The Àgora Vallejo of the Football Federation of the Valencian Community hosted a new edition of Portal de Vallejo this Thursday, October 15, a series of events through which Levante UD revives the memory of its historic stadium during the centenary year of its inauguration.

Salvador Mut, Nicolás Clavel, and Ernesto Lapiedra shared their experiences on the granota field in a session led by Emilio Nadal, head of the Historical Heritage area of Levante UD. Three footballers who played on that pitch and, through their memories, brought back a part of the sentimental history of Levante UD to the present.

The president of the FFCV, Salvador Gomar, warmly welcomed the protagonists and the attending audience in a setting full of symbolism, built in the same area that the old Vallejo once occupied.

Portal de Vallejo, the memory of the granota field

This new session of the series is part of the Year of Vallejo, the program of activities with which Levante UD commemorates the centenary of the stadium's inauguration in November 1925. The January edition of Portal de Vallejo reviewed the history of the field from its origins to its farewell.

This time, the approach was different. Emilio Nadal proposed reviving Vallejo through the memories of those who experienced it, prioritizing personal experiences over documentary reconstruction. It was not so much about knowing the geography of the stadium as it was about feeling it; about approaching its atmosphere, its sounds, its emotions, and the sensations that remained in the memories of its protagonists.

The conversation brought together three footballers whose careers were linked to Vallejo from different perspectives. Salvador Mut joined Levante in the summer of 1967. He was part of both the farewell to the old stadium and the inauguration of the Ciutat de València. Nicolás Clavel joined the club from Acero at just 19 years old and spent five seasons with Levante. He experienced the transition from Vallejo to the Ciutat. Ernesto Lapiedra, on the other hand, progressed from the youth teams to the granota reserves, developing his football skills in the environment of Vallejo.

Three different experiences that allowed the reconstruction, from personal memory, of the daily life of that field. Their first memories, locker room anecdotes, the closeness of the fans, and the intensity of the matches gradually built a shared image of Vallejo, far beyond its dimensions or physical layout.

Vallejo, in the first person

Salvador Gomar opened the event with a few welcoming words in which he emphasized the importance of recovering the origins of Valencian football. The president of the FFCV highlighted the value of bringing football back to its roots and assured Levante fans that the Àgora Vallejo will always have its doors open for them.

Next, Emilio Nadal explained the purpose of the session: to approach Vallejo through the memories of its protagonists. Documentation allows for the investigation of the field's history, locating its spaces, and reconstructing its transformations. However, the experience of those who played there adds another dimension: it allows one to get closer to what it felt like to enter it, play a match, or hear the crowd. “It’s not about knowing the boundaries and contours of Vallejo. It’s about living the emotions that Vallejo evoked,” he remarked. 

Salvador Mut: “I had a crash with the car”

Salvador Mut's first memory brought a smile to the audience. The goalkeeper recounted how, when he arrived from Sevilla, he drove to Vallejo in his car and had an incident while entering through the palm tree gate.

An everyday anecdote that served to open the door to personal memories and bring back to the present some of the details associated with the life of the old stadium.

Mut also represented a unique link between the two eras of Levante: he defended the granota goal in Vallejo's final days and later participated in the debut of the Ciutat de València.

Ernesto Lapiedra: “The first image I had of Vallejo was of pain”

For Ernesto Lapiedra, the first contact with Vallejo came through youth football and was marked by effort. He recalled his first training session as a youth goalkeeper, at 17 years old, on a rocky field located behind the goal at the south end. The physical toll of that day was such that he spent several days unable to leave home normally.

Lapiedra also evoked the figure of Salvador Mut, whom he thanked for teaching him specific exercises for goalkeepers at a time when such specialization was barely developed.

His testimony allowed a glimpse into another dimension of Vallejo: that of the young footballers who grew athletically in its facilities and found their path to the first team there.

Nicolás Clavel: “Vallejo was a jewel box”

If there was one image that was repeated during the conversation, it was that of Vallejo as a true jewel box. Nicolás Clavel repeatedly used this expression to describe a stadium where the stands were very close to the pitch, and the crowd experienced the game almost on top of the players.

“The fans behind the goals could even touch the net of the goal. You could hear everything: the voices, the protests, the cheers, and every reaction from a crowd that turned the field into a scene of immense intensity.”

Vallejo commanded respect from opponents. The proximity of the crowd and the atmospheric pressure could intimidate visiting teams, while the granota fans were capable of pushing their team and helping to change the course of matches. The protagonists recalled how the support from the stands could lift the team and turn around seemingly difficult scores.

Clavel also recalled the arrival of fans from towns like Moncada, Bétera, or Poblados Marítimos via the "trenet" to attend the matches. His account painted a picture of a stadium closely connected to the city and its surroundings, where football and daily life came together on every matchday.

Among the football anecdotes, the well-known “Clavel's lame goal” also came up, during a match against Ceuta. The defender got injured, and since substitutions were not allowed at the time, he had to remain on the pitch. They placed him at the front of the attack, and almost against all odds, he ended up finding a ball inside the area that resulted in a goal. One of those stories that humorously and spontaneously explain another way of understanding football.

The conversation also allowed a look at the stands from a social perspective. The protagonists recalled a predominantly male atmosphere, with little presence of women and young audiences. A reality that contrasts with the current image of Levante and the increasing presence of families, children, and women at the Ciutat de València. Lapiedra expressly celebrated this evolution, convinced that it holds an important part of the club's future.

The memory of the move to the new stadium was also present. Clavel, who experienced the end of one era and the beginning of another, described himself as a rookie of the new field and a veteran of the old one. Lapiedra, for his part, acknowledged that the change sparked protests among those who felt Vallejo was an indispensable part of their history.

An afternoon to feel Vallejo again

The Portal de Vallejo session left a shared evocation of a close, intense field deeply tied to the granota identity. Beyond its dimensions, its access points, or the arrangement of its stands, the testimonies brought back something that can hardly be reconstructed solely through documents and photographs: the atmosphere of Vallejo and the emotion of those who lived it.

Mut, Clavel, and Lapiedra brought back to the present their first memories, anecdotes, the crowd's pressure, and the strength of a fanbase capable of pushing their team. An afternoon to listen to those who stepped on that pitch and to realize that Vallejo remains alive in the memory of Levante fans.