Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional
football club in
Pamplona
Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region.
Lying at near above ...
,
Navarre
Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity
El Sadar Stadium. The team's regular home kit is a red shirt with navy blue shorts. Osasuna is one of four professional Spanish clubs to be owned by its members with an elected president.
Osasuna is the sole Navarrese club to have played in La Liga. Although the club has never won a national trophy it reached the Copa del Rey final in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...
. The club’s best league finishes were fourth in
1990–91 and
2005–06.
"Los Rojillos" is the club nickname, meaning "The Little Reds". The word "''osasuna''" means "health" in
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous c ...
, used in a sense of "strength" or "vigour", which makes Osasuna the only team in La Liga with a Basque name. For different reasons, rivalries exist between Osasuna and
Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...
,
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
,
and
some Basque clubs, particularly
Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country of Spain. They are known as ''Los Le ...
.
[A Orbaiz e Iraizoz sí les gusta el Reyno]
rbaiz and Iraizoz do like Reyno Diario de Navarra (in Spanish), 9 April 2009
Osasuna has a
cantera
Cantera, literally meaning "quarry" in Spanish, is a term used in Spain to refer to youth academies and farm teams organized by sports clubs. It is also used to refer to the geographical area that clubs recruit players from. The term is widely ...
which has produced several successful players similar to other clubs in the greater Basque region.
History
The club was founded on 24 October 1920 and its name, Osasuna, meaning ''health'' in
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous c ...
, was chosen by Benjamín Andoian Martínez. When Spanish football became professional in 1928, Osasuna was placed in the third division, gaining promotion to the
Segunda División after the
1931–32 season by winning the playoff against
Nacional de Madrid. They made it to
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
three seasons later. That same season, they reached the semi-finals of the
Copa del Rey
The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...
and lost to
Sevilla
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...
. The
next season , Osasuna reached the semi-finals again, this time losing to
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
over two legs, despite grabbing a victory in the first leg.
The club was hit hard by the
rearguard repression implemented by the Nationalist rebels in the
1936 coup-de-état against the Spanish Second Republic. At least ten players, employees and directive board members were murdered, imprisoned or otherwise persecuted.
The surviving members were forcibly recruited for the front, with some of them showing enthusiasm for the putsch. The strong support of Navarre for the Nationalist rebels led to Osasuna being offered a place in the
1939–40 La Liga when official competitions resumed, although they had finished last in
1935–36 and should have been relegated; ultimately a play-off was arranged with the other demoted team
Atlético Aviación – associated with the
Spanish Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 10 December
, equipment ...
and thus favoured by the military regime. The
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...
team won the tie and, with support from their powerful backers, went on to claim the league title and retain it. It would not be until
1953–54 that Osasuna again participated in the top division, and
1956–57 when they managed to keep their place among the elite, remaining there for three further years.
In September 1967, Osasuna's
El Sadar Stadium was opened with a match between Osasuna and
Vitoria de Setubal
Vitoria or Vitória may refer to :
People
* Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian
* Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer
* Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer
* Steven Vitória (b ...
, with the hosts winning 3–0. The club achieved its first ever
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...
qualification in
1985–86 after
finishing sixth in the league; their campaign began in the first round, eliminating Scottish club
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
before being knocked out by Belgian club
Waregem
Waregem (; vls, Woaregem), sometimes known as Waereghem, is a municipality and city located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality lies in the valley of the river Leie, between Kortrijk and Ghent. It is part of the arrondiss ...
3–2 on aggregate. In the
1990–91 season, Osasuna finished fourth in the league, their best ever league finish until then. This gave them qualification for the
following season's UEFA Cup, where the club reached the third round by eliminating
Slavia Sofia and
Stuttgart. Finishing last in
1993–94, the side spent six years in the second level, before finally being promoted in
1999–2000 after placing 2nd in the league table.
In the
2002–03 Copa del Rey
The 2002–03 Copa del Rey was the 101st staging of the Copa del Rey.
The competition started on 28 August 2002 and concluded on 28 June 2003 with the final, held at the Martinez Valero in Elche, in which Mallorca
Mallorca, or Majorca, is th ...
, Osasuna reached the semi-finals for the first time since 1988. The team entered the competition in the Round of 64, where they beat
Lemona
Lemoa ( es, Lemona) is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain.
Sports in Lemoa
* SD Lemona (Football) in ''Segunda División B
Segunda División B ( en, Second ...
