Granada CF facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Granada

Full name	Granada Club de Fútbol
Nickname(s)	Nazaríes (Nasrids) Rojiblancos (Red and Whites)
Short name	GCF
Founded	6 April 1931; 94 years ago (1931-04-06) as Club Recreativo Granada
Ground	Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes
Ground Capacity	21,600
Owner	Jiang Lizhang (through Daxian 2009 SL)
President	Sophia Yang
Head coach	Pacheta
League	La Liga
2022–23	Segunda División, 1st of 22 (champions)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Granada Club de Fútbol, often just called Granada, is a professional Spanish football team. The club is based in the city of Granada, in the region of Andalusia. They currently play in Segunda División, which is the second-highest football league in Spain.

Granada was started in 1931 as Club Recreativo Granada. Their home games are played at the Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes stadium. As of July 2025, Granada is ranked 22nd in the all-time points list for the First Division. They have played 25 seasons in the top league and finished in sixth place twice. In 1959, Granada was the runner-up in the Copa del Rey (then called the Copa del Generalísimo). In the 2019–20 season, they finished 7th, which allowed them to play in a European competition for the first time. They reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League that season.

The Story of Granada CF

How the Club Started

Granada Club de Fútbol was founded on April 6, 1931. It was first known as Recreativo de Granada. Julio López Fernández was the club's very first president. He officially registered the club and set up its first board of directors.

The team played its first football match on December 6, 1931, against Deportivo Jaén. Granada won that game 2–1. Antonio Bombillar scored the first goal in the club's history. Two weeks later, Granada played its first home match against U.D. Andújar at Campo de Las Tablas stadium. They won that game 1–0. In their first season (1931–32), the club finished second in their league. This helped them get promoted to a higher division.

Reaching La Liga and Golden Years

After several promotions, Granada made its debut in La Liga, Spain's top football league, in the 1941–42 season. Their first game was on September 28, 1941, against Celta, and it ended in a 1–1 draw. César Rodríguez Álvarez scored Granada's first goal in the top division. That season, Granada had some amazing home wins, including an 8–0 victory against Real Oviedo and a 6–0 win against Barcelona. They finished the season in 10th place out of 14 teams.

From 1942 until the 1980s, Granada often moved between the top league and the Segunda División. Their best period was from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s. During this time, they spent eight seasons in a row in the top league (1968–69 to 1975–76). They also reached the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey four times. Their best league finishes were sixth place in the 1971–72 and 1973–74 seasons. In 1971–72, Granada won nine of their last ten home games, even beating strong teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid.

In 1959, Granada achieved one of its biggest moments. They were the runner-up in the Copa del Generalísimo (now known as the Copa del Rey). In the final, played at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, they lost 4–1 to Barcelona. Ramón Carranza, an Argentinian player, scored Granada's only goal.

Chart of Granada CF league performance 1929–present

Challenges and Comebacks

In the 1980s, Granada had a few short stays in the second division. They were relegated to the Segunda División B in 1985. After two years, they returned to the Segunda División for the 1987–88 season, but were relegated again that same season.

Granada spent most of the next years in the Segunda División B. In 2002–03, they even dropped to the Tercera División, which is the fourth tier. This happened because the club couldn't pay its players. After four seasons in the fourth division, Lorenzo Sanz, a former president of Real Madrid, helped the club. With his support, Granada was promoted back to the third division.

In 2009, the club faced serious money problems and was almost shut down. A solution came when Granada partnered with the Italian club Udinese Calcio. This agreement allowed Granada to use many players from Udinese, including young players and reserves. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Granada won its group and was promoted to the second division after 22 years.

Granada's Youssef El-Arabi and Adalberto Peñaranda playing against SD Eibar in 2016

Deportivo de La Coruña vs. Granada.

In the 2010–11 season, Granada finished fifth. Many of their players were still on loan from Udinese. On June 18, 2011, Granada won the promotion play-offs. They beat Celta de Vigo and Elche, returning to the top division after 35 years!

In June 2016, a Chinese businessman named Jiang Lizhang became the new owner of the club. After six seasons in the top league, the team was relegated in 2016–17.

Under their new manager Diego Martínez, Granada returned to the top league in the 2018–19 Segunda División by finishing second. The next season, they finished 7th in La Liga, which meant they qualified for the UEFA Europa League. This was the first time the club had ever qualified for a European competition. They also reached the Copa del Rey semi-finals for the first time in 50 years. In the Europa League, they reached the quarter-finals but were knocked out by Manchester United. On May 22, 2022, the team was relegated again after a draw against Espanyol. However, in the 2022–23 season, Granada won the Segunda División and returned to La Liga. Unfortunately, in the 2023–24 season, they were immediately relegated back to the second division.

