UD Las Palmas facts for kids
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| Full name | Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, S.A.D. | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Los Amarillos La Unión Deportiva Pío Pío |
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| Founded | 22 August 1949 | |||
| Ground | Estadio Gran Canaria | |||
| Capacity | 32,400 | |||
| President | Miguel Ángel Ramírez Alonso | |||
| Manager | Diego Martínez | |||
| League | La Liga | |||
| 2023–24 | La Liga, 16th of 20 | |||
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Unión Deportiva Las Palmas is a professional football club. It is located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which is in the Canary Islands, Spain. The team plays in La Liga, which is the top football league in Spain.
The club is often called Los Amarillos (The Yellows). It was started on August 22, 1949. This happened when five different football clubs in the Canary region joined together. Las Palmas first played at the Estadio Insular. Since 2003, they have played their home games at the Estadio Gran Canaria.
Las Palmas has won the Segunda División (Second Division) four times. They won in 1953–54, 1963–64, 1984–85, and 1999–2000. They also won the Segunda División B (Third Division) twice, in 1992–93 and 1995–96. The team finished second in La Liga once, in 1968–69. They were also runners-up in the Copa del Rey (King's Cup) in 1977–78.
Las Palmas is the only Spanish football team to get promoted to La Liga two times in a row in their first two seasons. They played in La Liga for 19 years, until 1982–83. Since then, they have been promoted to La Liga four more times, most recently in 2022–23.
The club's main colors are yellow and blue. They have a big rivalry with CD Tenerife, a team from a nearby island. This game is called the Canary Islands derby. These two clubs are very far from other professional football clubs in Europe. This is because they have to travel to the Spanish mainland for away games.
Contents
Club History
How the Club Started
After the Spanish Civil War, football clubs in Las Palmas faced many problems. Five big clubs in Las Palmas were struggling financially. They found it hard to keep their best players. A new rule from the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) made it even harder. This rule limited player contracts to only two years. Many young players left the Canary Islands to play football on the Spanish mainland.
To fix this, Manuel Rodríguez Monroy, a football official, suggested that the five local teams should merge. This would create a stronger team that could compete nationally. It would also help keep talented players in the Canary Islands. The presidents of the clubs agreed to discuss this idea.
On February 4, 1949, a letter was sent to the five clubs about a possible merger. The clubs were Real Club Victoria, Marino FC, CD Gran Canaria, Atlético Club, and Arenas Club. Gran Canaria, Atlético, and Arenas quickly agreed because of their money problems. Marino and Victoria were not sure at first.
The RFEF first rejected the idea of the new club joining the Second Division. But after more talks, on June 6, 1949, the RFEF allowed a merged team from the Canary Islands to join the third division. This led to Arenas Club and CD Gran Canaria joining together. They formed a team called Unión Deportiva Las Palmas.
On August 22, 1949, all five clubs finally agreed to the merger. Unión Deportiva Las Palmas was officially created. José del Río Amor became the club's first president.
The first training session for Las Palmas was on September 16, 1949. Their first game was on October 9, 1949, against Marino. Las Palmas won 2–1, with Antoñito Jorge scoring the first goal.
Early Success (1949–1963)
In their very first season (1949–50), Las Palmas finished second in their group. This earned them a promotion to the Second Division. They played their first derby against Tenerife on April 30, 1950, and won 2–1.
The club achieved a second promotion in a row in the 1950–51 season. They won 4–1 against Málaga and moved up to the First Division (La Liga). This was amazing because the club was only two years old! Las Palmas was the first Spanish club to get promoted twice in a row to the First Division.
However, in their first season in La Liga (1951–52), Las Palmas was relegated back to the Second Division. They lost their first game to Real Madrid 4–1. The team then signed more experienced players to improve.
In 1952, Las Palmas signed goalkeeper José “Pepín” Casas Gris. He was the first player from mainland Spain to play for the club. On March 26, 1952, Las Palmas played a famous friendly match against Millonarios de Bogotá. Millonarios was considered the best team in South America. Las Palmas won 3–2, becoming the only European team to beat them on their tour.
In the 1953–54 season, Las Palmas won their first title. They finished first in the Second Division and were promoted back to La Liga. They drew both derby matches against Tenerife that season.
Las Palmas managed to stay in the First Division for the first time in the 1954–55 season. They even beat Barcelona 2–1 at home. The team stayed in La Liga for six seasons. During this time, they had some tough losses, like 7–0 to Barcelona and 9–0 to Atletico Madrid.
In 1957, former player Luis Molowny became the coach. Under him, Las Palmas beat Atletico Madrid 3–0. The club also started signing more foreign players. In the 1959–60 season, Las Palmas was relegated from La Liga. This was their worst season at the time. The club had financial problems and relied too much on foreign players instead of their own youth players.
Top-Flight Success (1960s-1970s)
Las Palmas returned to La Liga in 1964, winning the Second Division again. This started their most successful period. Under coach Vicente Dauder, they finished third in La Liga in 1967–68. Four of their players even joined the Spanish national team.
The next season (1968–69), the team did even better. They finished second in La Liga, just behind Real Madrid. This meant they qualified for a European competition for the first time! They played in the 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup but were knocked out in the first round.
