The classic of the Alto Guadalentín

Águilas and Lorca Deportiva battle in a historic match of Murcian football

Not many rivalries in Spain have their origins in a year as early as 1901, especially not in the lower divisions. That is just one of the reasons why the derby between Águilas and Lorca Deportiva is considered a classic. Curiously, Águilas has only been founded in 2010, and Lorca Deportiva in 2012. This is enough reason to dive into the derbi del Alto Guadalentín.

The similarity of the colors is not the only reason why Águilas and Lorca Deportiva have a rivalry. Both teams have selected the white and blue stripes because they are linked to cultural manifestations of both cities, related to the fact that they are the colors of the Virgin Mary. © Águilas FC & Jaime Insa.

Two close cities

In the comarca, an administrative division used in Spain, called the Alto Guadalentín, lie two big cities: Águilas and Lorca. Lorca, on the one hand, is the zone’s capital and has over 90,000 inhabitants, making the city of the biggest in the Region of Murcia. Lorca has a big castle, was a famous city in the past, and is known as the biggest city between Murcia and Almería. Águilas, on the other hand, has only 34,000 inhabitants and is the most southern town in the Murcia Region. The city is famous nationwide for its Carnival, considered Spain’s most important after the editions in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Cádiz.

The location of Águilas and Lorca on a map, including cities like Alicante, Benidorm, Elche, and Murcia. © Google Maps.

Apart from a rivalry between the representative teams of Águilas and Lorca, there exists a feud between the cities, as seems inevitable when being divided by only a few kilometers. Moreover, the cities have rivaled for multiple centuries, and due to increasing globalization, they have been cooperating more than ever.

The Sierra Espuña Mountain in the Alto Guadalentín. Besides mountains, does the Alto Guadalentín dispose of deserts after intense desertification over the last few years. Due to climate change, this process will only accelerate. © Región de Murcia.

Águilas

Interestingly enough, Águilas was one of the pioneer cities in the introduction of football in Spain, as football was already practiced here in the 1880s. Some years later, the first football club in Águilas was founded, which folded and was refounded on multiple occasions. Finally, Águilas CF would be the first team to reach the Tercera División (1956) and the Segunda División B (1998).

The evolution of the crest of Águilas CF. Even though this club does no longer exist, its successor uses a similar logo. © lafutbolteca.com

In the 2000s, the aguileños performed strongly in the Segunda B and were very close to debuting in the Segunda División. However, after an ambitious president mismanaged the club, the debts were impossible to pay off, and the club had no choice but to cease to exist. This happened in 2010.

The Estadio El Rubial, Spain’s second-oldest stadium. El Rubial was inaugurated in 1913. Only Sporting’s El Molinón is older: 1908. © Alcantarilla FC.

The successor of Águilas CF would be Águilas Fútbol Club, and already played in the Tercera by 2011. In the following years, Águilas was very close to reaching the Segunda B again, which they only did in 2021. The blanquiazules got relegated in 2022 but bounced back one year later.

The aguileños celebrate a goal by Juan Góngora in 2022. © Andrés Ribón.

Lorca

The history of football in Lorca is a bit more tumultuous. Just like in Águilas, the sport was introduced early, and Lorca FC was founded in 1901. This club would not survive for long, nor would its successors. The first team in Lorca to reach notable heights was Lorca Deportiva CF, reaching the Segunda División in 1984. This led Lorca Deportiva to be the third Murcian club to obtain a spot in Spanish professional football.

A starting XI of the old Lorca Deportiva during the 1984-85 season. Deportiva would play against teams like Granada, Real Oviedo, and Cádiz. The team suffered a troublesome season and ended in last place. Curiously, the first team sued the club, after which the reserve team had to show up to play a game. The reserve team in this period was Águilas CF. © Historia del Fútbol en Lorca.

The club folded in 1994 and continued officially after a fusion, named Lorca CF, even though the team Lorca Deportiva merged with, Lorca Promesas, was really represented by the new club. Only eight years later, Lorca Deportiva CF was founded, a club that represented the first Lorca Deportiva and also reached the second tier. After two memorable seasons (2005 to 2007), the blanquiazules‘ performances worsened, ending in a slow and tough dissolution in 2012.

The Estadio Francisco Artés Carrasco, one of the bigger Murcian stadiums. It’s named after a president of CD Lorca in the 1950s who was important in the construction process of the old Estadio de San José. © Historia del Fútbol en Lorca.

After its dissolution, the current club was founded: Club de Fútbol Lorca Deportiva: the third Lorca Deportiva. This team already debuted in the Segunda B in 2017, but without being able to establish itself in the third tier. Actually, the new Lorca Deportiva usually plays in the Tercera. Still, Lorca Deportiva remains the representative team of the city of Lorca.

The players of Lorca Deportiva celebrate a goal in 2019. © Diego Pérez Terrones.

The Derby

As explained, Águilas and Lorca Deportiva are two relatively new clubs, even though their passion goes back to the years around 1900. Historically, Lorca Deportiva has played in higher divisions, is more successful, has a higher stadium capacity, and its city has more inhabitants than Águilas. Águilas, however, gets its pride from having the second-oldest stadium in Spain and from winning derbies.

An image from Lorca Deportiva – Águilas, the first derby of the 2022-23 season. The game ended in 1-1, meaning that one of the teams could still ‘win the season’ against the other in the return. Moreover, both teams were fighting for first place. © Águilas FC.

An interesting fact about the Águilas-Lorca Deportiva-rivalry is that it has been played since very early in a summer tournament called Trofeo Playa y Sol. This friendly tournament, organized by Águilas, is the oldest summer tournament in Spain, another history-related feat of Águilas. Usually, the two participants are Águilas and Lorca Deportiva, but sometimes other teams from the same zone are invited as well.

The aguileños beat the lorquinos in the return, after which Águilas went on to win the league. Águilas achieved promotion to the Segunda Federación, while Lorca Deportiva ended in second place and missed out on promotion. © Águilas FC.

The Future

In short, the colors, location, and history make the derby of the Alto Guadalentín a very intriguing one. Luckily, none of these factors will change in the near future, which means that we will enjoy many more derbies, whether these are friendlies or league games. However, Águilas and Lorca Deportiva no longer coincide in the league, as the former now plays in the fourth tier and the latter in the fifth. Still, the rivalry is very notable in the cities and online. This was the derbi del Alto Guadalentín.

The fanbase of Águilas (left) and Lorca Deportiva (right) in their respective stadiums. © Jaime Zaragoza & Solete Show Photos.

SOURCES

• http://historiadelfutbolenlorca.blogspot.com/2008/09/el-torneo-ms-antiguo-de-espaa-desde.html
• http://lafutbolteca.com/club-de-futbol-lorca-deportiva/
• http://lafutbolteca.com/aguilas-club-de-futbol/
• https://www.aguilasfc.es/historia.php
• http://historiadelfutbolenlorca.blogspot.com/
• https://espanaestadios.com/2021/08/11/lorca-estadio-francisco-artes-carrasco/
• https://espanaestadios.com/2018/12/16/aguilas-el-rubial/
• Borchers, L. (2021). GOLAZO. Self-published.
• Borchers, L. (2022). CARA O CRUZ. Self-published.