Real Unión

"Real Union" redirects here. For the political concept, see Real union.

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 – Group 2, holding home matches at the 5,000-seater Stadium Gal. Real Unión was one of the founding members of La Liga in 1929. The club spent four seasons in the Spanish elite, suffering relegation in 1932. Real is yet to return to the top tier, spending the rest of its history bouncing between the second and fourth tiers of Spanish football.

Real Unión

Full name	Real Unión Club, S.A.D.
Nickname(s)	Txuri-beltz (White-black)
Founded	15 May 1915 (1915-05-15)
Ground	Gal, Irun, Basque Country, Spain
Capacity	5,000
Owner	Unai Emery
President	Igor Emery
Head coach	Mikel Llorente
League	Primera Federación – Group 1
2023–24	Primera Federación – Group 1, 15th of 20
Home colours Away colours

History

Real Unión squad of 1916.

Real Unión were among the early pioneering Spanish football teams and, along with fellow Basque clubs Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Arenas Club de Getxo were founding members of La Liga, in 1928. The club was formed in 1915 following the merger of Irún Sporting Club and Racing Club de Irún. The former was founded in 1902 as Irún Foot-Ball Club, changing its name in 1907. The latter, formed in 1908, had already won the 1913 Copa del Rey, beating Athletic Bilbao 1–0 in a replayed final. The club was briefly known as Unión Club Irún before Alfonso XIII gave the club royal approval, but during the Second Spanish Republic the club reverted to this name.

Real Unión then won the Copa del Rey a further three times, beating Real Madrid in 1918 and again in 1924 (with former Derby County and England striker Steve Bloomer acting as their coach). In 1927 they defeated Arenas Getxo in the first all-Basque final. The latter two finals both ended in 1–0 victories, with José Echeveste netting the winner on both occasions. In 1922 they were runners-up, losing 5–1 to FC Barcelona. In 1930 they participated in the Coupe des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, a predecessor of the UEFA Champions League since the champions of all major European football nations were invited, although it has never been entirely clear why Unión was invited as they had finished sixth in the 1929–30 La Liga. Nonetheless, they were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Slavia Prague. The club was relegated from La Liga in 1932.

In 1920, when Spain made their international debut at the Olympic Games, the club provided the squad with two players—Eguiazábal and Patricio, the latter scoring Spain's first-ever goal in international football in a 1–0 victory over Denmark on 28 August 1920. Another Real Unión player, René Petit, took part in the same Olympic Games with France. In the 70s and 80s, Spanish internationals Javier Irureta and Roberto López Ufarte began their career with the club.

On 11 November 2008, in the 2008–09 Copa del Rey against Real Madrid, Real Unión lost 3–4 at the Santiago Bernabéu, but secured a famous aggregate victory following a 3–2 home victory in the first leg (away goals rule). It was the first time in history that Real Madrid were eliminated by a Segunda División B team at home.

The club finally returned to the Segunda División in 2009 after a 44-year absence, successively defeating CE Sabadell FC (2–1 aggregate) and AD Alcorcón (3–1) in the 2008–09 promotion play-offs. However, it would be a short-lived return, as the team was immediately relegated, after ranking 21st.

After a season in the Spanish second division, the team was relegated to the third division. In the 2010/11 season, they finished fourth in their group and entered the promotion playoffs. They lost the playoff tiebreaker to Sevilla Atlético after winning the first match 2–1 but losing the second 3–0. The 2011/12 season was inconsistent for Real Unión, and they finished 14th in the league. They finished eighth in 2012/13, and despite financial struggles in 2013/14, they managed to avoid relegation to the fourth division by finishing 15th.

In the 2014/15 season, the team was back fighting for promotion in the playoffs. Unfortunately, they were knocked out in the first round by UCAM Murcia. Murcia scored the winning goal in extra time of the second match – the first game at Stadium Gal had been a 0–0 draw. Despite this disappointment, the team bounced back strong and won the Copa Federación on April 16, 2015, after beating Castellón in a two-game final.

Season to season

Copa de España 1924 final, Real Unión 1–0 Real Madrid.

Real Unión squad of 1931

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1929 1 1ª 9th 1929–30 1 1ª 6th 1930–31 1 1ª 7th 1931–32 1 1ª 10th 1932–33 2 2ª 10th 1933–34 2 2ª 8th 1934–35 2 2ª 5th 1935–36 2 2ª 8th 1939–40 2 2ª 3rd 1940–41 2 2ª 9th 1941–42 2 2ª 8th 1942–43 3 1ª Reg. 7th 1943–44 3 3ª 10th 1944–45 3 3ª 9th 1945–46 3 3ª 10th 1946–47 3 3ª 5th 1947–48 3 3ª 5th 1948–49 3 3ª 10th 1949–50 3 3ª 17th 1950–51 3 3ª 17th

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1951–52 4 1ª Reg. 12th 1952–53 4 1ª Reg. 3rd 1953–54 4 1ª Reg. 6th 1954–55 4 1ª Reg. 5th 1955–56 4 1ª Reg. 4th 1956–57 3 3ª 12th 1957–58 3 3ª 1st 1958–59 2 2ª 16th 1959–60 3 3ª 2nd 1960–61 3 3ª 5th 1961–62 3 3ª 4th 1962–63 3 3ª 2nd 1963–64 3 3ª 1st 1964–65 2 2ª 16th 1965–66 3 3ª 7th 1966–67 3 3ª 2nd 1967–68 3 3ª 4th 1968–69 3 3ª 2nd 1969–70 3 3ª 6th 1970–71 3 3ª 14th

