occitania in 2013. Siareiros Galegos announced at that time that it would be the last match until further notice due to the financial situation.[6] On 26 December 2015, however, Siareiros Galegos did set up yet another game, where Galicia faced players representing Senegal.[7]

Second revival

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Galicia vs. Panama.

The current president of the FGF, Mr Louzán, days after the Senegal game, announced that the Federation would organise a first-level game again in 2016. It was mentioned that players from the top professional Galician teams, Deportivo and Celta, had lobbied in favour.[8][9] A game was eventually held on 20 May in Riazor, where Galicia met Venezuela to a 1–1 draw. After the game, the Galician coaches mentioned the keen interest expressed by players to continue with the project and play more games on a regular basis.[10]

Official matches

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19 November 1922 1922–23 Prince of Asturias Cup quarter-finals Galicia  4–1 Centro Vigo, Galicia
Chiarroni
Polo
Pinilla pen.'
González		 Report Monjardín Stadium: Coia
Referee: Portugal Ivo Lemes
14 January 1923 1922–23 Prince of Asturias Cup semi-finals South Andalusia 1–4  Galicia Seville, Spain
Kinké Report González
Polo
Chiarroni 		Stadium: Reina Victoria
Referee: Community of Madrid Montero
25 February 1923 1922–23 Prince of Asturias Cup Final Galicia  1–3  Asturias Vigo, Galicia
Balbino Report Meana
Zabala 		Stadium: Coia
Referee: Basque Country (autonomous community) Leclerc
25 November 1923 1923–24 Prince of Asturias Cup quarter-finals Central Spain 1–0  Galicia Madrid, Spain
De Miguel Report
Report2		 Stadium: Ciudad Lineal
Referee: Catalonia Agustín Cruella Tena

Friendly matches

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7 January 1923 Friendly Galicia  3–1 Lisbon Lisbon XI Vigo, Galicia
Polo
Reigosa 		Stadium: Coia
Referee: Ventura Lago
21 January 1923 Friendly Galicia  8–2  Royal Navy XI Vigo, Galicia
Pinilla
González 		Stadium: Coia
28 January 1923 Friendly Galicia  4–1 Pontevedra XI Vigo, Galicia
Correa
Polo
Chiarroni 		Stadium: Campo de Bouzas
4 February 1923 Friendly Pontevedra XI 1–3  Galicia Pontevedra, Galicia
Pasarín
Chiarroni 		Stadium: Pasarón
18 February 1923 Friendly Galicia  7–1 Ferrol/A Coruña XI Vigo, Galicia
González
Polo
Chiarroni 		Stadium: Coia
27 May 1923 Friendly Lisbon XI Lisbon 2–1  Galicia Lisbon, Portugal
João Francisco
Gonçalves 		Pinilla Stadium: Campo Grande
28 July 1929 Friendly Galicia  0–0 Central Spain Madrid, Spain
Stadium: Ciudad Lineal
1 June 1930 Friendly Galicia  4–2 Sporting CP Vigo, Galicia
Losada
Polo 		Stadium: Balaídos
8 June 1930 Friendly Central Spain 1–4  Galicia Madrid, Spain
Losada
Fariña
Hilario 		Stadium: Chamartín
29 December 2005 Friendly Galicia  3–2  Uruguay Santiago de Compostela, Galicia
Nano 9'
Deus 48', 79'		 Report Pereira 83'
Albín 90+1'		 Stadium: San Lázaro
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Bernardino González Vázquez (Galicia)
28 December 2006 Friendly Galicia  1–1  Ecuador A Coruña, Galicia
Jonathan Pereira 68' Report Calle 63' Stadium: Riazor
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Bernardino González Vázquez (Galicia)
27 December 2007 Friendly Galicia  1–1  Cameroon Vigo, Galicia
Julio Álvarez 73' Report Song 90' (pen.) Stadium: Balaídos
Attendance: 28,000
Referee: Ignacio Iglesias Villanueva (Galicia)
27 December 2008 Friendly Galicia  3–2  Iran A Coruña, Galicia
20:45 Nacho Novo 23', 59'
Losada 66'		 Report Borhani 32'
Khalatbari 82'		 Stadium: Riazor
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Ignacio Iglesias Villanueva (Galicia)
20 May 2016 Friendly Galicia  1–1  Venezuela A Coruña, Galicia
20:00 Aspas 36' Report Martínez 92' Stadium: Riazor
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Ignacio Iglesias Villanueva (Galicia)
31 May 2024 Friendly Galicia  0–2  Panama Vigo, Galicia
20:00 Report Davis 24' (pen.)
Miller 40'		 Stadium: Balaídos
Attendance: 16,000
Referee: Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz

Statistics

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Top Scorers

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Rank Player Goals
1 Ramón Polo Pardo 8
2 Ramón González 7
José Chiarroni

Honours

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UEFA Regions Cup:

Prince of Asturias Cup:

Current squad

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The following players were called up for the friendly against Panama on 31 May 2024.

