Reserve team

Reserve team is the term applied to the second team fielded by a sports club. This article is about the reserve teams of football clubs.

History

Reserve teams usually consist of a combination of emerging youth players and first team squad players. These teams are distinct from a club’s youth team, which usually consists of players under a certain age and plays in an age-specific league. In England and the United States the term reserve is commonly used to describe these teams. In Germany and Austria the terms Amateure or II is used, while B team is used in both the Spanish football league system and Czechoslovakia. In the Netherlands these teams are distinguished by a 2. In England reserve teams play in completely separate leagues and competitions such as the FA Premier Reserve League or the Central League.

However, in other countries, reserve teams play in the same football pyramid as their senior team and have competed in the national cup competitions. In Spain this has seen the reserve teams of FC Barcelona and CD Málaga change identity and play in La Liga while Castilla CF, the reserve team of Real Madrid, reached the Copa del Rey final, qualified for the European Cup Winners Cup and won the Segunda División.

In Germany, Hertha BSC Amateure, the reserve team of Hertha Berlin, reached the 1992-93 German Cup final after their first team were eliminated in the quarter finals. They lost the final 1-0 to Bayer Leverkusen. In the German football league system, however, reserve teams are not allowed to get promoted above the level of third division and from 2008-09 will not be allowed to play in the cup competition to serve the non-reserve team's interests. In the 2003-04 season, Bayern Munich's reserve team won the Regionalliga Süd, a semi-professional league in the third tier of German football, finishing nine points clear of the second-placed Rot-Weiss Erfurt. Due to the rule which prohibits one club to have two teams in fully professional leagues, the third-placed Saarbrücken was promoted to the Second Bundesliga instead.

Reserve Teams in Spain

Segunda División

In 1951/52 CD Mestalla, the reserve team of Valencia CF, won the Segunda División promotion play-off but where denied promotion because their senior team where already in the Primera División. The following season CD España Industrial, the reserve team of FC Barcelona, also finished as runners-up in the same play-off but were similarly denied. However after winning another promotion play-off in 1956 CD España Industrial, separated from FC Barcelona and were renamed CD Condal. The club were now able to be promoted to the Primera División. However they survived only one season and were relegated in 1957. In 1968 the club rejoined the FC Barcelona family as the reserve team and eventually evolved into FC Barcelona B.

In 1983/84 Castilla CF and Bilbao Athletic, the reserve teams of Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, finished as winners and runners-up of the Segunda División. Castilla CF, Bilbao Athletic and Atlético Madrid B finished third in 1987/88, 1989/90 and 1998/99 respectively. In normal circumstances these teams would have all been promoted except for the fact that their senior team was already in the Primera División.

Castilla CF in Copa del Rey

In 1980 Castilla CF also reached the Copa del Rey final and qualified for the European Cup Winners Cup. During their cup run they beat four Primera División teams including Hércules CF, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Sporting de Gijón. The latter two eventually finished second and third in the Primera División. In the final they played Real Madrid but lost 6-1. However because Real also won La Liga, Castilla CF qualified for European Cup Winners Cup. Despite beating West Ham United 3-1 in the opening game at the Bernabéu, they lost the return 5-1 and went out in the first round.

Málaga CF

Another interesting case is that of Málaga CF. The club was originally formed in 1948 as Atlético Malagueño, the reserve team of CD Málaga. In 1992 the latter club was disbanded and two years later Atlético Malagueño were relaunched as Málaga CF. They were eventually promoted to the Primera División in 1999. In 2006 they were relegated to the Segunda División which led to Málaga CF B being relegated to the Segunda División B.

Reserve teams in Japan

From the days of the old Japan Soccer League, Japan allowed reserve teams to play in the main league system. Even today reserve teams of J. League clubs are allowed to compete in the Emperor's Cup.

Japan Soccer League Reserve Teams

These teams were never promoted to the top flight due to their senior squad's presence there.

Toyo Industries/Mazda: Mazda Auto Hiroshima
Furukawa Electric: Furukawa Electric Chiba
Yomiuri Soccer Club: Yomiuri S.C. Juniors
Yanmar Diesel: Yanmar Club

J. League Reserve Teams Today

Most J. League reserve teams these days are in the corresponding regional league. The most successful is JEF United Ichihara Chiba Reserves, who compete in the national third division, the Japan Football League. (Furukawa Electric Chiba still exists but is no longer affiliated with the JEF club.)