Racing de Santander facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Racing de Santander

Full name	Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D.
Nickname(s)	Racinguistas Verdiblancos (Green and White) Montañeses (Mountaineers)
Founded	23 February 1913; 112 years ago (1913-02-23)
Ground	Campos de Sport de El Sardinero
Ground Capacity	22,222
Owner	Sebman Sports International 74%
President	Manuel Higuera Sancho
Head coach	José Alberto López
League	Segunda División
2022–23	Segunda División, 12th of 22
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. is a football club from Santander, Cantabria, Spain. People often call it Racing de Santander or just Racing. The team plays in the Segunda División, which is the second-highest football league in Spain.

Racing was started in 1913. Their home stadium is called El Sardinero. It can hold 22,222 fans. Racing was one of the first ten clubs to create La Liga, Spain's top football league.

Club History: Racing's Journey

Chart of Racing Santander league performance 1929-2023

Racing Club played their very first football match on February 23, 1913. They lost 1–2 to a nearby team called Strong. The club was officially founded on June 14, and was first named Santander Racing Club. They joined the Northern Federation in November of that year.

Early Years and La Liga Debut

The Spanish League started in the 1928–29 season. Racing had to win a tough elimination process to become the tenth and final team in the new First Division. They beat teams like Valencia and Sevilla. Racing was part of the league's first-ever game that ended with no goals, against Athletic Bilbao.

During the 1930–31 season, Racing had their best finish ever in the Spanish League. They came in second place, tied with the champion Athletic Bilbao. An English coach named Robert Firth led the team then.

In the 1930s, Racing's performance varied. They finished third in 1933–34, but also had some lower rankings. In the 1935–36 season, Racing made history. They were the first Spanish club to beat both Barcelona and Real Madrid in all four league matches (home and away) in the same season. A player named Milucho scored in every one of those games.

Changes and Comebacks

In 1941, during the time of Francoist Spain, the club's name was changed to Real Santander. This was because non-Spanish names were not allowed. The original name, Racing, was brought back in 1973. This happened when the team returned to the first division.

Racing was the first Spanish team to wear a sponsor's name on their shirts. This happened on December 27, 1981, with the German company Teka. On March 25, 2000, Racing played their 1,000th game in La Liga.

Modern Era and European Adventures

Estadio El Sardinero in 2017

In the 2000s, Racing only spent one season in the second division before getting promoted again. In the 2007–08 season, they finished sixth. This allowed them to play in the UEFA Cup (now called the Europa League) for the first time ever! They also reached the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) twice in this decade.

In 2011, an Indian businessman named Ahsan Ali Syed took over Racing de Santander. After this, the club faced tough times. They were relegated from La Liga in 2011–12. The next season, 2012–13, they were relegated again. This ended 22 years of Racing playing in Spain's top professional leagues.

Player Protests and Recent Promotions

During the 2013–14 Copa del Rey, Racing's players faced a big problem: they hadn't been paid for months. On January 27, 2014, they announced they wouldn't play their next cup match unless the club's president and board resigned. Three days later, in a game against Real Sociedad, the players refused to play after kick-off. The game was stopped, and Racing lost by forfeit. As a result, the club was fined and banned from the next cup competition. The president was then fired.

Despite these challenges, Racing won their group in the third division in 2013–14. They were promoted back to the second tier. However, they were immediately relegated again in the 2014–15 season.

Racing kept fighting to get back to the second division. They were promoted in 2018–19 after four years in the third tier. But again, they were relegated right away in the 2019–20 season. In 2021–22, Racing finished first in their league and were promoted back to the Segunda División. They also won the first-ever Primera División RFEF title.

Club Rivalries

Racing Santander is one of the few Spanish teams that has played in La Liga for most of its history but doesn't have a major rival. This is because Racing is the only fully professional team from its region, Cantabria.

However, Racing fans usually see Athletic Bilbao as their biggest rival. This is because Bilbao is the closest big city to Santander. Their games used to be called 'the duel of the North'. There are also smaller rivalries with Real Oviedo from Asturias and Getafe. On the other hand, Racing fans have friendly relations with supporters of Sporting de Gijón.

