Granada Club de Fútbol (), known simply as Granada or ''"Graná"'', is a professional Spanish football club based in the city of

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

, in the autonomous community of

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, that currently plays in

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 ...

. Its main shareholder is the Chinese company Desport, and its president Jiang Lizhang. The club was founded in 1931 with the name of ''Club Recreativo Granada'', and plays its home matches at the Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes. Since 17 July 2020, the club is located at position 22 of the historical points classification of the First Division, and 20 of the historical First Division number of seasons classification, where it has participated in 25 seasons and finished in sixth place twice. Granada was 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 ...

runner-up in

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

(the competition was then known as the ''Copa del Generalísimo''). The club finished the 2019–20 season in 7th, qualifying for their first-ever European appearance, in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

, where they were quarter-finalists.

History

Foundation

''Granada Club de Fútbol'' was founded on 6 April 1931, originally as ''Recreativo de Granada''; the first president was Julio López Fernández. It was him who registered the club in the Registry of Associations in the Civil Government and presented the first Board of Directors. The first football match was played against the Deportivo Jaén on 6 December 1931, which resulted in a 2–1 victory. The first goal in the match, and in the club's history, was scored by Antonio Bombillar. The first home match was played against U.D. Andújar two weeks later. Granada won it 1–0. It took place at Campo de Las Tablas stadium. In the 1931–32 season, the club finished 2nd in the ''Tercera Regional – Región Sur'' championship. 4 wins in 6 matches helped Granada achieve promotion to the Segunda Regional. The club started the season in a new division with a new president, Gabriel Morcillo Raya. During the 1932–33 season the club had the biggest win in its history, 11–0 against Xerez on 23 April 1933.

La Liga entry and peak

After several promotions, in 1941–42 the club made its

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 ...

debut. It was the match against the Celta on 28 September 1941. The game ended up in 1–1 draw. The first Granada goal in the highest Spanish division was scored by César Rodríguez Álvarez. During that season the Granada had some historical home wins, among them 8–0 against Real Oviedo and 6–0 against

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 ...

. Granada finished the season in the 10th position among 14 teams. From 1942 until the 1980s, it alternated between the top flight and the

, with its golden age coming during the late 1960s and mid 70s, as the Andalusian club had eight consecutive top flight seasons between 1968–69 and 1975–76 and made the Copa del Rey semi and quarter-finals on 4 occasions. These seasons also included a best-ever sixth league places in the 1971–72 and 1973–74 seasons. Granada finished the 1971–72 season with 9 wins in the last 10 home games, with powerhouses Barcelona and Real Madrid being among those wins. In 1959 Granada achieved its greatest landmark, being the runner-up of the '' Copa del Generalísimo'' (later ''Copa del Rey''). In the final, played at the

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (, ) is a retractable roof association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a seating capacity of around 83,000 following its extensive renovation completed in late 2024, the stadium has the second-largest ...

, the team lost to Barcelona 4–1. The only goal for Granada was scored by the Argentinian forward Ramón Carranza. In the 1980s, Granada had some brief appearances in the second division. In 1983–84, they finished 8th among 20 teams in the Segunda División, just 10 points away from the champion the Real Madrid Castilla and the runner-up the Bilbao Athletic. In 1984–85, Granada finished 18th and were relegated to the Segunda División B; in the same season, the club was eliminated by fourth-tier club Estepona in the second round of the Copa del Rey. Although the club returned to the Segunda División after two years for the 1987–88 season, it was relegated again that same season after finishing 19th.

Decline and revival

Granada spent most of the following seasons in the

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 ...

, and were relegated to the fourth tier in 2002–03, due to failing to pay its players under the presidency of Francisco Jimena. After four seasons in the fourth division, former

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

president

Lorenzo Sanz Lorenzo Sanz Mancebo (9 August 1943 – 21 March 2020) was a Spanish Businessperson, businessman who was the 14th List of Real Madrid CF presidents, President of Real Madrid and a former owner of Málaga CF, Málaga. Early life He was born in ...

, along with his son Paco, arrived at the club. With their help, the

n side was again promoted to the third category but got itself into serious financial trouble. In the 2005–06 season Granada won Group 9 of the Tercera División and qualified for the promotional play-offs, where the first rival was Linense. After the two games ended up in 1–1 draws, Granada won in the penalty shootout. After that they had to face

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

, winning 3–1 on aggregate, which gave them promotion to the third tier. In 2006–07, Granada played in Group IV of the third level after four seasons in the Tercera. The president Paco Sanz, with the massive support of the fans, continued to lead the project with the intention of bringing the team to the top division, but the lack of time after the promotion led to hasty actions. In July 2009, the club was in such financial difficulty that it was on the brink of dissolving. The solution to the crisis came with the signing of a partnership agreement between Granada and

Udinese Calcio Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional association football, football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football league system, Italian fo ...

