CE L'Hospitalet · History

The first trophy won by Centre d'Esports L'Hospitalet came in 1959-60, when the club won the Tercera División less than three years after its founding. It was formed on 7 July 1957 as Centro de Deportes Hospitalet, through a merger of three local sides: UD Hospitalet, CD Santa Eulalia and CF Hércules. The club is based in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, in the Barcelona metropolitan area. Its colours are white, red and black, and it plays at the Estadi Municipal de Futbol, which holds 6,740 spectators. It has spent three seasons in the Spanish second division and 31 in Segunda División B, and it has won the Tercera División five times.

The clubs before the merger

Organised football in the city dates back to 1917, when Hospitalenc Sporting Club and CF Torrasense were founded. Hospitalenc folded in 1927. From what remained came Cercle Esportiu Fúria and Peña Júniors, which went on to form UE Hospitalet. In 1935 that club merged with Club Joventud and took the name Centre d'Esports Hospitalet, which it kept until 1936. In 1939 it returned to competition as UD Hospitalet. Two more clubs appeared in other neighbourhoods: Club Deportiu Santa Eulalia in 1950 and CF Hércules de Hospitalet in 1953. Their union with UD Hospitalet in the summer of 1957 created CE Hospitalet. A year later, on 15 May 1958, the municipal ground of Sant Josep opened as its first home.

Three seasons in the second division

After the 1960 Tercera title, the team finished second in its group in 1962-63. The following season, 1963-64, it made its debut in the Segunda División. That first campaign, with Enric Rabassa as coach, ended in 13th place with 10 wins, 6 draws and 14 defeats. In 1964-65 the club finished 11th, its highest placing at that level. It came 15th in 1965-66 and dropped back to the Tercera División. In 1966-67 it finished 19th. For much of the 1970s the club played in the Catalan regional leagues.

Two decades in Segunda División B

The club won the Tercera División in 1981-82, the year the Segunda División B was created as the new third tier. It made its debut in the new division in 1982-83 and stayed there until 2003, except for the 1986-87 season, which it spent in the Tercera. After going down in 2003, it won the Tercera again in 2004-05 and returned to the third tier. On 20 March 1999, in a Segunda B match, the club opened the Estadi Municipal de Futbol de L'Hospitalet with a 2-0 win over CF Gavà. The stadium is owned by the city council and run by the club. In 19 appearances in the Copa del Rey, its best run has ended in the round of 32, which it reached in 2001-02, 2011-12 and 2014-15.

Group champions in 2013

After another spell in the Tercera between 2008 and 2010, José Ramón Sandoval's side won Group V in 2009-10. In the play-offs it knocked out Rayo Vallecano B, Azuqueca and UD Almería B. Back in Segunda B, the team finished sixth in Group III in 2011-12, which earned it a place in the Copa del Rey. In 2012-13 it was crowned Group III champion with 80 points, its only Segunda B title. In the promotion play-offs for the second division it lost first to CD Tenerife and then to SD Eibar. In 2013-14, Kiko Ramírez replaced Martín Posse from the ninth matchday onwards. The team finished second in its group but went out of the play-offs against CD Leganés (1-0 and 1-1).

Relegation, return and the 2021 restructuring

L'Hospitalet were relegated to the Tercera in 2016-17. They reached the promotion play-offs in 2017-18 and 2018-19, losing to Nájera and then to Algeciras. In 2019-20 the club won Group V of the Tercera and the Copa Catalunya. It went back up to Segunda B after a 1-1 draw with Terrassa in the play-off, which it won on the strength of its higher league position. The return lasted a single campaign. The 2020-21 season was played in two phases, and the team finished ninth in the first and sixth in the second. When the national divisions were restructured in 2021, the club was placed in the Tercera División RFEF, the fifth tier of Spanish football.

Honours

The club has won Group III of the Segunda División B once (2012-13) and the Tercera División five times (1959-60, 1981-82, 2004-05, 2009-10 and 2019-20). It also won the Copa Catalunya in 2020. Its friendly trophies include the Trofeo Ciudad de Hospitalet, won in 1974 and 1982, and the Trofeo Nostra Catalunya, won in 1985.