Recent Seasons

Club Achievements

Racing de Santander has won several titles and achieved high rankings throughout its history:

• La Liga
  • Runners-up: 1930–31 (This is their highest finish in the top league!)
• Segunda División (Second Division)
  • Winners (2): 1949–50, 1959–60
  • Promoted (6 times): 1972–73, 1974–75, 1980–81, 1983–84, 1992–93, 2001–02
• Tercera División/Segunda División B/Primera División RFEF (Third Division)
  • Winners (3): 1943–44, 1947–48, 1969–70, 2021–22
  • Group Winners (4): 1990–91, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2018–19
  • Promoted (6 times): 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

European Competitions

Racing de Santander has played in the UEFA Europa League (formerly UEFA Cup).

UEFA Europa League:

Season	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2008–09	First round	Honka	1–0	0–1	2–0
	Group stage	Twente		0–1
		Schalke 04	1–1
		Paris Saint-Germain		2–2
		Manchester City	3–1

Current Team Squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Miquel Parera 2 DF Álvaro Mantilla 3 DF Saúl García 4 DF Pol Moreno 5 DF Javi Castro 6 MF Íñigo Sainz-Maza (captain) 7 MF Lago Júnior 8 MF Aritz Aldasoro 9 FW Juan Carlos Arana 10 MF Iñigo Vicente 11 FW Andrés Martín 12 MF Maguette Gueye

No. Position Player 13 GK Jokin Ezkieta 14 FW Ekain Zenitagoia 15 MF Marco Sangalli 17 DF Clément Michelin 18 DF Manu Hernando 19 FW Jon Karrikaburu (on loan from Real Sociedad) 20 FW Suleiman Camara 21 MF Unai Vencedor (on loan from Athletic Bilbao) 22 MF Pablo Rodríguez (on loan from Lecce) 24 DF Javi Montero 29 FW Jeremy Arévalo 40 DF Mario García

Reserve Team

Racing also has a reserve team called Rayo Cantabria.

No. Position Player 28 DF Marco Carrascal 30 MF Dani González 32 DF Jorge Salinas 34 FW Diego Díaz

No. Position Player 37 DF Aitor Crespo 39 DF Iñigo Gomeza 43 MF Izan Yurrieta

Players on Loan

These players are currently playing for other teams but are still part of Racing.

No. Position Player MF Neco Celorio (at Algeciras until 30 June 2025) FW Yeray Cabanzón (at Ponferradina until 30 June 2025)

Current Coaching Staff

Position	Staff
Head coach	José Alberto López
Assistant coach	Pablo Álvarez
Fitness coach	Albert Tataret Dani Salvador
Goalkeeping coach	Pedro Dorronsoro
Analyst	Enric Soriano
Delegate	Delfín Calzada
Kit man	Sergio San Juan José Ruiz Manolo San Juan
Doctor	Gonzalo Revuelta
Rehab fitness coach	Hugo Camarero
Physiotherapist	Diego Ortiz Fran Ruiz Antonio Malanda
Nutritionist	Juan Carlos Llamas
Podiatrist	José Andreu

Famous Former Players

Many great players have played for Racing de Santander. Here are a few notable ones:

• Lionel Scaloni
• Felipe Melo
• Yossi Benayoun
• Giovani dos Santos
• Mutiu Adepoju
• Dmitri Radchenko
• Nikola Žigić
• Sergio Canales
• Francisco Gento
• Pedro Munitis
• Santillana
• Quique Setién
• Markus Rosenberg
• Cristhian Stuani
• Carlos Bocanegra

World Cup Players

These players were chosen to play for their country in the World Cup while they were playing for Racing Santander:

• Mutiu Adepoju (1994)
• Dmitri Radchenko (1994)
• Dmitri Popov (1994)
• Mario Regueiro (2002)
• Mehdi Lacen (2010)

Images for kids

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  Santander Racing Club squad of 1922. Fred Pentland (first on the left) was the coach of the team this year.

• 

  Ángel Sánchez Losada, first president of the club.

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  Campos de Sport de El Sardinero before 1910

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  RC Racing de Santander first crest, 1913

In Spanish: Real Racing Club de Santander para niños

• Rayo Cantabria – Racing's reserve team
• CDE Racing Féminas – affiliated women's team