CA Osasuna facts for kids
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| Full name | Club Atlético Osasuna | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Gorritxoak Los Rojillos |
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| Short name | CAO | ||
| Founded | 24 October 1920 | ||
| Ground | El Sadar | ||
| Capacity | 23,516 | ||
| President | Luis Sabalza | ||
| Head coach | Alessio Lisci | ||
| League | La Liga | ||
| 2022–23 | La Liga, 7th of 20 | ||
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Club Atlético Osasuna, often just called Osasuna, is a professional football club from Pamplona, Navarre, Spain. It was started on October 24, 1920. The team plays in La Liga, which is the top football league in Spain.
Their home stadium is El Sadar Stadium, which can hold 23,516 fans. Osasuna is special because it's one of only four professional clubs in La Liga owned by its members. These members elect the club's president.
Osasuna is the only team from Navarre to have played in La Liga. While they haven't won a major national trophy, they have reached the final of the Copa del Rey twice, in 2005 and 2023. Their best finishes in the league were fourth place in 1990–91 and 2005–06.
The team's home uniform is a red shirt with navy blue shorts. Their nicknames are "Los Rojillos" or "Gorritxoak," both meaning "The Little Reds." The word "osasuna" means "health" in the Basque language. It can also mean "strength" or "energy." This makes Osasuna the only team in La Liga with a Basque name.
Osasuna has a big rivalry with Real Zaragoza from the nearby Aragon region. They also have rivalries with Real Madrid and some other Basque clubs, especially Athletic Bilbao. Like other Basque clubs, Osasuna is known for developing many talented players from its own youth academy, called the cantera.
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Club History
The club was founded on October 24, 1920. Benjamín Andoian Martínez chose the name "Osasuna," which means "health" in Basque.
When Spanish football became professional in 1928, Osasuna started in the third division. They moved up to the Segunda División after the 1931–32 season. They even reached La Liga three seasons later. In the same season, they made it to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, but lost to Sevilla. The next season, they reached the semi-finals again, losing to Barcelona.
The club faced difficult times during a historical conflict in Spain. Many players and staff were affected. When official competitions started again, Osasuna was offered a place in the top league, even though they had finished last before the conflict. However, they had to play a special match against Atlético Aviación and lost. It took until 1953–54 for Osasuna to play in the top division again. They managed to stay there for three more years after 1956–57.
In September 1967, Osasuna's new stadium, El Sadar Stadium, opened. The first match there was against Vitoria de Setubal, and Osasuna won 3–0.
The club qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time in 1985–86. This happened after they finished sixth in the league. They beat Scottish club Rangers but were then knocked out by Belgian club Waregem. In the 1990–91 season, Osasuna achieved their best league finish at the time, coming in fourth place. This allowed them to play in the UEFA Cup again the next season. They reached the third round, beating teams like Slavia Sofia and Stuttgart.
After finishing last in 1993–94, the team spent six years in the second division. They were finally promoted back to La Liga in 1999–2000 by finishing second.
In the 2002–03 Copa del Rey, Osasuna reached the semi-finals. They had a great run, beating teams like Lemona, Eibar, Real Unión, and Sevilla. They were eventually knocked out by Recreativo de Huelva.
In 2005, Osasuna made it to the Copa del Rey final for the very first time. They played against Real Betis and lost after extra time. Their journey to the final was tough. They won against Segunda División B team Castellón on penalties. Then they beat Girona, Getafe, Sevilla, and Atletico Madrid by small margins to reach the final.
On November 27, 2005, Osasuna played their 1,000th game in La Liga. They had an amazing 2005–06 season, finishing fourth. This was their best-ever league finish and allowed them to enter the qualifying rounds for the UEFA Champions League. It was a very exciting end to the season, as they tied with Sevilla on points but finished higher due to their head-to-head record. However, they didn't make it to the Champions League group stage, losing to Hamburger SV. This meant they played in the UEFA Cup for the fifth time.
In the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, Osasuna did very well. They finished second in their group and moved to the knockout stage. They beat Bordeaux and then Rangers. In the quarter-finals, they faced German team Bayer Leverkusen. Even though they were not expected to win, Osasuna won both games and reached the semi-finals. There, they played against fellow Spanish team and defending champions Sevilla. Osasuna lost 1–2 over two games, ending their impressive run.
In the seasons that followed, Osasuna had some struggles in the league. In 2007–08, they finished just one point above the relegation zone. In 2008–09, they avoided relegation on the very last day of the season by beating Real Madrid at home.
Osasuna had a strong season in 2011–12, finishing seventh. However, they were relegated to the second division after the 2013–14 season. In 2014–15, they barely avoided relegation again. After a change in management, the team improved a lot. They won their last game of the 2015–16 season 5–0 against Oviedo. This put them in sixth place and qualified them for the promotion playoffs. They won all their playoff games, beating Gimnàstic de Tarragona and Girona, to get promoted back to La Liga. Unfortunately, they were relegated again after finishing 19th in 2016–17.
