Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
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 Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...
, 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 was discover ...
. 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, 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 L ...
,
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 L ...
.
[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 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, 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
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the L ...
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 Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...
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. 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 c ...
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
Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to:
Sports Teams Athletico
*Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy
*Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...
– 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), and ...
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, 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, clay ...
qualification in
1985–86 after
finishing sixth in the league; their campaign began in the first round, eliminating Scottish club
Rangers 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 arrondi ...
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
PFC Slavia Sofia ( bg, ПФК Славия София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, the First League. Slavia's home groun ...
and
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
. 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, 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,
Real Unión and Sevilla, until the semi-finals where they were knocked out after losing to
Recreativo de Huelva 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 was discover ...
, 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 ...
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 Foo ...
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 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 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 three ...
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
The 2006–07 UEFA Cup was the 36th UEFA Cup, Europe's second-tier club football tournament. On 16 May 2007, at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Sevilla won their second consecutive UEFA Cup, defeating Espanyol 3–1 on penalties after the match ...
, 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 prefectu ...
, 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 popu ...
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 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 a ...
, finishing sixth in the table and qualifying for promotion playoffs and. They subsequently won all the playoff games – against
Gimnàstic de Tarragona 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, t ...
, mathematically ensuring a promotion place with three matches left in the season. On 31 May, they defeated
Córdoba to finish as
2018–19 Segunda División
The 2018–19 Segunda División season, also known as LaLiga 1, 2, 3 for sponsorship reasons, was the 88th season of the Spanish football second division since its establishment.
Summary
On 18 January 2019, just one day before the start of the s ...
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 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 Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...
*37 seasons in
Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the L ...
*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 ...
(as third tier)
*1 season in
Categorías Regionales
Current squad
First team squad
.
Reserve team
Out on loan
Current technical staff
Honours
Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the L ...
:
* 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 ...
:
* 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 Finals, while playing for Osasuna.
*
Savo Milošević (
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 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 wa ...
)
*
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)
*
Ez Abde (
2022)
Famous coaches
*
Javier Aguirre
*
Ivica Brzić
*
Rafael Benítez
*
José Antonio Camacho
*
Miguel Ángel Lotina
Miguel Ángel Lotina Oruechebarría (; born 18 June 1957) is a Spanish professional manager and former footballer who played as a striker.
Playing career
Born in Meñaka, Biscay, Lotina started playing football with local Gernika Club, repr ...
*
José Luis Mendilibar
*
José Ángel Ziganda
*
Jagoba Arrasate
Jagoba Arrasate Elustondo (born 22 April 1978) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a forward, currently manager of CA Osasuna.
Playing career
Born in Berriatua, Biscay, Arrasate only played for lower league clubs during his ten-year ...
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 – Group ...
– Osasuna's
B team 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 Foo ...
''
*
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 t ...
–
youth system up to 19 years, in leagues including ''
División de Honor Juvenil''
*
Xota FS – 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 ...
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 dicta ...
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