Unionistas de Salamanca CF

Unionistas de Salamanca Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club in Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded in 2013, the club plays in Segunda División B – Group 2, holding home games at Campo de Fútbol Reina Sofía with a 5,000-seat capacity.[1]

Unionistas de Salamanca
Full nameUnionistas de Salamanca Club de Fútbol
Nickname(s)Unionistas
Founded26 August 2013 (2013-08-26)
GroundReina Sofía, Salamanca,
Salamanca, Spain
Capacity5,000
President Miguel Ángel Sandoval Herrero
Head coach Roberto Aguirre
League2ª B – Group 2
2019–202ª B – Group 216th

History

After UD Salamanca's dissolution, a group of supporters founded Unionistas de Salamanca Club de Fútbol, a fan-based club created mainly to preserve UDS' memory.[2][3] After the club's creation, people like Vicente del Bosque[4] and Dani Rovira[5] became associates. A number of British citizens resident in Spain and England are also members.[2] The fees contributed by the members of the club are a very important part of club's budget: last season (2018-19) there were 2,653 people who decided to become partial owners the club, all of them with real names and surnames and paying their corresponding fee.[6] During the first season after its foundation, the club played home games at the “Rosa Colorado” municipal stadium.[7]

On 2 September 2014 Unionistas was inscribed in Primera Provincial de Salamanca, the sixth level of Spanish football.[2][8] A day later it played its first official match, a 0–1 friendly loss against UD Santa Marta.[9]

Unionistas achieved promotion to Primera Regional in April 2015, after defeating Real Salamanca Monterrey.[10] Just one year later, it was promoted to Tercera División by beating Onzonilla.

The first season of the club in the Spanish fourth division was successful, as it ended in the third position of the Castile and León group and qualified to the promotion play-offs to Segunda División B. The club qualified for a second attempt in the next season, after topping group 8, and this time achieved promotion by defeating Socuéllamos in the last round, with a penalty kick scored in the 96th minute.

The first season in Segunda Division B was successful, as the team managed to finish in 9th place, avoiding relegation and qualifying for the Copa del Rey next season.

In their debut at Copa del Rey, Unionistas reached the round of 32 after beating Atlético Baleares and Deportivo La Coruña. In this round, they were eliminated by powerhouse Real Madrid, after losing 1–3. In the league, the season was more difficult. After first 11 league games the club is holding 19th position among 20 teams.[11] However, the club remained in the league after leaving the last positions and after the suspension of the league due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Club background

Season to season

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
2014–15 6 1ª Prov. 1st
2015–16 5 1ª Reg. 1st
2016–17 4 3rd
2017–18 4 1st
2018–19 3 2ªB 9th Second round
2019–20 3 2ªB 16th Round of 32
2020–21 3 2ªB

Detailed list of seasons

SeasonTierDivisionPosPWDLFAPtsCupTop scorer(s)
2014–1561ª Prov1st20172166953Nacho Sánchez24
2015–1651ª Reg1st3427701142788Vitolo24
2016–1743rd3822124772978Cristo20
2017–1841st382558723480Cristo18
2018–1932ªB9th38121610393752Second roundDe la Nava
Unai
6

Current squad

As of 16 October 2018

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK  ESP Brais Pereiro
GK  ESP Javi Hernández
DF  ESP Juan Góngora
DF  ESP Íñigo Zubiri
DF  ESP David Gallego
DF  ESP Pedro López
DF  ESP Piojo Hernández
DF  ESP Ayoze Placeres
MF  ESP Javier Ribelles
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF  ESP Cristian Portilla
MF  ESP Javi Navas
MF  ESP Diego González
MF  ESP Álvaro Romero
MF  ESP Manuel Motos
MF  ESP Iván Garrido
FW  ESP Carlos de la Nava
FW  ESP Guille Andrés

Honours

Notable players

Players who have reached international status or reached 100 league matches for the club

Stadium

In its first season, Unionistas de Salamanca played its home games at Polideportivo Rosa Colorado, commonly known as La Sindical, with a capacity of 2,000 spectators.[12]

Since 2015, the club has played its games at Pistas del Helmántico, with a capacity of 3,000 spectators.[13][14]

On 11 November 2017, it was announced that a new stadium would be built in the Zurguén district, in the southern part of Salamanca. The new home of Unionistas, "Estadio Zurguén" will presumably be open for the 2019-20 season.[15] Roughly one year later, however, the club announced an agreement with Real Salamanca Monterrey CF and the City Council to use the Reina Sofía stadium, with a planned expansion to 5,000 people; the transition to the new field was concluded for the 2020–21 season,[16] and was announced by the club on 5 October 2020.[17]

Rivalries

Unionistas de Salamanca has a strong rivalry with Salamanca UDS, formerly known as Salmantino. Both teams meet in their matches, called the derby of the 50 metres as their stadiums are separated by this distance.[14]

While Unionistas was born as a homage of former UD Salamanca, dissolved in 2013, Salamanca CF claims it is its continuation by using their name and their shield, despite a judicial statement established it is a completely different club.

References

  1. "Pistas del Helmantico, home to Unionistas de Salamanca, Salamanca UDS B - Football Ground Map". www.footballgroundmap.com. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  2. "Unionistas de Salamanca: The Englishmen at the heart of Spanish club's meteoric rise". 22 May 2019 via www.bbc.co.uk.
  3. English summary; Unionistas de Salamanca's official website, 5 September 2013
  4. Del Bosque, socio 685 del Unionistas de Salamanca (Del Bosque, associate 685 of Unionistas de Salamanca); ABC, 2 December 2013 (in Spanish)
  5. Dani Rovira, nuevo socio de Unionistas (Dani Rovira, new associate of Unionistas); La Gaceta de Salamanca, 24 April 2014 (in Spanish)
  6. "El club". Unionistas de Salamanca CF (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-21.
  7. "El club". Unionistas de Salamanca CF (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  8. Circular nº1 - D.P. Salamanca - PLAN COMPETICIONAL TEMPORADA 2014/15 (Note number 1 – Salamanca's Provincial Dep. – Competition plan 2014/15 season); Castile-León Football Federation, 2 September 2014 (in Spanish)
  9. Ilusionante estreno de Unionistas de Salamanca (Hopeful debut of Unionistas de Salamanca); El Norte de Castilla, 4 September 2014 (in Spanish)
  10. Por el espíritu del Salamanca (For Salamanca's spirit); Marca, 13 April 2015 (in Spanish)
  11. "Clasificación Segunda División B Grupo II 2019 - 20". Marca.com (in Spanish). 2017-07-26. Retrieved 2019-11-21.
  12. Estadio (Stadium); Unionistas de Salamanca's official website, 12 August 2014 (in Spanish)
  13. "COMUNICADO OFICIAL: El primer equipo jugará en Las Pistas del Helmántico" (in Spanish). Unionistas de Salamanca's official website. 14 July 2015.
  14. "Unionistas - Salamanca UDS: el derbi que separa una calle" [Unionistas-Salamanca: the derby separated by a street] (in Spanish). Marca. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  15. "El nuevo campo de El Zurguén será la 'casa de Unionistas" [The new El Zurguén park will be the 'home' of Unionistas]. Diario Noticias Salamanca 24 Horas (in Spanish). 11 November 2017. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
  16. La Gaceta de Salamanca: El Unionistas de Salamanca jugará finalmente en el Reina Sofía
  17. "ESTADIO | Unionistas de Salamanca disputará sus encuentros como local esta temporada en el Reina Sofía" [STADIUM | Unionistas de Salamanca will play their home fixtures this season at the Reina Sofía] (in Spanish). Unionistas de Salamanca CF. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.

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