Racing de Santander

Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (Spanish pronunciation: [reˈal ˈraθiŋ kluβ ðe santanˈdeɾ]), also known as Racing de Santander (pronounced [ˈraθin de santanˈdeɾ]) or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in La Liga, the first tier of the Spanish league system. It was founded in 1913 and it holds home games at El Sardinero, with a capacity for 22,222 spectators. It is one of the ten founding clubs of La Liga. History Real Racing Club played their first football match on 23 February 1913, losing 1–2 to neighbouring Strong. It was officially founded on 14 June, as Santander Racing Club, appearing in its first tournament during that summer (Luis Redonet Trophy) and being admitted to the Northern Federation on 14 November, eventually merging with Santander Football Club. In the 1928–29 season, the Spanish League competition began. After a complicated elimination process to determine the tenth and final team for the new First Division, Racing successively beat Valencia, Betis and Sevilla. The club was part of the first goalless game in the league, against Athletic Bilbao. During the Second Republic, the classifications of Santander varied. In the 1930–31 season, they achieved the runner-up position in the Spanish League, tied at 22 points with champion Athletic Bilbao and third-place Real Sociedad. This is the highest finish achieved by the club in all its history, trained by the English Robert Firth and chaired by Fernando Pombo. They also participated in the International Tournament of Paris, falling in the semifinal to Slavia of Prague (2–1). In the 1930s, under the presidency of the academic José María de Cossío, it had varied positions, from third place in (1933–34) to low table rankings. In seasons 1934–35 and 1935–36, Racing played in the Commonwealth Championship of Castilla-Aragón, in which it finished second in the first season. Meanwhile, in Cantabria a lesser championship was disputed, not qualifying for the Spanish Cup; Santoña won it. During the 1935–36 season, Racing was the first club in the Spanish league to beat Barcelona and Real Madrid in the four league matches (both home and two as a visitor) in the same season: on 8 December 1935 they won 4–0 against Barcelona in the Campos de Sport de El Sardinero, on 15 December they won in Madrid 2–4, on 8 March 1936 they beat Barcelona 2-3 and on 15 March they defeated Madrid 4–3 at El Sardinero. The only player to score in all matches (one goal in each match, and two in Madrid) was Milucho. In 1950, the Cantabrians returned to the top flight after a ten-year absence, scoring 99 goals in only 30 games. During the period of Francoist Spain, the club was renamed Real Santander in 1941, because of the prohibition on non-Spanish names. The name was restored in 1973 as the team returned to the first division one year after nearly relegating, under young manager José María Maguregui. Racing was immediately relegated, and spent the ensuing seasons bouncing between divisions one and two, also being crowned champions in Segunda División B (the new third level, created in 1977) in 1991. Veteran Quique Setién returned to his main club the following year, helping them return to the top flight and scoring in the 1994–95 campaign against Barcelona, in a historic 5–0 home win. Racing was the first Spanish team to wear a sponsor's name on their shirt: German electronics company Teka on 27 December 1981 away to Real Madrid (the corporation then sponsored the opponents early in the following decade). On 25 March 2000, Racing played its 1,000th game in La Liga. In the 2000s, Racing only played one season in the second division, winning promotion with Setién as manager. Racing finished the 2005–06 season in the 16th position, just 1 point away from relegation back to Segunda división. The next season was much better, as the club finished 10th, easily retaining its place in the top flight. In 2007–08, under Marcelino García Toral, it finished in sixth position, thus qualifying to the UEFA Cup for the first time ever; additionally the club reached the semifinals of the Copa del Rey twice during this decade, being ousted by eventual runners-up Getafe and Atlético Madrid in 2008 and 2010, respectively. On 22 January 2011, Indian business tycoon Ahsan Ali Syed, founder and chairman of investment company Western Gulf Advisory, completed his takeover of Racing de Santander. Following his takeover, he immediately sacked Miguel Ángel Portugal. A turbulent 2011–12 season saw the club go through three different managers, all of which were unable to prevent Racing from being relegated to the Segunda División, bringing an end to their decade stay in the top flight of Spanish football. At the end of the following campaign, Racing again finished at the bottom of the table, sealing their fate of a consecutive relegation. During the season, Racing had also been immersed in a severe institutional and financial crisis. The club's relegation brought an end to 22 years of playing in Spain's professional divisions. In spite of that plight, the team was able to reach the quarterfinals in the 2013–14 edition of the domestic cup after ousting top-divisioners