CA Osasuna

Osasuna

Full name	Club Atlético Osasuna
Nickname(s)	Gorritxoak Los Rojillos
Short name	OSA
Founded	24 October 1920; 104 years ago (24 October 1920)[1][2]
Ground	El Sadar
Capacity	23,516[3]
President	Luis Sabalza
Head coach	Vicente Moreno
League	La Liga
2023–24	La Liga, 11th of 20
Website	osasuna.es
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Club Atlético Osasuna (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkluβ aðˈletiko osaˈsuna], Osasuna Athletic Club), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,516-capacity El Sadar Stadium.^[3] The team's regular home kit is a red shirt with navy blue shorts. Osasuna is one of four professional La Liga 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 and 2023. The club's best league finishes were fourth in 1990–91 and 2005–06.

"Los Rojillos" or "Gorritxoak" 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,^[4][5] Real Madrid,^[6][7][8] and some other Basque clubs, particularly Athletic Bilbao.^[9][10][11]

Osasuna has a cantera which has produced several successful players similar to other clubs in the greater Basque region.

This article appears to be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective and add more content related to non-recent events. (February 2020)

The club was founded on 24 October 1920 and its name, Osasuna, meaning health in Basque, was chosen by Benjamín Andoian Martínez.^[12] When Spanish football became professional in 1928, Osasuna was placed in the third division, gaining promotion to the Segunda División after the 1931–32 season by winning the playoff against Nacional de Madrid. They made it to La Liga three seasons later. That same season, they reached the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey and lost to Sevilla. The next season, Osasuna reached the semi-finals again, this time losing to Barcelona 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.^[13] 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;^[14] ultimately a play-off was arranged with the other demoted team Atlético Aviación – associated with the Spanish Air Force and thus favoured by the military regime. The Madrid team won the tie and, with support from their powerful backers, went on to claim the league title and retain it.^[15] 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.^[16] The club achieved its first ever UEFA Cup 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 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 and Stuttgart. 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. 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, they reached the Copa del Rey final for the first time, losing to Real Betis after extra time.^[17][18][19] 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 side Castellón on penalties after a goalless draw. They went on to beat Girona 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 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 in the third qualifying round, leaving the Navarrese to compete in the UEFA Cup for the fifth time.

Osasuna were drawn in Group D of the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, and qualified for the knockout stage after finishing second in the group. In the Round of 32, they and were drawn against Bordeaux, 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 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.^[20]

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, 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.^[21]

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, 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 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.^{[citation needed]}

On 20 May 2019, Osasuna achieved promotion back to La Liga after Granada's victory over Albacete, 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 champions.^[22]

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.^[23] 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, on behalf of the board of directors.^[13]

In 2023, having qualified on the field for the UEFA Conference League via a 7th-place finish in La Liga (they also reached the 2023 Copa del Rey final, but lost to Real Madrid), Osasuna found itself embroiled in match-fixing allegations^[24] dating back to 2013, which led to an initial ban from participating (this being the first occasion they had been eligible for a UEFA competition since the events). The club decided to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), who ruled in their favour in deeming that the club was sufficiently distinct from the directors who committed the offences^[25] and reinstated their access to the Conference League. UEFA also initiated a disciplinary case against Osasuna for taking the matter to civil courts.

Red and navy blue are the colours of CA Osasuna, reflected in the home kit and club logo. The away kit tends to differ greatly from the home kit.

2016–2017 away slip

Osasuna has many rivalries: these include Real Zaragoza, Real Madrid,^[6][8] and Athletic Bilbao.

The rivalry with Real Madrid began in December 1990, when Osasuna won 4–0 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.^[7] 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.^[26] 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.^[27][28] 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.

Season	Div	Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Cup	Europe		Notes
2013–14	1D	18th	38	10	9	19	32	62	−30	39	Round of 16			Relegated
2014–15	2D	18th	42	11	12	19	41	60	−19	45	Second round
2015–16	2D	6th	42	17	13	12	47	40	+7	64	Second round			Promoted as play-off winners
2016–17	1D	19th	38	4	10	24	40	94	−54	22	Round of 16			Relegated
2017–18	2D	8th	42	16	16	10	44	34	+10	64	Third round
2018–19	2D	1st	42	26	9	7	59	35	+24	87	Second round			Promoted
2019–20	1D	10th	38	13	13	12	46	54	−8	52	Round of 16
2020–21	1D	11th	38	11	11	16	37	48	−11	44	Round of 16
2021–22	1D	10th	38	12	11	15	37	51	−14	47	Round of 32
2022–23	1D	7th	38	15	8	15	37	42	−5	53	Runners-up
2023–24	1D	11th	38	12	9	17	45	56	−11	45	Round of 16

