# 2008–09 Sporting de Gijón season

The 2008–09 Sporting de Gijón season was the first season that the club played in La Liga, the highest tier of football in Spain, eleven years after its last time.
In the previous season, the club promoted as third qualified of Segunda División.

## Overview

Sporting established a new record in La Liga of consecutive games without draws. It earned its first draw in the matchday 34 against Athletic Bilbao, but it lost a possible win in the 92nd minute.
The club avoided relegation after winning its last three season games against Málaga, at Real Valladolid and Recreativo de Huelva, all of them by 2–1 scorelines.
In the Copa del Rey, Sporting was eliminated in quarter-finals by Athletic Bilbao. The club had not reached this round since 1995.

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ESP | Sergio Sánchez |
| 3 | DF | ESP | Neru |
| 4 | DF | ESP | Andreu |
| 5 | DF | ESP | Jorge |
| 6 | MF | ESP | Carmelo |
| 7 | MF | ESP | Pedro |
| 8 | MF | ESP | Míchel |
| 9 | FW | CRO | Mate Bilić |
| 10 | FW | ESP | Tati Maldonado |
| 11 | FW | ESP | Omar |
| 12 | DF | NED | Jürgen Colin |
| 13 | GK | ESP | Iván Cuéllar |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | DF | ESP | Iván Hernández |
| 15 | DF | ESP | Roberto Canella (vice-captain) |
| 16 | DF | ESP | Gerard |
| 17 | FW | ESP | Diego Castro |
| 18 | FW | ESP | Luis Morán |
| 19 | MF | ESP | Diego Camacho |
| 20 | DF | ESP | Raúl Cámara |
| 21 | FW | ESP | Kike Mateo |
| 22 | DF | ESP | Rafel Sastre (captain) |
| 23 | FW | ESP | David Barral |
| 24 | MF | ESP | Sergio Matabuena |
| 25 | GK | ESP | Iñaki Lafuente |

### From the youth squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 27 | MF | ESP | Alberto Lora |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 31 | DF | ESP | José Ángel |

## Competitions
### La Liga
#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | L | L | L | L | W | W | W | W | L | W | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | W | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | D | L | W | W | W |
| Position | 14 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 14 |

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 12 | Racing Santander | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 49 | 48 | +1 | 46 | |
| 13 | Athletic Bilbao | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 47 | 62 | −15 | 44 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 14 | Sporting Gijón | 38 | 14 | 1 | 23 | 47 | 79 | −32 | 43 | |
| 15 | Osasuna | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 41 | 47 | −6 | 43 | |
| 16 | Valladolid | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 46 | 58 | −12 | 43 | |
* ↑ ALM 1–1 RAC; RAC 0–2 ALM
* ↑ Since Barcelona, winners of the 2008–09 Copa del Rey, already qualified for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League, losing cup finalists Athletic Bilbao earned a spot in the third qualifying round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.
* 1 2 3 SPG: 12 pts; OSA: 2 pts → OSA 3–3 VLD; VLD: 2 pts → VLD 0–0 OSA

#### Matches
### Copa del Rey
#### Matches
## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | La Liga | La Liga | Copa del Rey | Copa del Rey |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ESP | Sergio Sánchez | 14 | 0 | 8+0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ESP | Neru | 22 | 0 | 18+1 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ESP | Andreu | 7 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ESP | Jorge | 16 | 1 | 10+2 | 0 | 3+1 | 1 |
| 6 | MF | ESP | Carmelo | 32 | 8 | 25+3 | 6 | 2+2 | 2 |
| 7 | MF | ESP | Pedro | 21 | 0 | 12+5 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ESP | Míchel | 36 | 0 | 24+6 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | CRO | Mate Bilić | 41 | 12 | 22+15 | 12 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ESP | Tati Maldonado | 21 | 2 | 9+10 | 2 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | ESP | Omar Sampedro | 10 | 1 | 0+4 | 0 | 5+1 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | NED | Jürgen Colin | 4 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ESP | Iván Cuéllar | 18 | 0 | 18+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | ESP | Iván Hernández | 27 | 0 | 21+1 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ESP | Roberto Canella | 24 | 1 | 24+0 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | ESP | Gerard Autet | 27 | 1 | 25+1 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | ESP | Diego Castro | 34 | 6 | 31+1 | 6 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | ESP | Luis Morán | 31 | 4 | 19+9 | 4 | 1+2 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ESP | Diego Camacho | 36 | 1 | 27+4 | 1 | 3+2 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | ESP | Raúl Cámara | 21 | 0 | 13+4 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ESP | Kike Mateo | 26 | 2 | 10+14 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | ESP | Rafel Sastre | 33 | 0 | 30+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | ESP | David Barral | 41 | 14 | 19+16 | 10 | 3+3 | 4 |
| 24 | MF | ESP | Sergio Matabuena | 30 | 0 | 22+5 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | ESP | Iñaki Lafuente | 13 | 0 | 12+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | ESP | Alberto Lora | 10 | 0 | 4+4 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | ESP | José Ángel | 17 | 1 | 10+3 | 1 | 4+0 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Sporting no longer at the club: ||||||||||
| 10 | MF | ESP | Pablo de Lucas | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |