The return of competition to the Ciutat de València brings a new exhibition proposal to the VIP box. On the occasion of the match between Levante UD and Sevilla FC this Monday, the Historical Heritage area will showcase two pieces and two stories linked, in one way or another, to the Sevillian entity.

The exhibition will allow visitors to travel through different moments in Levante's history via Juan Navarro, a footballer from the second half of the 1940s and later a Sevilla player, and a Tormo painting that recreates, through pen drawings, a match between Levante FC and Sevilla FC played during the 1934-35 season.

Juan Navarro, a granota between two clubs

The figure of Juan Navarro takes us back to the second half of the 1940s, a particularly significant period in the consolidation of Levante UD. The azulgrana entity, still young after the merger of Levante FC and Gimnástico FC, was solidifying its presence in national football during those years and establishing itself as a regular in the Silver category.

Navarro was one of the protagonists of that Levante. Chronicles of the time describe him as a tenacious, dedicated, and spirited defender, qualities that made him a regular in Levante's lineups. He participated in a historic Copa del Generalísimo tie against Athletic Club.

He shared the locker room with coaches such as Villagra, Bonet, Juan Puig, and Balaguer. All of them trusted his abilities. He played in over a hundred matches wearing the azulgrana jersey, a particularly significant number considering that the football calendar of those decades was far from the volume of matches teams face today.

From Vallejo to Nervión

At the beginning of the 1950s, Navarro embarked on a new professional stage in Seville. The granota defender went on to represent the Sevilla crest, joining a team competing in the First Division.

His relationship with Sevilla lasted four seasons before he later returned to Valencia to rejoin Levante and face his final years as a professional footballer.

However, Navarro's connection with Levante did not end with the conclusion of his professional playing career. His second link to the club came from the bench, as he served as the granota team's coach during the 1970s.

The documentation preserved by the Historical Heritage Area of Levante UD allows us to recover one of the chapters of this relationship between Levante and Sevilla. Among the documentary legacies safeguarded by the Club are several documents with Sevilla letterheads, which take us back to the mid-1950s, coinciding with the end of Navarro's time as a Sevilla player and his return to the Levante entity.

A match drawn in pen

The second piece of the exhibition recreates the era of Levante FC. We return to the 1930s. Its protagonist is a Tormo painting, a work of special historical interest preserved by Rafael Solaz, which keeps alive the memory of one of those matches between Levante FC and Sevilla FC. This piece will be presented to the club before the duel between Sevilla and Levante next Monday.

The piece contains a recreation through pen drawings of the match played between both teams in the Superregional Championship of the 1934-35 season. A graphic look at a match held during a time when Levante FC was shaping its historical identity. In fact, it won the Superregional Championship of the 1934-1935 season.

The painting is a unique testimony not only because of its connection to that match but also because of the way in which 1930s football was captured on paper. The drawing provides a glimpse into the aesthetics, protagonists, and memory of a competition that is part of Valencian football history.

Two pieces, one story

Juan Navarro and the Tormo painting belong to very different moments in Levante's trajectory. However, both find a point of connection in Sevilla FC, Monday's rival at the Ciutat de València. A coincidence that allows us to recover two episodes separated by more than a decade. Two ways of approaching the Club's history and two testimonies that help us understand how Levante's memory was built.