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Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1929 3 3ª 7th Round of 16 1929–30 4 1ª Reg. 1st Round of 16 1930–31 3 3ª 3rd DNP 1931–32 3 3ª 1st Round of 32 1932–33 2 2ª 8th Round of 16 1933–34 2 2ª 5th Round of 16 1934–35 2 2ª 1st Semi-finals 1935–36 1 1ª 12th Semi-finals 1939–40 2 2ª 2nd Round of 16 1940–41 2 2ª 5th Second round 1941–42 2 2ª 6th First round 1942–43 2 2ª 4th First round 1943–44 2 2ª 13th Round of 32 1944–45 3 3ª 2nd DNP 1945–46 3 3ª 5th DNP 1946–47 3 3ª 2nd DNP 1947–48 3 3ª 1st Fifth round 1948–49 3 3ª 1st Fourth round 1949–50 2 2ª 7th Second round 1950–51 2 2ª 7th DNP

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1951–52 2 2ª 6th DNP 1952–53 2 2ª 1st First round 1953–54 1 1ª 13th DNP 1954–55 2 2ª 9th DNP 1955–56 2 2ª 1st Quarter-finals 1956–57 1 1ª 6th Round of 16 1957–58 1 1ª 5th Round of 16 1958–59 1 1ª 8th Round of 16 1959–60 1 1ª 15th Round of 32 1960–61 2 2ª 1st Round of 32 1961–62 1 1ª 12th Round of 32 1962–63 1 1ª 15th Round of 32 1963–64 2 2ª 5th First round 1964–65 2 2ª 10th Round of 16 1965–66 2 2ª 9th Round of 32 1966–67 2 2ª 4th Round of 32 1967–68 2 2ª 15th First round 1968–69 3 3ª 1st DNP 1969–70 2 2ª 15th Round of 32 1970–71 3 3ª 4th Round of 32

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1971–72 3 3ª 1st First round 1972–73 2 2ª 15th Third round 1973–74 2 2ª 17th Third round 1974–75 3 3ª 1st First round 1975–76 2 2ª 19th Round of 32 1976–77 3 3ª 1st Second round 1977–78 2 2ª 10th Third round 1978–79 2 2ª 13th Quarter-finals 1979–80 2 2ª 3rd Round of 16 1980–81 1 1ª 11th First round 1981–82 1 1ª 10th Third round 1982–83 1 1ª 14th Round of 16 1983–84 1 1ª 15th Quarter-finals 1984–85 1 1ª 6th Third round 1985–86 1 1ª 14th Fourth round 1986–87 1 1ª 15th Quarter-finals 1987–88 1 1ª 5th Semi-finals 1988–89 1 1ª 10th Round of 16 1989–90 1 1ª 8th First round 1990–91 1 1ª 4th Fourth round

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1991–92 1 1ª 15th Round of 16 1992–93 1 1ª 10th Fifth round 1993–94 1 1ª 20th Fifth round 1994–95 2 2ª 7th Third round 1995–96 2 2ª 10th Second round 1996–97 2 2ª 16th Third round 1997–98 2 2ª 15th Round of 16 1998–99 2 2ª 13th Fourth round 1999–2000 2 2ª 2nd Quarter-finals 2000–01 1 1ª 15th Round of 32 2001–02 1 1ª 17th Round of 32 2002–03 1 1ª 11th Semi-finals 2003–04 1 1ª 13th Round of 16 2004–05 1 1ª 15th Runners-up 2005–06 1 1ª 4th Round of 16 2006–07 1 1ª 14th Quarter-finals 2007–08 1 1ª 17th Round of 32 2008–09 1 1ª 15th Round of 16 2009–10 1 1ª 12th Quarter-finals 2010–11 1 1ª 9th Round of 32

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 2011–12 1 1ª 7th Round of 16 2012–13 1 1ª 16th Round of 16 2013–14 1 1ª 18th Round of 16 2014–15 2 2ª 18th Second round 2015–16 2 2ª 6th Second round 2016–17 1 1ª 19th Round of 16 2017–18 2 2ª 8th Third round 2018–19 2 2ª 1st[22] Second round 2019–20 1 1ª 10th Round of 16 2020–21 1 1ª 11th Round of 16 2021–22 1 1ª 10th Round of 32 2022–23 1 1ª 7th Runners-up 2023–24 1 1ª 11th Round of 16 2024–25 1 1ª

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• 43 seasons in La Liga
• 37 seasons in Segunda División
• 13 seasons in Tercera División (as third tier)
• 1 season in Categorías Regionales

As of 29 August 2024^[29]