. In the following rounds, they beat
Eibar
Eibar ( eu, Eibar, es, Éibar) is a city and municipality within the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country of Spain. It is the head town of Debabarrena, one of the '' eskualde / comarca'' of Gipuzkoa.
Eibar has 27,138 inhabitants (Eustat ...
,
Real Unión
Real Unión Club, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Irun, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the province of Gipuzkoa, near the border with France. Founded on 15 May 1915 it currently plays in Primera División RFEF ...
and Sevilla, until the semi-finals where they were knocked out after losing to
Recreativo de Huelva
Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football club based in Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 23 December 1889, 2 days before Christmas, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play i ...
4–2 on aggregate.
In
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...
, they reached the Copa del Rey final for the first time, losing to
Real Betis
Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vi ...
after
extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...
.
They had a tough campaign in
that season's Copa Del Rey, almost being eliminated in the round of 64 but narrowly beating
Segunda División B
Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Fo ...
side
Castellón on penalties after a goalless draw. They went on to beat
Girona
Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...
1–0 in extra time, then Getafe, Sevilla and
Atletico Madrid each by just one goal difference on aggregate to get to the final.
On 27 November 2005, Osasuna played their 1,000th game in La Liga. After a stellar
2005–06 domestic campaign, they made history by finishing in fourth place – equalling the best-ever finish – to enter the
qualifying
Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to:
* Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...
phase for the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
in the following season. This achievement was made more dramatic by the suspense that was maintained until the last day of the championship in which Osasuna and
Sevilla
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...
were both vying for fourth place – both eventually ended the season with the same number of points but Osasuna finished higher due to their head-to-head record. However, they did not make it to the Champions League group phase, after being eliminated by
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of thr ...
in the third qualifying round, leaving the
Navarre
Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
se to compete in the UEFA Cup for the fifth time.
Osasuna were drawn in Group D of the
2006–07 UEFA Cup, and qualified for the knockout stage after finishing second in the group. In the Round of 32, they and were drawn against
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...
, progressing 1–0 on aggregate, drawing 0–0 away before winning 1–0 in Pamplona through an extra time winner by
Javad Nekounam. Osasuna's next opponent was Rangers, and Osasuna again progressed following a 1–1 draw in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...
and a 1–0 win at home. The club was drawn against German side
Bayer Leverkusen in the quarter-finals. Regarded as severe underdogs, Osasuna not only progressed to the semi-finals but did so in style (a 3–0 away win had virtually sealed the tie, but the ''Rojillos'' also won the second leg, 1–0). In the semi-finals, the club was drawn against
holders and fellow Spanish side Sevilla, eventually losing 1–2 on aggregate after a 1–0 home win.
In the following two seasons, Osasuna struggled heavily in the league. In
2007–08, they finished 17th and only one point above relegation. In
2008–09, they only avoided relegation in the final day; being in 18th place and entering the final matchday at home to
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
, the club fell behind but came back with two goals (the decider courtesy of
Juanfran, a ''Merengue'' youth graduate) to beat 9-men ''Los Blancos'' and remain in the top flight by finishing 15th.
Osasuna had great success in
2011–12, finishing seventh and one place away from qualifying for the European places, but struggled again in the next 2 seasons, finishing 16th in
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
and being relegated to the second division after an 18th-place finish in
2013–14. In the
2014–15 season, the club managed to end up one position above the relegation zone. A managerial change resulted in substantial improvement, and Osasuna won the final match of the regular
2015–16 season 0–5 away to
Oviedo
Oviedo (; ast, Uviéu ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located ap ...
, finishing sixth in the table and qualifying for promotion playoffs and. They subsequently won all the playoff games – against
Gimnàstic de Tarragona
Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2. ...
in the semi-final and
Girona
Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...
in the final – to achieve promotion to La Liga once again. Osasuna finished
2016–17 in 19th position, resulting in relegation. They could only manage 8th in their
first campaign back in the second tier.
On 20 May 2019, Osasuna achieved promotion back to La Liga after
Granada
Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...
's victory over
Albacete
Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete.
Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the ...
, mathematically ensuring a promotion place with three matches left in the season. On 31 May, they defeated
Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to:
* Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain
* Córdoba, Argentina, 2nd largest city in the country and capital of Córdoba Province
Córdoba or Cordoba may ...
to finish as
2018–19 Segunda División champions.
