Granada CF
Granada Club de Fútbol (Spanish pronunciation: [gɾaˈnaða ˈkluβ ðe ˈfuðβol]), or simply Granada, is a Spanish football club in Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 14 April 1931, it plays in La Liga. The club plays its home matches at the Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes.
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Full name | Granada Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. | |||
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Nickname(s) | Nazaríes (Nasrids), El Graná, El 5001, Matagigantes, Rojiblancos | |||
Founded | 14 April 1931 | |||
Ground | Nuevo Los Cármenes | |||
Capacity | 19,336 [1] | |||
Owner | Desports | |||
President | Jiang Lizhang | |||
Head coach | Diego Martínez | |||
League | La Liga | |||
2019–20 | La Liga, 7th of 20 | |||
Website | Club website | |||
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Granada was the third Andalusian football team after Betis and Sevilla to compete in La Liga, in 1941–42. The team is located at position 24 of the historical points classification of the First Division, where it has participated in 20 seasons and finished in sixth place twice. Granada was Copa del Rey runner-up in 1959.
History
Foundation
Granada Club de Fútbol was founded on 14 April 1931,[2] 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.[3]
The first football match was played against Deportivo Jaén on 6 December 1931, which resulted in a 2–1 victory.[4] 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 CF won it 1-0. It took place at Campo de Las Tablas stadium.[4] In the 1931–32 season, the club finished 2nd in the Tercera Regional – Región Sur championship.[4] 4 wins in 6 matches helped Granada CF to be promoted to Segunda Regional. The club started the season in a new division with a new president, Gabriel Morcillo Raya.[5] During the 1932-33 season the club had the biggest win in its history, 11–0 against Xerez FC on 23 April 1933.[6]
La Liga entry and peak
After several promotions, in 1941–42 the club made its La Liga debut. It was the match against Celta on 28 September 1941. The game ended up in 1–1 draw.[7] The first Granada goal in the highest Spanish division was scored by César Rodríguez Álvarez.[8] During that season Granada had some historical home wins, among them 8–0 against Real Oviedo and 6–0 against Barcelona.[4] Granada finished the season in the 10th position among 14 teams.[9] From here until the 1980s, it alternated between that category and Segunda División, with its golden age coming during the 1970s, with eight top flight seasons, which included a best-ever two sixth league places (1971–72, 1973–74). Granada finished the 1971-72 season with 9 wins in the last 10 home games, among them wins against Barcelona and Real.[4]
In 1959 Granada achieved its greatest sports landmark, being 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.[10]
In the 1980s, Granada had some brief appearances in the second division. In 1983–84, they finished 8th among 20 teams in Segunda División, just 10 points away from the champion Real Madrid Castilla and the runner-up Bilbao Athletic.[11] The 1984–85, Granada finished 18th and were relegated to Segunda División B;[12] in the same season, the club was eliminated by Estepona in the first round of the Copa del Rey.[13]
Decline and revival
Granada spent most of the following seasons in Segunda División B, dropping another level in 2002–03, due to non-payment to its players.[14] 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 became a champion of the Tercera División Group 9 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.[15]
In 2006–07, Granada played in Group IV of the third level after four seasons in 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.[16] In July 2009, the club was in such financial difficulty that it was on the brink of closing.[17] The solution to the crisis came with the signing of a partnership agreement with 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.[17] At the end of the season, Granada won its group then got promoted 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.[17] 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.[18][19] In June 2016, Chinese businessman Jiang Lizhang became the new owner of the club, buying the Pozzo family's controlling stake.[20] After surviving in the top flight for six seasons, the team was relegated in 2016–17 after being defeated by Real Sociedad.[21]
Under new manager Diego Martínez, Granada returned to the top flight as runners-up to CA Osasuna in the 2018–19 Segunda División.[22] The following season, the team came 7th in the top flight, qualifying for the first time to the UEFA Europa League.[23]
Seasons


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- 25 seasons in La Liga
- 33 seasons in Segunda División
- 22 seasons in Segunda División B
- 5 seasons in Tercera División
- 2 seasons in Categorías Regionales
Players
Current squad
- As of 5 August 2020 [24]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve team
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Current technical staff
Position | Staff |
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Head coach | ![]() |
Assistant coach | ![]() |
Fitness coach | ![]() |
Goalkeeping coach | ![]() |
Analyst | ![]() |
Analyst | ![]() |
Last updated: October 2019
Source: Granada CF
Honours
National
- Segunda División (3): 1940–41, 1956–57, 1967–68
- Segunda División B (3): 1982–83, 1999–00, 2009–10
- Tercera División (3): 1933–34, 2003–04, 2005–06
- Copa del Rey
- Runners-up: 1958–59
Regional tournaments
- Andalucia Cup : 1932–33
- Andalucia Championship reservations : 1971–72
Friendly
- Antonio Puerta Trophy: 2010
Individual
Pichichi Trophy
- La Liga: Enrique Porta (1971–72)
- Segunda División: Miguel (1964–65), Rafa (1955–56)
Derby of eastern Andalusia
Updated to derby #85 played on April 6, 2019.