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 Sergio Herrera (vice-captain) 2 DF  ESP Nacho Vidal 3 DF  ESP Juan Cruz 4 DF  ESP Unai García (captain) 5 DF  ESP Jorge Herrando 6 MF  ESP Lucas Torró 7 MF  ESP Jon Moncayola 8 MF  ESP Pablo Ibáñez 9 FW  ESP Raúl García 10 MF  ESP Aimar Oroz 11 MF  ESP Kike Barja 12 DF  ESP Jesús Areso 13 GK  ESP Aitor Fernández

No. Pos. Nation Player 14 MF  ESP Rubén García 15 DF  ESP Rubén Peña 16 MF  ESP Moi Gómez 17 FW  CRO Ante Budimir 18 MF  ESP Iker Muñoz 19 FW  ESP Bryan Zaragoza (on loan from Bayern Munich) 20 FW  ESP José Manuel Arnáiz 21 MF  ESP Javi Martínez 22 DF  CMR Enzo Boyomo 23 DF  ESP Abel Bretones 24 DF  ESP Alejandro Catena 27 FW  ESP Iker Benito

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 29 MF  ESP Asier Osambela 30 DF  ESP Diego Espejo

No. Pos. Nation Player 32 GK  GRE Dimitrios Stamatakis

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  ESP Jorge Moreno (at Cartagena until 30 June 2025) — FW  ESP Ander Yoldi (at Córdoba until 30 June 2025)

Position	Staff
Head coach	Vicente Moreno
Assistant coach	Dani Pendín
Match delegate	Iñaki Ibáñez
Physiotherapist	Unai Miqueleiz Pablo Suárez Fernando Urtasun Asier Urkia
Goalkeeping coach	Ricardo Sanzol
Match analyst	Ramón Alturo
Fitness coach	Pablo Iriarte Juantxo Martín Dani Pastor
Podiatrist	Javier Rada
Kit man	Iker Galarza David Armendáriz Andrés Ocampo
Head of medical services	Andrés Fernández
Sporting director	Braulio Vázquez

• Copa del Rey
  • Runners-up (2): 2004–05, 2022–23
• Copa Presidente FEF
  • Runners-up (1): 1939–40
• Segunda División
  • Winners (4): 1952–53, 1955–56, 1960–61, 2018–19^[22]
  • Runners-up (2): 1934-35, 1999-20
• Tercera División
  • Winners (7): 1931–32, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1976–77

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

Daniel Montenegro Bernardo Romeo John Aloisi Dady Pablo Contreras Rafael Olarra Ibrahima Bakayoko Christian Manfredini Ante Budimir Jaroslav Plašil Sammy Lee Krisztián Vadócz Karim Ansarifard Javad Nekounam Masoud Shojaei Ashley Grimes

Michael Robinson Javier Aguirre Carlos Ochoa Carlos Vela Manuel Vidrio Moha Ez Abde Emeka Ifejiagwa Roman Kosecki Ryszard Staniek Mirosław Trzeciak Jan Urban Jacek Ziober Ionel Gane Dmitri Kuznetsov Sergey Shustikov

Darko Brašanac Dejan Lekić Dejan Marković Savo Milošević Predrag Spasić Goran Stevanović Petar Vasiljević Risto Vidaković César Azpilicueta Paco Bienzobas Eugenio Bustingorri Javier Castañeda Thomas Christiansen César Cruchaga Martín Domínguez Ignacio Eizaguirre

Miguel Flaño Josep Maria Fusté Andoni Goikoetxea Martín González José Izquierdo Josetxo Javi García Roberto Soldado Raúl García Domingo Larrainzar Iñigo Larrainzar Javier López Vallejo Enrique Martín Javi Martínez José Manuel Mateo

Nacho Monreal Pablo Orbaiz Pachín Pepín Francisco Puñal Tiko Ignacio Zoco Pablo García Richard Morales Walter Pandiani Marcelo Sosa

The following players have been selected by their country in the World Cup Finals, while playing for Osasuna.

• Javier Aguirre
• Ivica Brzić
• Rafael Benítez
• José Antonio Camacho
• Miguel Ángel Lotina
• José Luis Mendilibar
• José Ángel Ziganda
• Jagoba Arrasate

• CA Osasuna B – Osasuna's B team in Segunda División B
• CD Subiza – affiliated team in Tercera División RFEF^[30]
• CA Osasuna cantera – youth system up to 19 years, in leagues including División de Honor Juvenil
• Xota FS – affiliated futsal club^[31]
• Corruption in Navarre

• Official website (in Spanish and Basque)
• Futbolme team profile (in Spanish)
• BDFutbol team profile