From the outset, let’s say that the now defunct 3rd Division premiered its status as a fourth tier under a representation similar to that of the new 2nd RFEF. During those late 1970s, Asturians traveled through Galicia, Cantabria and Castilla y León, an area that, with the arrival of the 1980s, was limited to Asturcanian lands.. As of the 1986-1987 fiscal year, inclusive, the category definitively left its inter-regional status and no Asturian team would play regular league matches beyond the Pajares or the Eo and Deva rivers.
Things started on the first weekend of September 1977, specifically on Saturday 4th, with a draw (1-1) between CD Gijón (Claudio, Jiménez…) and Gimnástica Torrelavega. David López, the man from Turon who would go up to Sporting’s first team a year later, was the first Asturian scorer in the new 3rd Division, which also included Real Avilés (Viti, Gilabert, Luis Gabriel …), Gijón Industrial (Canteli, Pepín). …), Turón (De la Lama, Veli Espinedo…) and Siero (Casielles, Félix Malcorne…). There were 5, the same number of teams that will participate in the upcoming 2nd RFEF.
In all this time, 66 were the militant Asturian groups in the category, representing 33 municipalities, with Oviedo (10 teams) in the lead, ahead of Avilés (6), Siero (6) and San Martín del Rey Aurelio ( 6). The Sanmartiniego case is explained by the ups and downs of Sotrondio’s honorific, from the historic Sports Club to the current Initiation School, passing through the Sports Union, which for three seasons bore the brief name of Rey Aurelio. In this section it is striking that Gijón, the most populated municipality in Asturias, was only represented by five teams (Sporting B, Gijón Industrial, Atlético La Camocha, Ceares and Roces).
Regarding presence in the category, Siero is the outstanding leader, with 37 seasons (536 victories, 1,854 goals), although Caudal surpasses it both in games won (630) and in goals (1,923). Even Langreo, with a dozen fewer campaigns, had more wins (541). In fact, if the Hermanos Antuña team is the undisputed boss by number of titles (11), the Ganzábal team is because of its enormous regularity, since in its 25 seasons it never ranked below 5th place, which also makes it paradoxical that he has only won three times. In this sense, if it were not for the fact that it was for more than two decades under the yoke of a property of horror, it would be inexplicable that a club like Real Avilés Industrial would never obtain the title.
Above the tradition of some classics (Gijón Industrial, Mosconia, Turón, Tuilla, Titánico …), other formations that stood out statistically were Lealtad and Marino Luanco, who close to 50% of victories. What is striking about the Villaviciosa team is that it arrived late to the category (1990-1991) and, only a year later, it was already raising the champion’s cup, something that it achieved half a dozen times.
Santos and Nuevo, the first scorers of the Third
In the individual section, the memory is overwhelmed by the names. In goal avoidance, who does not remember Angel Mateos (Turón, Caudal, Santiago de Aller), Josito Viña (Real Avilés, Marino Luanco), Juan Carlos Perez (Sporting Atlético, Caudal, Real Avilés Industrial), Toño Balán (Europe, Real Oviedo Aficionado, Mosconia, Praviano, Loyalty), Ricardo Rodriguez (Turón, Astur, Titánico, Siero …) or the one still active Jesus Lastra, who served 21 seasons in the category, all of this century, defending eight shields (Ribadesella, San Martín UD, Mosconia, Lealtad, Real Avilés Industrial, Gijón Industrial, Condal and Llanes).
As for the scorers, the pattern began to be set by two battering rams from the late Real Avilés, Emilio “Santos” and Miguel Ángel Nuevo, who were the main gunners of the first two seasons of the category. A condition in which they were succeeded by José Pulgar and Manolo Malcorne, each with two pichichis at the service of San Martín and Siero, respectively.
The last two decades of the 20th century were defined by two great strikers. In the 80s, Juan Carlos González from Aviles got tired of thrashing for Langreo, with the merit that one of his 5 pichichis (current record) achieved it with the Hispano shirt, in this case ex aequo with Pipi Rodríguez, also an attacker. of the castrillonense set.
In the 90s, Miguel Vigón headed the table of directors four times, three in favor of Lealtad and once, that of 1995-1996, with Caudal, sharing a trophy with Rubén Uría, from Siero. Already in this century, the awards were more distributed. The only one who reached 3 points was Armando Quesada, all for the good of Loyalty, and only two more players managed to repeat, the Oviedo Diego Cervero (his 35 goals in 2008-2009 is the best mark of the period) and Chus Jiménez (Covadonga , Langreo).
A From now on, the fourth level of national football will show a certain similarity to that of its origins, when 120 teams were divided into 6 groups, for the 90 who will compete in 5 from next September. From its origin, it stretched until it became the amalgam of 18 groups that we have known in recent years and only time will tell if the new version (2nd RFEF) follows or not a similar path.
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