Mestalla to stage 1,500th top-flight game as Valencia near 2027 farewell | OneFootball

The legendary Mestalla is counting down its final afternoons. According to AS, in 2027, a year from now, Valencia will be preparing to leave their home, the oldest ground in the top flight and the venue for more top-flight games than any other.

Before the Nuevo Mestalla opens, the old place still has stories to tell. Tomorrow it will host its 1,500th Primera match, with Atlético visiting, one of the ground’s most regular opponents alongside Madrid, Barça and Athletic.

Mestalla’s first top-flight fixture came on 29 November 1931 against Real Unión. Valencia won 5-1 and Juan Costa hit a hat-trick. Nearly 95 years on, that opening chapter has grown into 1,499 memories.

The ritual of going every fortnight has passed through generations. The Valencia crowd has long given the stadium its heat and some of Spain’s strongest attendances.

Its great deeds define it. In the 40s Valencia won the league with Mundo Suárez the national top scorer, part of the ‘delantera eléctrica’ with Epi, Amadeo, Asensi and Gorostiza. The 70s brought Forment’s decisive strike against Celta to seal the 1971 title, the 80s Tendillo’s goal against Madrid that kept the team up, then the goals of Fernando, Baraja and many others already in colour.

Source: AS