Cartagena (Spain)

Now here is the tale of two teams from the middle- sized city of Cartagena in Spain and their curious, convoluted histories. One, the second division stalwarts FC Cartagena, the other, their slightly digruntled regional third division cousins Cartagena FC, both of who play in the famous black and white stripes. Now pay attention, because this might get complicated.

Despite their lowly status, Cartagena FC are by far the more historic team, having formed in 1940. Shy of a short spell in the 1980s when they achieved the dizzy heights of the Segunda División, they've spent most of their days in the third level or lower - even dipping down as far as the uber-regional Preferente for a few years in the early 21st Century. But for 45 glorious years, they were the only major footballing outfit in town, until in 1995, the upstart Cartagonova Fútbol Club were formed, who soon changed their name to FC Cartagena.

If this wasn't enough of an imposition, FC Cartagena soon subsumed Cartagena FC to become their reserve team for a number of years, but they finally regained their independence in the 2009-2010 season and are now working their way back up the league system.

FCC play at the classic Spanish bowl-like Estadio Cartagonova, which can cram in just upwards of 15,000 punters, while CFC have kick the ball about in the much cosier out of town ground the Estadio Gómez Meseguer, which holds a respectable 2000. But if both teams continue their current trajectories, they could find themselves being the subject of a very unique local derby in one of the next few seasons.


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