Granada CF

Granada Club de Fútbol was founded on 6 April 1931,[3] 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.[4]

The first football match was played against the Deportivo Jaén on 6 December 1931, which resulted in a 2–1 victory.[5] 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.[5] In the 1931–32 season, the club finished 2nd in the Tercera Regional – Región Sur championship.[5] 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.[6] During the 1932–33 season the club had the biggest win in its history, 11–0 against Xerez on 23 April 1933.[7]

After several promotions, in 1941–42 the club made its La Liga debut. It was the match against the Celta on 28 September 1941. The game ended up in 1–1 draw.[8] The first Granada goal in the highest Spanish division was scored by César Rodríguez Álvarez.[9] During that season the Granada had some historical home wins, among them 8–0 against Real Oviedo and 6–0 against Barcelona.[5] Granada finished the season in the 10th position among 14 teams.[10]

From 1942 until the 1980s, it alternated between the top flight and the Segunda División, 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, the team lost to Barcelona 4–1. The only goal for Granada was scored by the Argentinian forward Ramón Carranza.[11]

Chart of Granada CF league performance 1929–2023

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.[12] In 1984–85, Granada finished 18th and were relegated to the Segunda División B;[13] in the same season, the club was eliminated by fourth-tier club Estepona in the second round of the Copa del Rey.[14] 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.

Granada spent most of the following seasons in the Segunda División B, and were relegated to the fourth tier in 2002–03, due to failing to pay its players under the presidency of Francisco Jimena.[15] After four seasons in the fourth division, former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz, along with his son Paco, arrived at the club. With their help, the Andalusian 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, winning 3–1 on aggregate, which gave them promotion to the third tier.[16]

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.[17] In July 2009, the club was in such financial difficulty that it was on the brink of dissolving.[18] The solution to the crisis came with the signing of a partnership agreement between Granada and Udinese Calcio, 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.[18] 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.[19][15]

Granada's Youssef El-Arabi and Adalberto Peñaranda during a La Liga fixture versus SD Eibar in 2016

In 2010–11, Granada finished in fifth position, with most of the players loaned by Udinese still on board.[18] On 18 June 2011, the club became the first winner of the promotion play-offs – a different system was used from 1985 to 1999 – after successively defeating Celta de Vigo (1–1, penalty shootout) and Elche (1–1 on aggregate, away goals rule), thus returning to the top division after a 35-year absence.[20][21]

In June 2016, Chinese businessman Jiang Lizhang became the new owner of the club, buying the Pozzo family's controlling stake.[22] After surviving in the top flight for six seasons, the team was relegated in 2016–17 after being defeated by Real Sociedad.[23]

Under new manager Diego Martínez, Granada returned to the top flight as runners-up to CA Osasuna in the 2018–19 Segunda División.[24] The following season, the team finished 7th in the top flight, earning qualification for the UEFA Europa League, 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.[25] They reached the quarter-finals in Europe, being eliminated by Manchester United.[26] 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.

As of 18 September 2023.[27]

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 Raúl Fernández 3 DF  POR Wilson Manafá 4 DF  ESP Miguel Rubio 5 DF  ESP Jesús Vallejo (on loan from Real Madrid) 7 FW  ARG Lucas Boyé 9 FW  ESP José Callejón 10 FW  ESP Antonio Puertas 11 FW  ALB Myrto Uzuni 12 DF  ESP Ricard Sánchez 13 GK  POR André Ferreira 14 DF  ESP Ignasi Miquel 15 DF  ESP Carlos Neva (vice-captain) 16 DF  ESP Víctor Díaz (captain) 17 FW  ISR Shon Weissman

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF  SRB Njegoš Petrović 19 FW  SEN Famara Diédhiou 20 MF  ESP Sergio Ruiz 21 MF  ESP Óscar Melendo 22 MF  ESP Alberto Perea 23 MF  ESP Gerard Gumbau 24 MF  ESP Gonzalo Villar 26 FW  ESP Bryan Zaragoza 27 MF  ESP Mario González 28 DF  ESP Raúl Torrente 31 GK  ESP Adri López 32 DF  ESP Miki Bosch 33 DF  ESP Álvaro Fernández (on loan from Manchester United)

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

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  SEN Alpha Diounkou (on loan at AEK Larnaca until 30 June 2024) — MF  ESP Alberto Soro (on loan at Vizela until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ESP Víctor Meseguer (on loan at Valladolid until 30 June 2024) — FW  URU Matías Arezo (on loan at Peñarol until 31 December 2023)

• Segunda División (4): 1940–41, 1956–57, 1967–68, 2022–23
• Segunda División B (3): 1982–83, 1999–00, 2009–10
• Tercera División (3): 1933–34, 2003–04, 2005–06
• Copa del Rey: runners-up (1): 1958–59

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

• Antonio Puerta Trophy (1): 2010

• La Liga: Enrique Porta (1971–72)
• Segunda División: Miguel (1964–65), Rafa (1955–56)