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1971–72 3 3ª 19th 1972–73 4 1ª Reg. 2nd 1973–74 4 1ª Reg. 3rd 1974–75 3 3ª 12th 1975–76 3 3ª 4th 1976–77 3 3ª 7th 1977–78 3 2ª B 10th 1978–79 3 2ª B 17th 1979–80 4 3ª 14th 1980–81 4 3ª 9th 1981–82 4 3ª 6th 1982–83 4 3ª 8th 1983–84 4 3ª 4th 1984–85 4 3ª 8th 1985–86 4 3ª 12th 1986–87 4 3ª 8th 1987–88 4 3ª 5th 1988–89 4 3ª 6th 1989–90 4 3ª 5th 1990–91 4 3ª 16th

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1991–92 4 3ª 1st 1992–93 4 3ª 1st 1993–94 3 2ª B 14th 1994–95 3 2ª B 5th 1995–96 3 2ª B 5th 1996–97 3 2ª B 11th 1997–98 3 2ª B 18th 1998–99 4 3ª 3rd 1999–2000 3 2ª B 16th 2000–01 3 2ª B 9th 2001–02 3 2ª B 6th 2002–03 3 2ª B 1st 2003–04 3 2ª B 12th Second round 2004–05 3 2ª B 2nd 2005–06 3 2ª B 5th Third round 2006–07 3 2ª B 4th Second round 2007–08 3 2ª B 5th Round of 32 2008–09 3 2ª B 1st Round of 16 2009–10 2 2ª 21st 2010–11 3 2ª B 4th Round of 32

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 2011–12 3 2ª B 14th First round 2012–13 3 2ª B 8th 2013–14 3 2ª B 15th 2014–15 3 2ª B 4th 2015–16 3 2ª B 5th First round 2016–17 3 2ª B 7th First round 2017–18 3 2ª B 13th First round 2018–19 3 2ª B 16th 2019–20 3 2ª B 17th 2020–21 3 2ª B 5th / 1st 2021–22 3 1ª RFEF 8th 2022–23 3 1ª Fed. 13th Second round 2023–24 3 1ª Fed. 15th 2024–25 3 1ª Fed.

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• 4 seasons in La Liga
• 10 seasons in Segunda División
• 4 seasons in Primera Federación/Primera División RFEF
• 27 seasons in Segunda División B
• 40 seasons in Tercera División
• 7 seasons in Categorías Regionales

Current squad

As of 29 August 2024.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ESP	Txusta (captain)
2	DF	ESP	Sergio Santos
3	DF	ESP	José Carlos Márquez
4	DF	ESP	Iñaki Olaortua
5	DF	ESP	Javi Domínguez
6	DF	ESP	Alberto Quintana
7	MF	ESP	Aitor Aranzabe
8	MF	ESP	Iker Bilbao
9	FW	ESP	Asier Benito
10	MF	ESP	Quique Rivero
11	FW	ESP	Koldo Obieta
13	GK	ENG	James Wright (on loan from Aston Villa)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
15	DF	COL	Yeimar Mosquera (on loan from Aston Villa)
16	MF	ESP	Ander Vidorreta
17	FW	ESP	Alberto Cayarga
18	FW	ESP	Alejandro Lozano (on loan from Sporting Gijón)
19	DF	ESP	Victor Eimil
20	FW	ESP	Sergio Benito
21	MF	ESP	Víctor San Bartolomé
22	MF	ESP	Daniel Garrido
24	DF	ENG	Finley Munroe (on loan from Aston Villa)
25	FW	ESP	Charlie Pérez
—	FW	ESP	Iván Ayllón

Reserve team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
26	MF	ESP	Ander Herrero
27	MF	ESP	Erik Arregi

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
29	FW	ESP	Aimar Blanco

Out of loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player

Honours

• Copa del Rey: Winners (3) 1918, 1924, 1927
  • Runners-up: 1922
• Copa Federación de España: Winners 2014–15
• Segunda División B: Winners: 2002–03, 2008–09
• Tercera División: Winners 1957–58, 1963–64; 1991–92, 1992–93
• North Regional Championship: Winners 1917–18
• Gipuzkoa Championship: Winners (8) 1919–20, 1920–21, 1921–22, 1923–24, 1925–26, 1927–28, 1929–30, 1930–31
• RFEF Basque tournament: Winners 1998–99, 2014–15

International

• Tournoi de Pâques de l'Olympique de Pantin

Winners: 1922

• Tournoi de Pentecôte de Paris Football Latin

Winners: 1923

• Tournoi "Stade Buffalo" de Paris

Runners-up: 1930

Notable former players

Juan Legarreta Manuel Anatol René Petit Juan Ángel Seguro Patricio Arabolaza Ramón Eguiazábal Julio Elícegui Juan Errazquin

Iker Gabarain Francisco Gamborena Javier Irureta Roberto López Ufarte Xabier Otermin Luis Regueiro Pedro Regueiro Manuel Sagarzazu

Category:Real Unión footballers

Former coaches

• Steve Bloomer
• Javier Zubillaga

External links

• Official website (in Spanish)
• Futbolme team profile (in Spanish)