Sociedad Deportiva Eibar (in ) is a Spanish professional football club based in

Eibar Eibar (, ) is a city and municipality within the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Euskadi. It is the capital of the '' eskualde / comarca'' of Debabarrena. Eibar has 27,138 inhabitants ( Eustat, 2018). Its chief industry is ...

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

, in the autonomous Basque Country. Founded on 30 November 1940, the men’s team currently plays in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

, the second tier of Spanish football, having been relegated from

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

at the end of the 2020–21 season. The club played in the top tier of Spanish football for seven consecutive seasons from 2014 to 2021, and participated in 26 Segunda División seasons (a spell in the 1950s, and most of the 1990s and 2000s), spending the rest of their history competing at lower levels. The team plays in claret and blue shirts with blue shorts (originating from the kit of

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

) and holds home games at the Ipurua Municipal Stadium. SD Eibar is a fan-owned club, with about 8,000 shareholders from 48 countries. Until

SD Huesca Sociedad Deportiva Huesca, S.A.D., is a Spanish football club based in Huesca, in the autonomous community of Aragon. Founded in 1910, the club competes in the Segunda División, having played in the Spanish top division for the first time in th ...

qualified for the top flight in 2018, the club was considered the smallest to have played in Spain's top division, and its stadium had the lowest capacity of any La Liga teams. Although Eibar is the sole professional club of its town, it contests several Basque derbies with other clubs from the region. Eibar is the only football club which has the quality certificate UNE-EN-ISO 9001.

History

Establishment

Formed by the

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

of ''Deportivo Gallo'' and ''Unión Deportiva Eibarresa'', the club was originally known as ''Eibar Fútbol Club'', before changing to ''Sociedad Deportiva Eibar''. During the difficult postwar years, the team played sporadically, which caused Eibar to disappear from official competitions during the 1942–43 season. Originally an irregular team, it was not until the 1943–44 season that it was reorganised into more of a full-time unit.

Tercera División

Promoted to

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

in 1950, Eibar achieved promotion to

three seasons later, being relegated again after a five-year stint and competing in division three for 25 of the following 28 years (in 1977 ''Tercera'' became the fourth level, after the creation of

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: 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 ...

). In

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, the side returned to the "silver category". That season also included a historic moment when goalkeeper José Ignacio Garmendia scored a goal in a game against

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a city in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. It is the capital of both the ''Pontevedra (comarca), Comarca'' and Province of Pontevedra, and the capital of the Rías Baixas. It is als ...

via a kickout from his own area.

Promotion to Segunda División

After spending 18 years in a row in Segunda División, Eibar was relegated to the third division at the end of the 2005–06 campaign. However, it won its group the next season, thereby qualifying for the

promotion play-offs Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

where it won its semi-final tie against Hospitalet 2–0 and defeated

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

2–1 on aggregate in the decisive round, sealing its return after just one year. Eibar finished 21st in the 2008–09 season meaning they were relegated to the Segunda Division B.

Relegation to Segunda B (2009–13)

Eibar qualified for three straight promotion play-offs but could not get promoted to the Segunda División. In the 2012–13 edition of the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

, Eibar ousted

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 co ...

neighbours

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

– who had appeared in two of the last four finals in the tournament – on the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

to reach the round-of-16 following a 1–1 draw at the San Mamés Stadium. The decisive goal was scored by Mikel Arruabarrena who played youth football with the opposition, as did manager Gaizka Garitano; the same season the team managed to return to the "silver category", following a four-year absence.

Segunda División and promotion to La Liga

In 2013–14 Eibar earned, for the first time in its history, one of two direct promotion berths to

, which was certified on 25 May 2014 with a 1–0 home win against

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually known as Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Basque ...

. (they celebrated their feat with confetti originally produced by Barcelona, who wear the same colours and had anticipated winning the Spanish league title a week earlier, but that did not come to pass). Simultaneously, however, the club was threatened with relegation back to division three due to the financial inability of the S.A.D. to have a

share capital A corporation's share capital, commonly referred to as capital stock in the United States, is the portion of a corporation's equity that has been derived by the issue of shares in the corporation to a shareholder, usually for cash. ''Share ...

of at least €2,146,525.95 before 6 August 2014. The club launched a campaign named ''Defiende al Eibar'' (Defend Eibar) with the aim of reaching the required share capital through a

seasoned equity offering A seasoned equity offering (SEO) or capital increase is a new equity issued by an already publicly traded company. Seasoned offerings may involve shares sold by existing shareholders (non-dilutive), new shares (dilutive), or both. If the seasone ...

