Vitoria (EFE).- Vitoria reached ecstasy with the promotion to the First Division of Deportivo Alavés.
Alavés beat Levante 0-1 after a penalty scored by Asier Villalibre in added time of extra time.
Cuchillería street in the Basque capital was the epicenter of the celebration for the albiazul fans, who suffered until the last moment.
Songs and music were the common denominator at the beginning of a long-suffering night that promised to end very late.
Sixth ascent of Alavés
It was the sixth promotion to the First Division for the Alava club in its 102-year history, after spending only one year in the Second Division.
Precisely, Alavés closed the circle after consummating the relegation last year in the Ciutat de Valencia.
The same scenario in which they achieved a return to the elite this Saturday.
Vitoria celebrates the rise of Alavés. EFE/L.Rico
The first Albiazul promotion took place in the 1929-30 season with coach Francisco Baona on the bench.
El Glorioso was the first team that was promoted to the highest category and was also proclaimed champion of Vizcaya, the federation in which it was registered.
That first journey in the elite lasted three seasons.
The return to the category took place 21 years later, in the 1953-54 campaign, with a new Second Division title and Manuel Echezarreta as coach.
Alavés lost the category two years later and entered a journey in which they wandered through different national soccer categories for 40 years until their return to the elite in 1998, with José Manuel Esnal “Mané” as the architect of that team.
This jump brought to Vitoria the most important sporting moments of the club with two appearances in the UEFA Cup and a European final.
Five seasons later the relegation was consummated and although he returned in two years, in 2005, he could only spend one season with the best.
After ten years in Second and Second B, the babazorros reemerged powerfully to reach the First Division in 2016, led by Pepe Bordalás.
Alavés then signed the longest period in its history in the top flight, six years, until signing its relegation a year ago. EFE