Sevilla and Almería; in the first leg against the latter, club fans stormed the presidential tribune at Estadio El Sardinero and assaulted chairman Ángel Lavín. On 27 January 2014, Racing's players, citing several months of unpaid wages, announced they would not play their upcoming cup match unless the club's president and board resigned. Three days later, in the club's second-leg fixture against Real Sociedad, the players gathered at the centre circle following kick-off, refusing to play. Referee Jesús Gil Manzano suspended the game after one minute, with Racing being given a loss due to forfeit. As a result of the protest the club was fined and banned from competing in the following edition of the competition. On 31 January Lavín was sacked, with former player Juan Antonio Sañudo being appointed his successor by practically all the shareholders. Racing won their group in the 2013–14 Segunda División B, and won the playoff against Llagostera to be promoted back to the second tier, but they were immediately relegated in the 2014–15 season. They again took first place in the Segunda B section in 2015–16, but were eliminated in the promotion playoffs, failing to score a goal across four matches in the ties lost to Reus and Cádiz. Racing was promoted back to the second division after four years in the third tier in 2018–19, by winning their regional group and defeating Atlético Baleares in the promotion playoff on the away goals rule, but they were immediately relegated in the 2019–20 season after only winning five games out of 42 and finished in last place. They were unable to bounce back to the second tier immediately, finishing fourth then second in the unique small two-phase group setup during 2020–21 Segunda División B to find themselves remaining at the third level, in the newly formed Primera División RFEF, for the 2021–22 season. Racing confirmed their finish the season in first place and promoted to Segunda División, after two years in third division and fighting with Deportivo La Coruña for the top spot. On 3 June 2022, Racing took the inaugural Primera División RFEF title with a 3–0 win over Andorra. After spending 14 years between the second and third division (4 years consecutively in the second), Racing finally won promotion to the top division for the 2026–27 season as they won 4–1 against Real Valladolid in the 40th matchday. On 31 May 2026, Racing secured the league title in the final matchday, following a win 4–1 against Cádiz. Rivalries Racing Santander is one of few Spanish teams that have played over 40 seasons in La Liga, but do not have a major rival, mostly because Racing are the only fully professional team from Cantabria, so there isn't much competition between Racing and any other club from that area, with most others playing at the regionalised fourth level; only Gimnástica de Torrelavega have ever reached the second tier. However, Racing fans generally consider their biggest rival to be the major team from the Basque Country, Athletic Bilbao, due to geographic proximity and the long history between these clubs. Bilbao is the closest city to Santander (approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi)), and the relationship between Racing and Athletic has been described in the past as 'the duel of the North', although the rivalry is dormant as Racing have not played in the top division since 2012. There is also a minor rivalry between Racing and a club from neighboring Asturias: Real Oviedo and a hostility with Getafe. Racing Santander supporters maintain friendly relations with fans of Sporting Gijón. Seasons Recent seasons Season to season 45 seasons in La Liga 39 seasons in Segunda División 1 season in Primera División RFEF 7 seasons in Segunda División B 4 seasons in Tercera División Honours La Liga Runners-up (1): 1930–31 Segunda División Winners (3): 1949–50, 1959–60, 2025–26 Promoted (6): 1972–73, 1974–75, 1980–81, 1983–84, 1992–93, 2001–02 Tercera División/Segunda División B/Primera División RFEF Winners (4): 1943–44, 1947–48, 1969–70, 2021–22 Group Winners (4): 1990–91, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2018–19 Promoted (6): 1943–44, 1947–48, 1969–70, 1990–91, 2013–14, 2018–19 Cantabrian Championship Winners (13): 1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1938–39, 1939–40 Campeonato Regional Centro: Runners-up (1): 1934–35 European history Current squad As of 6 July 2026 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Reserve team Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Returning from loan Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Out on loan Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Current technical staff Notable former players Note: this list includes players that have appeared in at least 100 league games and/or have reached international status. World Cup players The following players have been selected by their country in the World Cup Finals, while playing for Racing Santander. Former coaches See also Rayo Cantabria – Racing's reserve team CDE Racing Féminas – affiliated women's team References External links Official website (in Spanish) Team profile at Futbolme (in Spanish) Team profile at BDFutbol