On May 20, 2019, Osasuna earned promotion back to La Liga with three games left in the season. On May 31, they beat Córdoba to become the champions of the 2018–19 Segunda División.
The club celebrated its 100th birthday in October 2020 with a league win against Athletic Bilbao. The game was played in an empty stadium due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2021, the club's president, Luis Sabalza, honored past members who faced difficulties during the Spanish Civil War.
In 2023, Osasuna finished 7th in La Liga, which meant they qualified for the UEFA Conference League. They also reached the 2023 Copa del Rey final, but lost to Real Madrid. There were some challenges regarding their qualification for the European competition, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in their favor, allowing them to play in the Conference League.
Kit Evolution
Red and navy blue are the main colors of CA Osasuna. These colors are used in their home kit and club logo. The away kit usually looks very different from the home kit.
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Rivalries
Osasuna has several rivalries with other football clubs. These include Real Zaragoza, Real Madrid, and Athletic Bilbao.
The rivalry with Real Madrid started in December 1990. Osasuna won a game 4–0 at Real Madrid's home stadium, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
The rivalry with Zaragoza wasn't always intense. But things changed during a match in October 1987. Zaragoza fans threw an object at Osasuna's goalkeeper, Roberto Santamaría. Since then, games between these two clubs often have conflicts between fans and players. It is known as one of the most heated rivalries in Spain. However, in recent years, these teams haven't played each other as often because they have been in different leagues.
Recent Seasons
| Season | Div | Pos. | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Cup | Europe | Notes | |
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| 2013–14 | 1D | 18th | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 32 | 62 | −30 | 39 | Round of 16 |  Relegated |
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| 2014–15 | 2D | 18th | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 41 | 60 | −19 | 45 | Second round | |||
| 2015–16 | 2D | 6th | 42 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 47 | 40 | +7 | 64 | Second round |  Promoted as play-off winners |
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| 2016–17 | 1D | 19th | 4 | 10 | 24 | 40 | 94 | −54 | 22 | Round of 16 | Relegated |
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| 2017–18 | 2D | 8th | 42 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 44 | 34 | +10 | 64 | Third round | |||
| 2018–19 | 2D | 1st | 42 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 59 | 35 | +24 | 87 | Second round | Promoted |
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| 2019–20 | 1D | 10th | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 46 | 54 | −8 | 52 | Round of 16 | |||
| 2020–21 | 1D | 11th | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 37 | 48 | −11 | 44 | Round of 16 | |||
| 2021–22 | 1D | 10th | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 37 | 51 | −14 | 47 | Round of 32 | |||
| 2022–23 | 1D | 7th | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 37 | 42 | −5 | 53 | Runners-up | |||
| 2023–24 | 1D | 11th | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 45 | 56 | −11 | 45 | Round of 16 | |||
| 2024–25 | 1D | 9th | 38 | 12 | 16 | 10 | 48 | 52 | −4 | 52 | Quarter-finals | |||
Current Squad
First Team Players
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Reserve Team
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Players on Loan
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Current Coaching Staff
| Position | Staff |
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| Manager |  Vicente Moreno |
| Assistant manager |  Dani Pendín |
| Match delegate | Iñaki Ibáñez |
| Physiotherapist | Unai Miqueleiz Pablo Suárez Fernando Urtasun Asier Urkia |
| Goalkeeping coach | Ricardo Sanzol |
| Match analyst | Ramón Alturo |
| Fitness coach | Pablo Iriarte Juantxo Martín Dani Pastor |
| Podiatrist | Javier Rada |
| Kit man | Iker Galarza David Armendáriz Andrés Ocampo |
| Head of medical services | Andrés Fernández |
| Sporting director | Braulio Vázquez |
Last updated: June 2018
Source: CA Osasuna
Club Achievements
- Copa del Rey
- Runners-up (2): 2004–05, 2022–23
- Segunda División
- Winners (4): 1952–53, 1955–56, 1960–61, 2018–19
- Runners-up (2): 1934-35, 1999-20
- Tercera División
- Winners (7): 1931–32, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1976–77
Notable Players
This list includes players who have played in at least 100 league games for Osasuna, or have played for their national team.
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World Cup Players
These players were chosen to play for their country in the World Cup while they were playing for Osasuna.
Savo Milošević (2006)
Francisco Silva (2014)
Javad Nekounam (2006, 2014)
Ante Budimir (2022)
Ez Abde (2022)
Famous Coaches
Javier Aguirre
Ivica Brzić- Rafael Benítez
- José Antonio Camacho
- Miguel Ángel Lotina
- José Luis Mendilibar
- José Ángel Ziganda
- Jagoba Arrasate
Women's Football
See also
In Spanish: Club Atlético Osasuna para niños
- CA Osasuna B – Osasuna's B team
- CD Subiza – an affiliated team
- CA Osasuna cantera – the club's youth system
- Xota FS – an affiliated futsal club