. On 15 July 2014 the club announced it had reached the established goal. Eibar finished its first top-flight season in 18th, ending in relegation. However, after the season ended, 13th-placed

Elche Elche (, ; , , , ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2024's data, Elche has a population of 234,800 inhabitants,

were sent to the second tier as punishment for financial mismanagement, and Eibar were reinstated. Sociedad Deportiva Eibar league performance 1929-present

Sociedad Deportiva Eibar league performance 1929-present

On 18 July 2015, Eibar played its 75th-anniversary game against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

in Ipurua (1–4). This included an inaugural ceremony on the pitch with a parade of 19th-century-clothed Basque soldiers with a

Saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a Heraldry, heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross. The word comes from the Middle French , Medieval Latin ("stirrup"). From its use as field sign, the saltire cam ...

and bagpipes playing "

Scotland the Brave "Scotland the Brave" () is a Scottish patriotic song, one of three often considered an unofficial Scottish national anthem (the others being " Flower of Scotland", and " Scots Wha Hae"). History The tune probably originated in the late 19th c ...

", with officials from both clubs shooting a 350 kg 19th-century cannon. Eibar stated that they invited Celtic as their opponent for the game due to the strong connection between the Basque Country and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and also due to the Scottish presence in Eibar through the years (the main supporter group is named "Eskozia la Brava", meaning "Scotland the Brave"). Under its new coach José Luis Mendilibar, Eibar finished its second top-flight season in 14th. Borja Bastón finished top ten in scoring and was named

La Liga Player of the Month The Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best La Liga player each month of the season. Winners Multiple winners The following table lists the number of awards won by players who have won at least two Player ...

of October 2015, making him the first ''Armero'' to receive the award. In April 2017, Dani García became the first player to reach the milestone of 100 top division appearances for the club. The club's 10th place in 2016–17 was improved to 9th the following season, with the latter campaign marking the first time ever that Eibar had finished as the highest-ranking of the Basque teams. Deportivoeibar2

On 16 May 2021, Eibar was relegated after a defeat to

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. This ended their seven-year stay in the top tier. The following season in Segunda, Eibar was in the top two of the league for the majority of the season, however, the team had to eventually settle for third place. In the playoffs, Eibar lost to

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

, and failed to make an immediate return to La Liga.

Affiliated clubs

Vitoria

In 2015, the club signed a collaboration agreement with

CD Vitoria Club Deportivo Vitoria is a football team based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1945, the club has a senior side and a full youth system within its football section, as well as a basketball section. ...

(

) to act as an Eibar

feeder team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

for emerging players. Eibar had previously disbanded their own B team in 2012 to cut costs while the senior side languished in

but decided to seek a new formal arrangement for a subsidiary club after retaining their place in

. Within two years of the partnership, Vitoria gained promotion to the third tier for the first time in their history; they were relegated in 2018–19 and their home matches back in the Tercera División were then moved to Eibar. On 26 July 2024, Eibar announced that the affiliation agreement between the club and Vitoria had ended, with the team which achieved promotion to

Segunda Federación Segunda Federación, previously called Segunda RFEF, also officially known as Segunda B, is the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system containing 90 teams divided into five groups. It is administered by the Royal Spanish Football Fede ...

being fully integrated into Eibar's structure (under Eibar B) and with Vitoria starting a new project under their new board.

Eibar Urko

In summer 2016, the club expanded its club structure further by integrating local team ''Urkomendi'' (of the 6th level Preferente de Guipúzcoa) into the organisation as a

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

to act as a link between the youth level and Vitoria, to be known as ''Eibar Urko''. Playing in the town's Unbe Sports Complex, Eibar Urko gained promotion to the provincial fifth level in 2018, but were blocked from a further promotion after Vitoria were relegated to the same due to rules preventing teams owned by the same club competing in the same division. This also meant Urko could not be promoted in the 2019–20, 2020–21 or 2022–23 seasons either, as Vitoria failed to achieve the same goal. Both teams were promoted directly as group winners in their respective divisions in 2023–24.

Logroñés

Also in 2016, Eibar made a 3-year collaboration agreement with

UD Logroñés Unión Deportiva Logroñés, S.A.D. is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Logroño, in the autonomous community of La Rioja (Spain), La Rioja. Founded in 2009, it currently plays in , holding home matches at ''Estad ...