The club celebrated its centenary in October 2020 with a league victory over Athletic Bilbao, albeit the match was played in an empty stadium owing to restrictions caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. In May 2021, after decades of silence and alongside other Navarrese institutions, club president Luis Sabalza paid homage for the first time to the members who went through the rearguard Nationalist repression during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...
, on behalf of the board of directors.
Kit evolution
Red and navy blue are the colours of CA Osasuna, reflected in the home kit and club logo. The away kits tends to differ greatly from the home kit.
Rivalries
Osasuna has many rivalries: these include Real Zaragoza, Real Madrid,
and Athletic Bilbao.
The rivalry with Real Madrid began in December 1990, when Osasuna won 4–0 at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium ( es, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, ) is a association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid C.F., Real Madrid since its c ...
.
The rivalry with Zaragoza wasn't always a heated rivalry, but hostility between the two clubs began during a match in October 1987, when Zaragoza fans threw an object at Osasuna goalkeeper
Roberto Santamaría. Since then, these matches often have altercations between fans and players, and it is known to be one of the most heated rivalries in Spain. In recent years however, there have been large periods of time where this rivalry match wasn't played, due to the clubs being in different divisions.
Seasons
Recent seasons
:
Season to season
----
*41 seasons in
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
*37 seasons in
Segunda División
*13 seasons in
Tercera División
Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segunda División'', and the semi-professional ''Segunda Di ...
(as third tier)
*1 season in
Categorías Regionales
Current squad
First team squad
.
Reserve team
Out on loan
Current technical staff
Honours
Segunda División:
* Winners (4):
1952–53,
1955–56,
1960–61,
2018–19
Tercera División
Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segunda División'', and the semi-professional ''Segunda Di ...
:
* Winners (7):
1931–32,
1947–48,
1948–49,
1968–69,
1971–72,
1974–75,
1976–77
Notable players
Note: this list includes players that have appeared in at least 100 league games and/or have reached international status.
World Cup players
The following players have been selected by their country in the
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
Finals, while playing for Osasuna.
*
Savo Milošević (
2006)
*
Francisco Silva (
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
)
*
Ante Budimir
Ante Budimir (; born 22 July 1991) is a Croatian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for La Liga club CA Osasuna, Osasuna and the Croatia national football team, Croatia national te ...
(
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...
)
*
Ez Abde (
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...
)
Famous coaches
*
Javier Aguirre
*
Ivica Brzić
*
Rafael Benítez
*
José Antonio Camacho
*
Miguel Ángel Lotina
*
José Luis Mendilibar
José Luis Mendilibar Etxebarria (born 14 March 1961) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a midfielder, currently manager of Sevilla FC.
He played no higher than Segunda División, where he made 290 appearances and scored 34 goals main ...
*
José Ángel Ziganda
*
Jagoba Arrasate
Women's football
See also
*
CA Osasuna B
Club Atlético Osasuna B, usually known as Osasuna Promesas is the reserve team of CA Osasuna, a Spanish football club based in Pamplona, in the autonomous community of Navarre. Founded in 1962, currently plays in Primera Federación – Grou ...
– Osasuna's
B team
B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It re ...
in ''
Segunda División B
Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Fo ...
''
*
CD Subiza – affiliated team in ''
Tercera División RFEF''
*
CA Osasuna cantera
The cantera (''quarry'') of Spanish professional football club CA Osasuna is the organisation's youth academy, developing players from childhood through to the integration of the best prospects into the adult teams.
The final category within ...
–
youth system
In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...
up to 19 years, in leagues including ''
División de Honor Juvenil''
*
Xota FS
Club Deportivo Xota Fútbol Sala, known as Osasuna Magna Gurpea for sponsorship reasons, is a Spanish futsal club based in Pamplona, in the autonomous community of Navarre. The club is sponsored currently (October 2013) by Magnesitas Navarras.
Th ...
– affiliated
futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football.
Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is t ...
club
*
Corruption in Navarre
Corruption in Navarre refers to a quick succession of corruption scandals which have come to light since 2012 referring to the UPN's tenure in office (since 1996). However, amidst heated political confrontation since the late days of Franco's dict ...
References
External links
Official websiteFutbolme team profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osasuna
Football clubs in Navarre
Association football clubs established in 1920
Sport in Pamplona
1920 establishments in Spain
La Liga clubs
Segunda División clubs