, with the Spaniards incorporating large numbers of players contracted to the Italian club as well as receiving its youth players and reserves as part of the agreement. At the end of the season, Granada won its group and then got promoted by beating Alcorcón in the play-offs, returning to the second division after 22 years. In 2010–11, Granada finished in fifth position, with most of the players loaned by Udinese still on board. On 18 June 2011, the club became the first winner of 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 ...

– a different system was used from 1985 to 1999 – after successively defeating

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was fou ...

(1–1,

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

) and

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,

(1–1 on aggregate,

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 ...

), thus returning to the top division after a 35-year absence. In June 2016, Chinese businessman Jiang Lizhang became the new owner of the club, buying the Pozzo family's controlling stake. After surviving in the top flight for six seasons, the team was relegated in 2016–17 after being defeated by

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

. Under new manager Diego Martínez, Granada returned to the top flight as runners-up to CA Osasuna in the 2018–19 Segunda División. The following season, the team finished 7th in the top flight, earning qualification for the

, the first time the club qualified for any European competition. It also reached the Copa del Rey semi-finals for the first time in 50 years, narrowly losing to Athletic Bilbao on away goals after a 2–2 aggregate draw. They reached the quarter-finals in Europe, being eliminated by

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. On 22 May 2022, the team was relegated after a draw against Espanyol. In the 2022–23 season, Granada returned to La Liga, by sealing a 1st position in the table on the very last match day of the season. However, in 2023–24 season, Granada immediately relegated back to second division.

Seasons

---- *27 seasons in

*36 seasons in the

*22 seasons in the

*5 seasons in the

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 ...

(1 on 3rd tier) *2 seasons in the Categorías Regionales

Players

Current squad

Reserve team

Out on loan

Current technical staff

Pacheta Chema Monzón Cristopher Urbano
Juan Carlos Fernández Jorge Trigueros
Alejandro Gutiérrez Guillem Galmés
Álvaro Martínez Paco Morales
Manuel Lucena Miguel García
Antonio Saúl Hidalgo Pedro Rubio Dioni González Manuel Arroyo
Pablo Puertas José Miguel Funes
Juan Sánchez
Alberto Lara
Alberto Vera Manuel Dimas José María Giménez

Honours

National

(4): 1940–41, 1956–57, 1967–68, 2022–23 *

(3): 1982–83, 1999–00, 2009–10 *

(3): 1933–34, 2003–04, 2005–06 *

: ''runners-up (1)'': 1958–59

Regional tournaments

* Andalucia Cup (1): 1932–33 * Andalucia Championship reservations (1): 1971–72

Friendly

* Antonio Puerta Trophy (1): 2010

Individual

Pichichi Trophy

: Enrique Porta ( 1971–72) *

: Miguel ( 1964–65), Rafa ( 1955–56), Myrto Uzuni ( 2022–2023)

European record

Derby of eastern Andalusia

The Eastern Andalusia Derby is played between Granada and

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

. Updated to derby #90 played on September 20, 2024.

Stadium

After its foundation, the team played its home matches at the ''Campo de Las Tablas'', inaugurated on 20 December 1931. On that day Granada CF won the match against the U.D. Andújar 1–0 in the Tercera Regional. Granada's stay at this ground was a short one; on 23 December 1934, a new municipal stadium, '' Estadio Los Cármenes'', was opened. The club played in this stadium until 1995 when they moved to the Nuevo Los Cármenes Stadium (also owned by the Ayuntamiento de Granada). It was inaugurated on 16 May 1995, with a friendly fixture between Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen, whereas Granada CF played for the first time in the Summer of 1995, playing a friendly fixture against

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

. The stadium featured an original capacity of 16,212 seats. This was expanded to 22,524 after Granada CF's promotion to

in the summer of 2011. After achieving promotion to the First Division in 2019, the stadium has been renovated, such as the replacement of the playing surface, the repairing and painting of seats plus the addition of white seats to form the words "Granada CF" across from the main stand and "1931" on the South Stand, the expansion of the official club store (now located on the corner where the old tickets office was located), and finally, the replacement of the illumination system in line with the lighting requirements of La Liga. In addition, the club is working with Granada's council to get a deal for a long-lasting tenancy with the aim of performing a series of investments like a re-build of the stadium corners (which had been previously dismantled), establish shopping and entertainment zones or the expansion and refurbishment of sponsor and advertising areas. *Dimensions: 105 × 68 meters *Address: C/ Pintor Manuel Maldonado s/n *Inauguration date: 16 May 1995,