, with Eibar players going on loan to the Segunda B club for experience with the aim of achieving promotion due to the additional talent in the squad. Four players made the move that summer: goalkeeper Jon Ander, defender Amelibia, midfielder Sergio García and winger Thaylor.

Season to season

*Avoided relegation to the second tier after the 2014–15 season due to

's administrative relegation because of tax problems. ---- *7 seasons in

*31 seasons in

*7 seasons in

*28 seasons in

*13 seasons in Categorías Regionales

Honours

: 2013–14 *

: 1987–88, 2006–07,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

: 1950–51, 1952–53, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1966–67 *

: 1981–82, 1985–86

Notes

Current squad

Reserve team

Out on loan

Stadium

Eibar's home stadium is '' Estadio Municipal de Ipurua'', which seats 8,164 spectators.

Famous players

Note: this list includes players that have appeared in at least 100 league games, have reached international status, or both.

Club officials

Current technical staff

Board of directors

{, class="wikitable" , - !Office !Name , - , President , Amaia Gorostiza , - , Vice president , Joseba Unamuno , - , Secretary , Jon Ander Ulazia , - , rowspan=8, Directors , Virginia Arakistain , - , Leire Barriuso , - , J. A. Fernández , - , Javier Gurrutxaga , - , Agustín Lahidalga , - , Antón Martinena , - , Alex Martínez , - , Javier Sarrionandia

Coaches

{, , - style="vertical-align: top;" , * Antonio Corral Artayer (1953–58) * Luis Ciaurriz Ustarroz (1971–73) *

Juan Arriarán Aramburu ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...

(1974–75) *

Jesús María Sagasti Zorroza Jesus ( AD 30 or 33) was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who most Christians believe to be the incarnation of God and Muslims believe was a prophet. Jesus may also refer to: People Religious figures * Elymas Bar-Jesus, a Jew in the ''Act ...

(1982–83) * Alfonso Barasoain (1988–90) * Mikel Etxarri Sasiain (1990–92) * José Mendiluce Loyola (1992) *

José Gallastegui Otaduy José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

(1992–93) * José María Araquistain (1993–95) * Miguel Ángel Alonso (1995–98) * Enrique Ormaetxea Axpe (1998) *

(1998) * Alfonso Barasoain (1998–99) * Blas Ziarreta (1999–03) * José María Amorrortu (2003–04) * José Luis Ribera (2004) * José Luis Mendilibar (2004–05) * Carlos Terrazas (2005) * Roberto Olabe (2006) * Manix Mandiola (2006–08) * Carlos Pouso (2008–09) , , *

Josu Uribe Jesús Uribesalgo Gutiérrez (born 25 May 1969), commonly known as Josu Uribe, is a Spanish football manager. Career Born in Gijón, Asturias, Uribe began coaching at the age of 21, managing youth sides at local Sporting de Gijón.

(2009) * Ángel Viadero (2009–10) * Manix Mandiola (2010–12) * Gaizka Garitano (2012–15) * José Luis Mendilibar (2015–21) * Gaizka Garitano (2021–23) * Joseba Etxeberria (2023–25) * Beñat San José (2025–)

Presidents

{, class= border="0" , - , 1940–46 , , Juan Artamendi , - , 1946–48 , , Bernardino Odriozola , - , 1948–49 , , Crispin Garate , - , 1949–57 , , Manolo Escodin , - , 1957–58 , , Boni Guisasola , - , 1958–59 , , Tomas Echaluce , - , 1959–61 , , Manolo Zubia , - , 1961–62 , , Pedro Irusta , - , 1962–65 , , Luis María Fernández de Betoño , - , 1965–67 , , Luis María Aranegui , - , 1967–68 , , Roberto Cadenas , - , 1968–74 , , José González Ortiz de Zárate , - , 1974–77 , , Eusebio Oyarzun , - , 1977–84 , , Paco Marquiegui , - , 1984–88 , , Javier Arrieta , - , 1988–2002 , , Juan Luis Mardaras , - , 2002–09 , , Jaime Barriuso , - , 2009–16 , , Alex Aranzábal , - , 2016– , , Amaia Gorostiza

References

External links

*
Eibar
at

Eibar
at

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

Club profile
at BDfutbol (match reports in each season)
Futbolme team profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eibar Football clubs in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Association football clubs established in 1940 1940 establishments in Spain La Liga clubs Sport in Gipuzkoa Segunda División clubs