Caps and goals as of 31 May 2024 after the match against Panama[11]
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Álvaro Ratón (1993-01-29) 29 January 1993 (age 31) 1 0 Poland Wisła Kraków
1GK Fran Vieites (1999-05-07) 7 May 1999 (age 25) 1 0 Spain Betis
1GK Iván Villar (1997-07-09) 9 July 1997 (age 27) 1 0 Spain Celta
2DF Jonny Otto (1994-03-03) 3 March 1994 (age 30) 2 0 Greece PAOK
2DF Hugo Bueno (2002-09-18) 18 September 2002 (age 22) 1 0 Netherlands Feyenoord
2DF Álvaro Carreras (2003-03-23) 23 March 2003 (age 21) 1 0 Portugal Benfica
2DF Carlos Domínguez (2001-02-11) 11 February 2001 (age 23) 1 0 Spain Celta
2DF Quique Fornos (1997-01-01) 1 January 1997 (age 27) 1 0 Spain Cultura Leonesa
2DF Germán Nóvoa (1996-08-06) 6 August 1996 (age 28) 1 0 Spain Arenteiro
2DF Lucas Taibo (2006-03-02) 2 March 2006 (age 18) 1 0 Portugal Sporting CP
2DF Kevin Vázquez (1993-03-23) 23 March 1993 (age 31) 1 0 Spain Celta
3MF Álvaro Lemos (1993-03-30) 30 March 1993 (age 31) 1 0 Spain Las Palmas
3MF Álex López (1988-01-11) 11 January 1988 (age 36) 1 0 Spain Racing Ferrol
3MF Miguel Loureiro (1996-11-21) 21 November 1996 (age 28) 1 0 Spain Huesca
3MF Hugo Sotelo (2003-12-19) 19 December 2003 (age 21) 1 0 Spain Celta
3MF Diego Villares (1996-06-17) 17 June 1996 (age 28) 1 0 Spain Deportivo La Coruna
4FW Lucas Pérez (1988-09-10) 10 September 1988 (age 36) 2 0 Spain Deportivo La Coruna
4FW Iago Aspas (1987-08-01) 1 August 1987 (age 37) 1 1 Spain Celta
4FW Luis Rodríguez Chacón (2000-05-30) 30 May 2000 (age 24) 1 0 Spain Arenteiro
4FW Manuel Justo (1996-02-09) 9 February 1996 (age 28) 1 0 Spain Racing Ferrol
4FW Iker Losada (2001-08-01) 1 August 2001 (age 23) 1 0 Spain Betis
4FW Héber Pena (1990-01-16) 16 January 1990 (age 34) 1 0 Spain Racing Ferrol
4FW Miguel Rodríguez (2003-04-29) 29 April 2003 (age 21) 1 0 Netherlands Utrecht

Previous call-ups

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The following players have been called up for recent fixtures and are still available for selection.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Diego Mariño (1990-05-09) 9 May 1990 (age 34) 1 0 Spain Almería v.  Venezuela; 20 May 2016
DF Diego Alende (1997-08-25) 25 August 1997 (age 27) 1 0 Andorra Andorra v.  Venezuela; 20 May 2016
DF Angeliño (1997-01-04) 4 January 1997 (age 27) 1 0 Italy Roma v.  Venezuela; 20 May 2016
DF Hugo Mallo (1991-06-22) 22 June 1991 (age 33) 1 0 Brazil Internacional v.  Venezuela; 20 May 2016
MF Pedro Mosquera (1988-04-21) 21 April 1988 (age 36) 1 0 Spain Alcorcón v.  Venezuela; 20 May 2016
MF Pape Cheikh (1997-08-08) 8 August 1997 (age 27) 1 0 Slovakia DAC Dunajská Streda v.  Venezuela; 20 May 2016
MF Denis Suárez (1994-01-06) 6 January 1994 (age 30) 1 0 Spain Villarreal v.  Venezuela; 20 May 2016
FW Joselu (1990-03-27) 27 March 1990 (age 34) 1 0 Spain Real Madrid v.  Venezuela; 20 May 2016

See also

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References

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  1. ^ O camiño que trae de volta a selección
  2. ^ A Irmandiña (nickname of the team)
  3. ^ Spain – List of Champions of Galicia, RSSSF
  4. ^ a b Vicente Martínez Calatrava (17 August 2009). "La Copa Príncipe de Asturias" [The Prince of Asturias Cup] (in Spanish). CIHEFE. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Galicia vence a Uruguay en su debut" [Galicia beats Uruguay on their debut]. hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish). Hemeroteca - MundoDeportivo.com. 30 December 2005. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  6. ^ "2015 Nin amigábel nin partido pola oficialidade" (in Galician). Praza.gal. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  7. ^ "Siareir*s Galeg*s recupera jogo da nossa selecçom nacional de futebol: Galiza-Senegal" (in Galician). diarioliberdade.org. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Louzán anuncia un partido de la selección gallega en el 2016" (in Spanish). lavozdegalicia.es. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Louzán anuncia que tamén haberá partido da selección galega feminina en 2016" (in Galician). crtvg.gal. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Os dous seleccionadores destacan a calidade do combinado galego" (in Galician). FGF. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  11. ^ "Galicia 0-2 Panamá: Fiesta descafeinada en Balaídos" [Galicia 0-2 Panama: energy-less party at Balaídos]. aficiondeportiva.es (in Spanish). 31 May 2024.
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