–

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

(1–0) *First Granada CF match: 22 August 1995, Granada–

(4–1) XXIII Granada Trophy

Kit and colours

Upon its foundation, the club's kits were a shirt with blue and white vertical stripes and white shorts. After the Spanish Civil War the club owners went to Madrid to buy new ones, but they couldn't find other than red and white striped shirts. That became the official colour scheme from then on. In the 1970s, the club changed the vertical stripes to horizontal. The kit alternated horizontal and vertical strip patterns until 2004–05, when a member assembly decided to settle for the horizontal pattern.

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Coaches

* Lippo Hertzka (1934–1935) * Gaspar Rubio (1939–1940) * Antonio Bonet Silvestre (1941–1943) * Francisco Bru (1941–1943) * István Plattkó (1943–1945) * Gaspar Rubio (1950) * Alejandro Scopelli (1957–1959) *

Jenő Kalmár Jenő Kalmár (21 March 1908 – 13 January 1990), also referred to as János Kalmar, was a Hungarian footballer and coach. As a player, Kalmar played for both MTK Hungária FC and Hungary. During the 1928-29 season he finished as top goalsco ...

(1958–1960) * Fernando Argila Pazzaglia (1960–1961) * Francisco Trinchant (1961) * Heriberto Herrera (1961–1962) * Ignacio Eizaguirre (1963–1964) * Francisco Antúnez (1963–1964) *

(1965–1966) * Marcel Domingo (1968–1969) * Joseíto (1970–1972) * Pasieguito (1972–1973) * Joseíto (1973–1975) * Miguel Muñoz (1975–1976) * Héctor Núñez (1976) * Vavá (1977–1978) *

Francisco Gento Francisco "Paco" Gento López (21 October 1933 – 18 January 2022) was a Spanish association football, footballer who played as an outside left. A fast runner, Gento was referred to as the "Gale of the Cantabrian Sea" () in reference to his spee ...

(1980–1981) * José Mingorance (1981) * Antonio Ruiz (1981–1982) *

Manuel Ruiz Sosa Manuel Ruiz Sosa (10 April 1937 – 12 December 2009) was a Spanish Association football, football midfielder and Manager (association football), manager. Honours Player Atlético Madrid *La Liga: 1965–66 La Liga, 1965–66 *Copa del Rey, ...

(1982–1983) * Felipe Mesones (1983–1984) *

Nando Yosu Fernando Trío Zabala (8 July 1939 – 20 February 2016), known as Nando Yosu, was a Spanish football player and manager. His extensive career, as both a player and coach, was mainly associated with Racing de Santander. Playing career Born in ...

(1984) * Joaquín Peiró (1985–1988) *

(1988) * Pachín (1988–1989) * José Enrique Díaz (1989–1990) *

(1992–1994) * Lucas Alcaraz (1995–1998) * Paco Chaparro (1998–1999) * Felipe Mesones (2000) * Ismael Díaz (2000) * José Ángel Moreno (2001) * Ramón Blanco (2001–2002) * Josip Višnjić (2006–2007) * Óscar Cano (2007–2009) * Pedro Braojos (2008–2009) * Fabri (2010–2012) * Abel Resino (2012) * Juan Antonio Anquela (2012–2013) * Lucas Alcaraz (2013–2014) * Joaquín Caparrós (2014–2015) * Joseba Aguado ''(interim)'' (2015) * Abel Resino (2015) * José Ramón Sandoval (2015–2016) * José González (2016) * Paco Jémez (2016) * Lucas Alcaraz (2016–2017) * Tony Adams (2017) * José Luis Oltra (2017–2018) * Pedro Morilla Pineda (2018) * Miguel Ángel Portugal (2018) * Diego Martínez (2018–2021) * Robert Moreno (2021–2022) * Rubén Torrecilla ''(interim)'' (2022) * Aitor Karanka (2022) * Paco López (2022–2023)

References

External links

* *
Futbolme team profile

Unofficial website
{{Authority control Football clubs in Andalusia Association football clubs established in 1931 Sport in Granada 1931 establishments in Spain La Liga clubs Segunda División clubs