Galicia national football team

Galicia
Nickname(s)	A Irmandiña (The Fellowship)
Association	Real Federación Galega de Fútbol (RFGF)
Head coach	Diego Martínez
Captain	Iago Aspas
Top scorer	Ramón Polo Pardo (8)
	First colours
	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

Early years

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

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

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

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

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: Ivo Lemes

14 January 1923 1922–23 Prince of Asturias Cup semi-finals	South	1–4	Galicia	Seville, Spain
	Kinké	Report	González Polo Chiarroni	Stadium: Reina Victoria Referee: Montero

25 February 1923 1922–23 Prince of Asturias Cup Final	Galicia	1–3	Asturias	Vigo, Galicia
	Balbino	Report	Meana Zabala	Stadium: Coia Referee: 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: Agustín Cruella Tena

Friendly matches

7 January 1923 Friendly	Galicia	3–1	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	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

Top Scorers

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

Honours

UEFA Regions Cup:

Winners (1): 2023

Prince of Asturias Cup:

Runners-up (1): 1922–23^[4]

Current squad

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]

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Álvaro Ratón	(1993-01-29) 29 January 1993 (age 31)	1	0	Wisła Kraków
1GK	Fran Vieites	(1999-05-07) 7 May 1999 (age 25)	1	0	Betis
1GK	Iván Villar	(1997-07-09) 9 July 1997 (age 27)	1	0	Celta

2DF	Jonny Otto	(1994-03-03) 3 March 1994 (age 30)	2	0	PAOK
2DF	Hugo Bueno	(2002-09-18) 18 September 2002 (age 22)	1	0	Feyenoord
2DF	Álvaro Carreras	(2003-03-23) 23 March 2003 (age 21)	1	0	Benfica
2DF	Carlos Domínguez	(2001-02-11) 11 February 2001 (age 23)	1	0	Celta
2DF	Quique Fornos	(1997-01-01) 1 January 1997 (age 27)	1	0	Cultura Leonesa
2DF	Germán Nóvoa	(1996-08-06) 6 August 1996 (age 28)	1	0	Arenteiro
2DF	Lucas Taibo	(2006-03-02) 2 March 2006 (age 18)	1	0	Sporting CP
2DF	Kevin Vázquez	(1993-03-23) 23 March 1993 (age 31)	1	0	Celta

3MF	Álvaro Lemos	(1993-03-30) 30 March 1993 (age 31)	1	0	Las Palmas
3MF	Álex López	(1988-01-11) 11 January 1988 (age 36)	1	0	Racing Ferrol
3MF	Miguel Loureiro	(1996-11-21) 21 November 1996 (age 28)	1	0	Huesca
3MF	Hugo Sotelo	(2003-12-19) 19 December 2003 (age 20)	1	0	Celta
3MF	Diego Villares	(1996-06-17) 17 June 1996 (age 28)	1	0	Deportivo La Coruna

4FW	Lucas Pérez	(1988-09-10) 10 September 1988 (age 36)	2	0	Deportivo La Coruna
4FW	Iago Aspas	(1987-08-01) 1 August 1987 (age 37)	1	1	Celta
4FW	Luis Rodríguez Chacón	(2000-05-30) 30 May 2000 (age 24)	1	0	Arenteiro
4FW	Manuel Justo	(1996-02-09) 9 February 1996 (age 28)	1	0	Racing Ferrol
4FW	Iker Losada	(2001-08-01) 1 August 2001 (age 23)	1	0	Betis
4FW	Héber Pena	(1990-01-16) 16 January 1990 (age 34)	1	0	Racing Ferrol
4FW	Miguel Rodríguez	(2003-04-29) 29 April 2003 (age 21)	1	0	Utrecht

Previous call-ups

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	Almería	v. Venezuela; 20 May 2016

DF	Diego Alende	(1997-08-25) 25 August 1997 (age 27)	1	0	Andorra	v. Venezuela; 20 May 2016
DF	Angeliño	(1997-01-04) 4 January 1997 (age 27)	1	0	Roma	v. Venezuela; 20 May 2016
DF	Hugo Mallo	(1991-06-22) 22 June 1991 (age 33)	1	0	Internacional	v. Venezuela; 20 May 2016

MF	Pedro Mosquera	(1988-04-21) 21 April 1988 (age 36)	1	0	Alcorcón	v. Venezuela; 20 May 2016
MF	Pape Cheikh	(1997-08-08) 8 August 1997 (age 27)	1	0	DAC Dunajská Streda	v. Venezuela; 20 May 2016
MF	Denis Suárez	(1994-01-06) 6 January 1994 (age 30)	1	0	Villarreal	v. Venezuela; 20 May 2016

FW	Joselu	(1990-03-27) 27 March 1990 (age 34)	1	0	Real Madrid	v. Venezuela; 20 May 2016

References

^ O camiño que trae de volta a selección
^ A Irmandiña (nickname of the team)
^ Spain – List of Champions of Galicia, RSSSF
^ ^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.
^ "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.
^ "2015 Nin amigábel nin partido pola oficialidade" (in Galician). Praza.gal. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
^ "Siareir*s Galeg*s recupera jogo da nossa selecçom nacional de futebol: Galiza-Senegal" (in Galician). diarioliberdade.org. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
^ "Louzán anuncia un partido de la selección gallega en el 2016" (in Spanish). lavozdegalicia.es. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
^ "Louzán anuncia que tamén haberá partido da selección galega feminina en 2016" (in Galician). crtvg.gal. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
^ "Os dous seleccionadores destacan a calidade do combinado galego" (in Galician). FGF. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^ "Galicia 0-2 Panamá: Fiesta descafeinada en Balaídos" [Galicia 0-2 Panama: energy-less party at Balaídos]. aficiondeportiva.es (in Spanish). 31 May 2024.

External links

Galician Football Federation (in Spanish)
Galicia Autonomous Team matches at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

[1] O camiño que trae de volta a selección

[2] A Irmandiña (nickname of the team)

[3] Spain – List of Champions of Galicia, RSSSF

[principe-4] 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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