Sadly, two Las Palmas players, Juan Guedes and Tonono, passed away suddenly in the early 1970s. Despite this, the club continued to do well. In 1971–72, French coach Pierre Sinibaldi led them to fifth place in La Liga. This qualified them for the UEFA Cup. They beat teams like Torino and Slovan Bratislava before losing to FC Twente.
Las Palmas played in the UEFA Cup again in 1977–78. They won against FK Sloboda Tuzla but then lost to Ipswich Town. In the same year, under coach Miguel Muñoz, the club reached their first Copa del Rey final. They lost 3–1 to Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Training Ground
The Ciudad Deportiva UD Las Palmas, also known as Barranco Seco, is where UD Las Palmas players train. It is a large complex covering 70,000 square meters. It is located just outside the city of Las Palmas.
Building the Training Ground
UD Las Palmas bought the land for Barranco Seco in the 1960s. At first, there was only one training pitch for the reserve and junior teams. In 1982, it was improved for the main team to use.
The big project to build the modern Ciudad Deportiva started in June 2015. Construction began in 2017 and finished about two years later. The complex officially opened on July 8, 2019. The architect, Juan Palop-Casado, designed it to be as eco-friendly as possible. The club spent 22.5 million euros of its own money on this first phase of construction.
Facilities at Barranco Seco
The new training complex has many modern features:
- New changing rooms for players.
- A meeting hall for team discussions.
- A gym with special equipment for physiotherapy (helping players recover from injuries).
- A dining room.
- A press room for media interviews.
- Two parking areas for 130 vehicles.
It also has three full-size training pitches:
- The Ernesto Aparicio training field, with natural grass.
- The David García Santana training field, also with natural grass.
- The Manuel Betancor training field, which has artificial turf. This pitch is used by the club's reserve teams, UD Las Palmas Atlético and UD Las Palmas C.
Club Performance Over the Years
Las Palmas has played many seasons in different Spanish football leagues.
- They have spent 36 seasons in La Liga (the top division).
- They have played 33 seasons in Segunda División (the second division).
- They were in Segunda División B (the third division) for 6 seasons.
- They spent 1 season in Tercera División (the fourth division).
In recent years, Las Palmas has been promoted back to La Liga. On May 27, 2023, they secured second place in the Second Division. This brought them back to the top league after five years.
European Competitions
Las Palmas has played in European tournaments a few times:
- In 1969–70, they played in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
- In 1972–73 and 1977–78, they competed in the UEFA Cup.
Current Team Players
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Reserve Team Players
Las Palmas also has reserve teams, UD Las Palmas Atlético and UD Las Palmas C.
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Players on Loan
Some players are currently playing for other teams on loan:
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Current Coaching Staff
| Position | Staff |
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| Manager |  Diego Martínez |
| Assistant manager | Raúl Espínola |
| Fitness coach | Víctor Lafuentes |
| Technical assistant | Momo |
| Goalkeeping coach | José Yepes |
| Analyst | Álvaro García |
| Delegate | Rubén Fontes |
| Match delegate | Norberto Rodríguez |
| Kit man | José Ramírez Alberto Romero |
| Doctor | Diosdado Bolaños |
| Chief physiotherapist | Juan Naranjo |
| Rehab fitness coach | Iván Bennasar Carlos Reyes Andrés Pérez |
| Physiotherapist | Cinthya Rodríguez Carlos Vega |
Last updated: 21 September 2022
Source:
Club Achievements
Las Palmas has won several titles and reached important finals:
- La Liga (Top Division)
- Runners-up (1): 1968–69
- Segunda División (Second Division)
- Winners (4): 1953–54, 1963–64, 1984–85, 1999–2000
- Segunda División B (Third Division)
- Winners (2): 1992–93, 1995–96
- Copa del Rey (King's Cup)
- Runners-up (1): 1978
Famous Former Players
Club Coaches
Since it was founded, Unión Deportiva Las Palmas has had 61 different coaches. Some coaches have led the team more than once. Pierre Sinibaldi has coached the most matches, with 166 games over four seasons.
The team has earned 9 promotions (7 to the First Division and 2 to the Second Division). Arsenio Arocha was the first coach to achieve a promotion. The most recent promotion to the First Division was by Francisco Javier García Pimienta. Most of the coaches have been Spanish, but 9 other nationalities have also coached the team.
Other Teams and Activities
Las Palmas has had farm teams since 1954. Their official B-team, Las Palmas Atlético, was founded in 1976. They also had a third team, UD Las Palmas C, which was created in 2006.
The club also had a women's team that played in the top division from 2009 to 2011. In 2010, Las Palmas started an indoor football team.
Team Badge
The Las Palmas badge is a blue shield with yellow decorations at the top. The club's name, city, and island group are written on it. In the middle, you can see the city's official symbol. Below that are the five symbols of the clubs that joined together in 1949: Victoria, Arenas, Deportivo, Marino, and Atlético. A small white banner above them says the city's motto: Segura tiene la palma.
Even though Las Palmas doesn't have "Real" (Royal) in its name, its badge has a Spanish crown. This is because one of the original clubs, Real Club Victoria, had royal support.
The club's flag is yellow on top and blue on the bottom, with the badge in the center. These colors are also used diagonally on the flag of Gran Canaria island.
Images for kids
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Carlos Morete, a top scorer for the club.
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View of Gran Canaria stadium.
See also
In Spanish: Unión Deportiva Las Palmas para niños
