Granada Club de Fútbol (), known simply as Granada or "Graná", is a professional Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that currently plays in Segunda División. 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 runner-up in 1959 (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, where they were quarter-finalists.
History Foundation Granada Club de Fútbol was founded on 6 April 1931,Datos del club (Club data) ; Granada official website originally as Recreativo de Granada; the first president was Julio López Fernández. He 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 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. Granada finished the season in the 10th position among 14 teams.
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.
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, 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 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.
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, 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 – 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.
In June 2016, Chinese businessman Jiang Lizhang became the new owner of the club, buying the Pozzo family's controlling stake. On 22 July 2016, Granada announced they had acquired Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa on a season-long loan, and during the season, Ochoa would break the record for the most saves in a single La Liga season. After surviving in the top flight for six seasons, the team was relegated in 2016–17 after being defeated by Real Sociedad.
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 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. They reached the quarter-finals in Europe, being eliminated by Manchester United. 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 was relegated back to the second division after finishing in last place.
Seasons
SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1931–3263rd1932–3351933–3433ª1934–3522ª7thFirst round1935–3622ª6thFirst round1939–4022ª2nd1940–4122ªRound of 161941–4211ª10thQuarter-finals1942–4311ª12thFirst round1943–4411ª8thQuarter-finals1944–4511ªSemi-finals1945–4622ª4thQuarter-finals1946–4722ª7thFirst round1947–4822ª7thSixth round1948–4922ª3rdQuarter-finals1949–5022ª9thSecond round1950–5122ª7th1951–5222ª13th1952–5322ª9thRound of 161953–5422ª4thSeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1954–5522ª3rd1955–5622ª8th1956–5722ª1957–5811ª13thRound of 161958–5911ª13thRunner-up1959–6011ª12thRound of 321960–6111ªRound of 321961–6222ª3rdRound of 321962–6322ª6thRound of 321963–6422ª6thFirst round1964–6522ª7thRound of 321965–6622ªFirst round1966–6711ªQuarter-finals1967–6822ªFirst round1968–6911ª8thSemi-finals1969–7011ª12thRound of 161970–7111ª10thRound of 161971–7211ª6thRound of 161972–7311ª13thQuarter-finals1973–7411ª6thQuarter-finals SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1974–7511ª15thQuarter-finals1975–7611ªRound of 161976–7722ª10thFourth round1977–7822ª9thFourth round1978–7922ª6thSecond round1979–8022ª13thFirst round1980–8122ªRound of 161981–8232ª B10thSecond round1982–8332ª BSecond round1983–8422ª8thThird round1984–8522ªSecond round1985–8632ª B7thThird round1986–8732ª BFirst round1987–8822ªFirst round1988–8932ª B16thSecond round1989–9032ª B4th1990–9132ª B5thFirst round1991–9232ª B9thFirst round1992–9332ª B3rdThird round1993–9432ª B6thSecond roundSeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1994–9532ª B13thSecond round1995–9632ª B2nd1996–9732ª B6thThird round1997–9832ª B4th1998–9932ª B6thFirst round1999–200032ª B1st2000–0132ª B5thQuarter-finals2001–0232ª BPreliminary2002–0343ª4th2003–0443ª1st2004–0543ª5thFirst round2005–0643ª2006–0732ª B13thFirst round2007–0832ª B5th2008–0932ª B10thFirst round2009–1032ª B2010–1122ªThird round2011–1211ª17thRound of 322012–1311ª15thRound of 322013–1411ª15thRound of 32 SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey2014–1511ª17thRound of 162015–1611ª16thRound of 162016–1711ªRound of 322017–1822ª10thSecond round2018–19 22ªSecond round2019–2011ª7thSemi-finals2020–2111ª9thQuarter-finals2021–2211ªSecond round2022–2322ªSecond round2023–2411ªFirst round2024–2522ª7thRound of 322025–2622ª14thRound of 322026–2722ªTBD
27 seasons in La Liga 37 seasons in the Segunda División 22 seasons in the Segunda División B 5 seasons in the Tercera División (1 on 3rd tier) 2 seasons in the Categorías Regionales
Players
Current squad
Reserve team
Out on loan
Current technical staff
Honours
National 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
Regional tournaments Andalucia Cup (1): 1932–33 Andalucia Championship reservations (1): 1971–72
Friendly
Antonio Puerta Trophy (1): 2010
Individual
Pichichi Trophy La Liga: Enrique Porta (1971–72) Segunda División: Miguel (1964–65), Rafa (1955–56), Myrto Uzuni (2022–2023)
European record Season Competition Round Opposition Home Away Aggregate2020–21Europa League2QR Teuta 4–0 3QR Locomotive Tbilisi 2−0 PO Malmö FF 3–1 Group E PSV Eindhoven 0–1 2–1 2nd out of 4 PAOK 0–0 0–0 Omonia 2–1 2–0R32 Napoli 2–0 1–2 3–2R16 Molde 2–0 1–2 3–2QF Manchester United 0–2 0–2 0–4
Derby of eastern Andalusia
The Eastern Andalusia Derby is played between Granada and Málaga.
Updated to derby #90 played on September 20, 2024.
Competition Played Granada wins Draws Málaga wins Granada goals Málaga goals La Liga 24 8 8 8 22 29 La Liga Play-off 2 1 1 0 3 2 Segunda 40 13 12 16 46 61 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 10 6 1 3 17 11 Overall 88 34 27 28 102 111
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. The stadium featured an original capacity of 16,212 seats. This was expanded to 22,524 after Granada CF's promotion to La Liga in the summer of 2011.