Competition | Played | Granada wins | Draws | Málaga wins | Granada goals | Málaga goals |
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La Liga | 24 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 22 | 29 |
La Liga Play-off | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
Segunda | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 42 | 58 |
Segunda Play-off | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
Segunda B | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
Tercera | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
Copa del Rey | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 10 |
Overall | 85 | 32 | 25 | 28 | 96 | 107 |
Stadium

After its foundation, the team played its home matches at Campo de Las Tablas, inaugurated on 20 December 1931. On that day Granada CF won the match against U.D. Andújar 1-0 in the Tercera Regional.[25] Granada's stay at this ground was a short one; on 23 December 1934, a new stadium, Estadio Los Cármenes, was opened.
The club played in this stadium until 1995 when a new facility, named Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes, took its place. It was inaugurated on 16 May 1995, with an original capacity of 16,212 seats. This was expanded to 22,524 after the final promotion to La Liga in the summer of 2011.
- Dimensions: 105 × 68 meters
- Address: C/ Pintor Manuel Maldonado s/n
- Inauguration date: 16 May 1995, Real Madrid–Bayer Leverkusen (1–0)
- First Granada CF match: 22 August 1995, Granada-Real Betis (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. Since then, several changes (between horizontal and vertical) took place until 2004–05, when in a member assembly it was decided to use horizontal stripes definitively.
Shirt sponsors and manufacturers
Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
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1984–87 | Ressy | La General |
1987–90 | Umbro | Puleva |
1990–92 | Joma | Citroën |
1992–93 | Lotto | CC Neptuno |
1993–94 | None | |
1994–95 | Sierra Nevada 95 | |
1995–96 | Cervezas Alhambra | |
1996–98 | Kelme | |
1998–00 | Joma | Jimesa |
2000–03 | La General | |
2003–04 | Bemiser | Caja Rural |
2004–05 | Elements | Agua Sierra Cazorla |
2005–06 | Umbro | Puertas Castalla |
2006–07 | CajaSur | |
2007–09 | Patrick | |
2009–10 | Macron | Covirán |
2010–12 | Legea | Caja Granada |
2012–14 | Luanvi | |
2014–16 | Joma | Solver |
2016–18 | Energy King | |
2018–19 | Erreà | None |
2019-23 | Nike | Winamax |
Coaches
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References
- "Los Cármenes no lucirá esquinas provisionales esta campaña". Ideal (in Spanish). 10 June 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- Datos del club (Club data); Granada official website (in Spanish)
- "Historia del Granada CF en ideal.es". Granada CF - Ideal (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- "Temporada 1931-32 - 14 Abril 1931. Historia del Granada C.F." www.14abril1931.tk. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- "Temporada 1932-33 - 14 Abril 1931. Historia del Granada C.F." www.14abril1931.tk. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- "Temporada 1932-33 - 14 Abril 1931. Historia del Granada C.F." www.14abril1931.tk. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- "Se cumplen 75 años del primer partido y el primer gol del Granada CF en Primera División". GranadaDigital (in Spanish). 28 September 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- "César, un nueve revolucionario". La Vanguardia. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- "Temporada 1941-42 - 14 Abril 1931. Historia del Granada C.F." www.14abril1931.tk. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- "Copa del Rey / Spanish Cup 1958-59". www.linguasport.com. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- "Temporada 1983-84 - 14 Abril 1931. Historia del Granada C.F." www.14abril1931.tk. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- "Temporada 1984-85 - 14 Abril 1931. Historia del Granada C.F." www.14abril1931.tk. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- "Temporada 1984-85 - 14 Abril 1931. Historia del Granada C.F." www.14abril1931.tk. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- "22 años en el infierno" [Granada, 22 years in hell] (in Spanish). Granada Hoy. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
- "Temporada 2005-06 - 14 Abril 1931. Historia del Granada C.F." www.14abril1931.tk. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- "Temporada 2006-07 - 14 Abril 1931. Historia del Granada C.F." www.14abril1931.tk. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- "How Udinese beat the system and stands at the gates of La Liga". A Football Report. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- "Granada promoted to La Liga". Sky Sports. 18 June 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- "Granada, en Primera 35 años después" [Granada, to Primera after 35 years] (in Spanish). Marca. 18 June 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- "Jiang Lizhang, nuevo propietario del Granada" [Jiang Lizhang, new owner of Granada]. ABC (in Spanish). 14 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- "Real Sociedad condemn Granada to Segunda División". Diario AS. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- "Granada back in Spanish top flight after draw with Mallorca". Reuters. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- Lowe, Sid (20 July 2020). "Silence, solitude and sadness for Leganés after desperate La Liga finale". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- "Plantilla Granada Club de Fútbol".
- "Temporada 1931-32 - 14 Abril 1931. Historia del Granada C.F." www.14abril1931.tk. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Granada CF. |
- Official website (in Spanish)
- Official website (in English)
- Futbolme team profile (in Spanish)
- BDFutbol team profile
- Unofficial website (in Spanish)