Seasons Played by Granada CF

Fuente de las Batallas in Granada, a meeting point for fans during celebrations

Granada CF has played:

• 27 seasons in La Liga (Spain's top league)
• 36 seasons in the Segunda División (second tier)
• 22 seasons in the Segunda División B (third tier)
• 5 seasons in the Tercera División (fourth tier, though one was a third tier at the time)
• 2 seasons in the Regional Categories (lower leagues)

Players

Current Squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Luca Zidane 5 DF Pablo Insua 6 MF Martin Hongla 7 FW Lucas Boyé 9 FW Shon Weissman 10 FW Stoichkov 16 DF Manu Lama 20 MF Sergio Ruiz 23 MF Manu Trigueros 24 DF Loïc Williams

No. Position Player 26 FW Sergio Rodelas 28 DF Oscar Naasei Oppong GK Ander Astralaga (on loan from Barcelona) DF Baïla Diallo DF Pau Casadesús MF Pedro Alemañ FW José Arnaiz FW Pablo Sáenz FW Souleymane Faye

Reserve Team

No. Position Player 27 MF Gael Joel Akogo 35 FW Samu Cortés 37 DF Pere Haro 38 GK Bohdan Isachenko

No. Position Player MF Adri Heredia MF Obi Anthony FW Agustín Juarez (on loan from Newell's Old Boys)

Players on Loan to Other Clubs

No. Position Player MF Gerard Gumbau (at Rayo Vallecano until 30 June 2026) FW Theo Corbeanu (at Toronto FC until 31 December 2025)

Current Coaching Staff

Position	Staff
Head coach	Pacheta
Assistant coach	Chema Monzón
Goalkeeping coach	Cristopher Urbano Juan Carlos Fernández
Fitness coach	Jorge Trigueros Alejandro Gutiérrez
Analyst	Guillem Galmés Álvaro Martínez
Delegate	Paco Morales Manuel Lucena
Kit man	Miguel García Antonio Saúl Hidalgo
Match delegate	Pedro Rubio
Director of medical services	Dioni González
Doctor	Manuel Arroyo Pablo Puertas
Physiotherapist	José Miguel Funes Juan Sánchez Alberto Lara Alberto Vera
Rehab fitness coach	Manuel Dimas
Nutritionist	José María Giménez

Club Achievements

National Titles

• Segunda División (4): Granada has won the second division four times: in 1940–41, 1956–57, 1967–68, and most recently in 2022–23.
• Segunda División B (3): They have won the third division three times: in 1982–83, 1999–00, and 2009–10.
• Tercera División (3): Granada won the fourth division three times: in 1933–34, 2003–04, and 2005–06.
• Copa del Rey: They were the runners-up once in 1958–59.

Regional Tournaments

• Andalucia Cup (1): 1932–33
• Andalucia Championship reservations (1): 1971–72

Friendly Competitions

• Antonio Puerta Trophy (1): 2010

Individual Player Awards

Pichichi Trophy Winners

• La Liga: Enrique Porta (1971–72)
• Segunda División: Miguel (1964–65), Rafa (1955–56), Myrto Uzuni (2022–2023)

Granada in Europe

Granada made its debut in European competitions in the 2020–21 Europa League season. They had a great run, reaching the quarter-finals!

Season	Competition	Round	Opposition	Home	Away	Aggregate
2020–21	Europa League	2QR	Teuta	—	4–0	—
		3QR	Locomotive Tbilisi	2−0	—
		PO	Malmö FF	—	3–1
		Group E	PSV Eindhoven	0–1	2–1	2nd out of 4
			PAOK	0–0	0–0
			Omonia	2–1	2–0
		R32	Napoli	2–0	1–2	3–2
		R16	Molde	2–0	1–2	3–2
		QF	Manchester United	0–2	0–2	0–4

The Eastern Andalusia Derby

The Eastern Andalusia Derby is a special football match played between Granada and Málaga. It's a big rivalry between the two teams!

Here's how the derby record stands as of September 20, 2024:

Granada's Home Stadium

Granada playing at Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes against the Gimnàstic in 2010

When Granada CF was first founded, they played their home games at the Campo de Las Tablas. This stadium opened on December 20, 1931. However, Granada didn't stay there for long. On December 23, 1934, a new city stadium called Estadio Los Cármenes was opened. The club played there until 1995.

In 1995, they moved to their current home, the Nuevo Los Cármenes Stadium. This stadium is also owned by the city of Granada. It opened on May 16, 1995, with a friendly match between Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen. Granada CF played their first game there in the summer of 1995, a friendly against Real Betis. The stadium originally held 16,212 fans. After Granada CF was promoted to La Liga in 2011, the stadium was made bigger to hold 22,524 people.

After being promoted to the First Division in 2019, the stadium got some upgrades. The grass playing field was replaced, and the seats were repaired and painted. White seats were added to spell out "Granada CF" and "1931" (the year the club was founded). The official club store was also made bigger. The lighting system was updated to meet the requirements for La Liga games. The club is also working with the city council to make more improvements, like rebuilding the stadium corners and adding shopping and entertainment areas.

• Field Size: 105 × 68 meters
• Address: C/ Pintor Manuel Maldonado s/n
• Opening Date: May 16, 1995, with Real Madrid vs. Bayer Leverkusen (1–0)
• First Granada CF Match: August 22, 1995, Granada vs. Real Betis (4–1) in the XXIII Granada Trophy

Team Kit and Colours

When the club was first started, their uniforms had blue and white vertical stripes with white shorts. After the Spanish Civil War, the club owners went to Madrid to buy new kits. They could only find red and white striped shirts. From then on, red and white became the official colours of the team.

In the 1970s, the club changed the vertical stripes to horizontal ones. The kit design switched between horizontal and vertical stripes until the 2004–05 season. At that time, the club decided to stick with the horizontal stripe pattern.

Shirt Sponsors and Manufacturers

Coaches of Granada CF

Many different coaches have led Granada CF throughout its history. Here are some of them:

See also

In Spanish: Granada Club de Fútbol para niños