CD Tenerife (Spain)

Club Deportivo Tenerife, formed in 1922, is based in the island’s capital, Santa Cruz. In their early years, the club played their football in the Primera Interinsular, the top division of local competition. Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López was opened in 1925 in the centre of Santa Cruz.

Tenerife won four consecutive league titles between 1931-32 and 1934-35, before being crowned champions again in 1940-41. Further titles were accrued in 1945-46, 1949-50, 1951-52, and 1952-53, at which point Tenerife progressed to the Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish football.

The 1960-61 season saw Tete win Grupo Sud and reach the last eight of the domestic cup, with Ñito starring in goal. The run in the Copa del Generalísimo, as the Copa Del Rey was formerly known, was ended by Atlético Madrid. The team was promoted but spent just one season in La Liga before going back down.

Consolation came via another quarter-final appearance in the cup, which ended in defeat to Sevilla CF. A ninth-place league finish in 1967-68 saw ‘Chicharreros’ drop to Grupo VIII of the Tercera División. The title was won in 1970-71, with Tenerife returning to Segunda División.

They remained at that level until the end of the 1977-78 season, when they went down a level to Grupo II of Segunda División B. The goals of Agustín Lasaosa and the goalkeeping of Peio Aguirreoa clinched a runners-up spot in Grupo I in 1982-83 to seal promotion. The 1985-86 campaign ended in relegation.

The Segunda División B title was secured the following season with Julio Suárez and Víctor Brito sharing the goals. The 1988-89 Segunda División saw Tenerife head back to La Liga thanks to a playoff victory against Real Betis. Deportivo La Coruña were beaten in the relegation playoff the retain top-tier status the following year.

Juan Antonio Pizzi scored the goals in 1992-93 as Tenerife became accustomed to life in the top tier for the side managed by Jorge Valdano. In both that and the following season, the team miraculously beat Real Madrid on the last day of the season to secure their safety and deny them the title, which went to their deadly rivals Barca.

1993-94 saw the team reach the last sixteen of the UEFA Cup, while Jupp Heynckes arrived as manager in 1995, taking his team to fifth place in his first season in charge. The following campaign saw Tenerife go all the way to the UEFA Cup semi-final, where they were defeated by Schalke 04.

The team was relegated to Segunda División in 1998-99 before they returned to the topflight for the 2001-02 season, before returning to the lower level a year later. The goals of Nino and Alejandro Alfaro helped Tete to promotion in 2008-09. However, the side led by José Luis Oltra again only lasted one season in La Liga.

Gonzalo Arconada, Juan Carlos Mandiá, Antonio Tapia, and David Amaral all had spells in charge of the team in the disastrous 2010-11 season, which ended in relegation to Segunda División B. The playoffs from Grupo I were reached twelve months later, where hopes of promotion were dashed by SD Ponferradina.

The title was won in 2012-13, followed by a playoff win against L'Hospitalet to send Tenerife, managed by Álvaro Cervera, back to the second tier. Raül Agné replaced Cervera in February 2015, who in turn was succeeded by José Luis Martí the following November for the team in which Nano led the scoring.

The playoffs were reached in 2016-17, as Dani Hernández had a fine season in goal, before Getafe CF prevailed in the final. Joseba Etxeberria was appointed as manager in February 2018, before he was replaced by José Luis Oltra soon into the following season, as Tenerife put in another safe finish. 

Aritz López Garai was given the manager’s job in June 2019, lasting less than half a season before being succeeded by Rubén Baraja, who in turn gave way to Fran Fernández in July 2020. Tenerife, led by Luis Miguel Ramis, reached the playoffs in 2021-22, where Girona won the final.

The goals of Enric Gallego cheered the fans the following season, before Asier Garitano arrived as manager in May 2023, with Óscar Cano replacing him a year later, as Tenerife appointed Pepe Mel within a few months. The switch didn’t work with Álvaro Cervera returning to the helm. 

The team was relegated a few months later to Grupo I of the Primera Federación RFEF.

CD Tenerife will play in Primera Federación RFEF Grupo I in the 2025-26 season.

My visit

Thursday 1st December 1994

I was in Tenerife on holiday for a week, sorted out through my mate Steve Walker and his pals Julie and Heath and some employees at the Pizza Hut in Scarborough. We had hired an open-top jeep to get us around sightseeing during our stay, which seven of us somehow squeezed into.

We decided to go for a full day out and began by driving up to the capital, Santa Cruz. I saw the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López as we drove by a side street. We stopped for a while in the centre, but found we had hit siesta time, with most places closed. This was a bit of a blow as the city seemed very nice. 

However, we went on a drive to Puerto de la Cruz and then back home over the hills. When Julie, Heath and Steve suggested going back to the capital the following Thursday, I was well up for it. I saw my chance to grab a look inside the stadium. We found it, but it was all locked up. A gent was coming out of the offices, no doubt for his siesta. 

I enquired if I could have a look inside. He wasn’t massively helpful. Eventually, he gave in a little and said I could go inside at 4pm. It was only lunchtime, so it didn’t look good for me.

My travel mates felt sorry for me and agreed to hang around. They did some shopping while I went into an extremely cheap local bar and refreshed myself. 

We set out once again to Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López. I think the bloke was shocked to see us come back, although to be fair, he grudgingly allowed us inside the Main Stand.

This was a towering two-tiered structure. Seated stands were going behind both goals on two tiers, before it gave way to a single-tiered area opposite. 

The ground was totally fitted out with seats and looked excellent. I had loaded the film into my camera incorrectly some days earlier. Oh, for digital cameras back then! I have used the web to source the images in this post. The stadium has been completed as the seating tiers now go all around.

Owing to my incompetence at loading my old camera, the photos for this section were taken from the internet.