Real Unión


Real Unión Club de Irún, 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 Segunda División B – Group 2, holding home matches at the 5,000-seater Stadium Gal. Real Union 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 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. During the Second Spanish Republic the club reverted to this name. Real Unión subsequently won the Copa del Rey a further three times, beating Real Madrid in 1918 and again in 1924. In 1927 they defeated Arenas Getxo in the only all-Basque final to date. In 1922 they were runners-up, losing 5–1 to FC Barcelona. The club were relegated from La Liga in 1932.
In 1920, when Spain made their international debut at the Olympic Games, the club provided the squad with three players—Egiazabal, Vázquez and Arabolaza. 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. 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 after a 44-year absence, successively defeating CE Sabadell FC and AD Alcorcón in the 2008–09 promotion play-offs. However, it would be a short-lived return, as the team was immediately relegated, after ranking 21st.

Season to season




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Honours

  • Copa del Rey: Winners 1913, 1918, 1924, 1927
  • *Runners-up: 1922
  • Copa Federación de España: Winners 2014–15
  • Segunda División B: Winners: 2002–03, 2008–09
  • Tercera División: Winners1957–58, 1963–64; 1991–92, 1992–93
  • North Regional Championship: Winners 1917–18
  • Gipuzkoa Championship: Winners 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
  • Tournoi de Pentecôte de Paris Football Latin
  • Tournoi "Stade Buffalo" de Paris

    Famous players

Note: this list includes players that have played at least 100 league games and/or have reached international status.

Former coaches

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