The events that gave rise to the club’s light-hearted nickname the ‘Submarino Amarillo’ (‘Yellow Submarine’) occurred in the 1980s, a decade in which, time and again, Cádiz sank from Primera to Segunda División only to bounce straight back and resurface in the top flight.
It’s a moniker that the faithful fans claim for their beloved Cádiz as if it were a noble title - one that fits the bill so well because of its roots in the club’s footballing past. Indeed, the supporters lay claim to the name with a strength of feeling that is a result of its appropriation, perhaps encouraged by certain sectors of the media, by other clubs who may be able to point to the fact that they wear yellow, but who have no great justification for referring to themselves as a ‘submarine’.
The legend of the ‘Submarino Amarillo’ was forged in the first half of the 80s, a period of constant promotions and relegations between the top two tiers in Spanish league football. Though unable to put together a side capable of staying in Primera, Cádiz again and again proved too strong for Segunda.
Steered by president Manuel de Irigoyen and with Yugoslav head coach Dragoljub Milosevic skippering the engine room, in the 1980/81 season Cádiz successfully navigated their way out of Segunda, sealing promotion against initial expectations in the city of Elche, their final port of call.
The following campaign, despite earning the new nickname ‘El Matagigantes’ (‘The Giant-Killers’) after seeing off some of Primera’s flagship clubs on the home shores of the Estadio Ramón Carranza, Cádiz were relegated back to Segunda on goal difference.
The year after, 1982/83, with Milosevic continuing to chart Cádiz’s course forward, the club welcomed aboard a man who would go on to become a legendary Cadista - Jorge ‘Mágico’ González - and once again the team gained promotion. And, as by now was becoming customary, they did so against Elche on the season’s final voyage.
However, Cádiz’s joy was short-lived, as they encountered choppy waters in 1983/84 and were relegated straight back to Segunda. Halfway through the season and with the ship foundering, Milosevic was replaced by Benito Joanet, who was unable to guide the ‘Submarino Amarillo’ to safety.
But that huge disappointment was followed by renewed elation, as a magnificent 1984/85 campaign saw Joanet pilot his crew to a second-placed finish and a return to the major ports of Spanish football.
For eight years, the ‘Submarino Amarillo’ then stayed afloat in Primera División, writing a memorable chapter in the club’s history amid repeated end-of-season heroics that saw them emerge from the depths of the league table just when they seemed sunk, even negotiating play-offs and ‘round-robins of death’ to maintain their top-flight status.
There are further reasons for the nickname ‘Submarino Amarillo’. It is taken, of course, from the famous hit song released by the music group The Beatles in the 1960s - and in Cádiz, one of the major attractions of the city’s annual carnival used to be Enrique Villegas’ Los Beatles de Cai, a band inspired by the 'Fab Four' that gained large local popularity after its 1965 debut at the event.
It should also be noted that the first submarine in history, created by Isaac Peral, was built and tested in the Bay of Cádiz, because the water at the city’s port is deeper than at other locations, allowing submarines to dock there.
HISTORICAL NOTES_ by Juan Sevilla, Cádiz CF club historian
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