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 , holding home matches at the 5,000-seater Stadium Gal. Real Unión won the Copa del Rey four times, and 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 Unión is yet to return to the top tier, spending the rest of its history bouncing between the second and fourth tiers of Spanish football.
History
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 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 Sabadell (2–1 aggregate) and 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.
In July 2021, Unai Emery and his family completed a takeover of the club for whom his father and grandfather had played.
In December 2024, the club announced that V Sports, the holding company of Premier League club Aston Villa, managed by Unai Emery, had purchased an approximate 25% stake in the club.
Season to season
SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey192911ª9thRound of 321929–3011ª6thQuarterfinals1930–3111ª7thQuarterfinals1931–3211ªRound of 161932–3322ª10thRound of 161933–3422ª8th1934–3522ª5thSixth round1935–3622ª8thFirst round1939–4022ª3rd1940–4122ª9thFirst round1941–4222ª1942–4331ª Reg.7th1943–4433ª10thFirst round1944–4533ª9th1945–4633ª10th1946–4733ª5th1947–4833ª5thSecond round1948–4933ª10thFirst round1949–5033ª17th1950–5133ªSeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1951–5241ª Reg.12th1952–5341ª Reg.3rd1953–5441ª Reg.6th1954–5541ª Reg.5th1955–5641ª Reg.1956–5733ª12th1957–5833ª1958–5922ªPreliminary1959–6033ª2nd1960–6133ª5th1961–6233ª4th1962–6333ª2nd1963–6433ª1964–6522ªRound of 321965–6633ª7th1966–6733ª2nd1967–6833ª4th1968–6933ª2nd1969–7033ª6thFirst round1970–7133ª14thThird round SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1971–7233ªFirst round1972–7341ª Reg.2nd1973–7441ª Reg.1974–7533ª12thSecond round1975–7633ª4thFirst round1976–7733ªFirst round1977–7832ª B10thThird round1978–7932ª BFirst round1979–8043ª14thFirst round1980–8143ª9th1981–8243ª6th1982–8343ª8thFirst round1983–8443ª4th1984–8543ª8thFirst round1985–8643ª12th1986–8743ª8th1987–8843ª5th1988–8943ª6th1989–9043ª5th1990–9143ª16thFirst roundSeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1991–9243ª1st1992–9343ªSecond round1993–9432ª B14th1994–9532ª B5th1995–9632ª B5thFirst round1996–9732ª B11thFirst round1997–9832ª B1998–9943ª1999–200032ª B16thFirst round2000–0132ª B9th2001–0232ª B6th2002–0332ª B1stRound of 162003–0432ª B12thSecond round2004–0532ª B2nd2005–0632ª B5thThird round2006–0732ª B4thSecond round2007–0832ª B5thRound of 322008–0932ª BRound of 162009–1022ªSecond round2010–1132ª B4thRound of 32 SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey2011–1232ª B14thFirst round2012–1332ª B8th2013–1432ª B15thFirst round2014–1532ª B4th2015–1632ª B5thFirst round2016–1732ª B7thFirst round2017–1832ª B13thFirst round2018–1932ª B16th2019–2032ª B17th2020–2132ª B / 2021–2231ª RFEF8thFirst round2022–2331ª Fed.13thSecond round2023–2431ª Fed.15th2024–2531ª Fed.18th2025–2642ª Fed.1st2026–2731ª Fed.TBD
4 seasons in La Liga 10 seasons in Segunda División 5 seasons in Primera Federación/Primera División RFEF 27 seasons in Segunda División B 1 season in Segunda Federación 40 seasons in Tercera División 7 seasons in Categorías Regionales
Current squad .
Honours Copa del Rey: Winners (3): 1918, 1924, 1927 Runners-up (1): 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
Notes
Notable former players Juan Legarreta Manuel Anatol René Petit Shinichi Chan 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
Former coaches Steve Bloomer Javier Zubillaga
See also Real Unión B, reserve team
References
External links
Futbolme team profile