Las Palmas have beenSegunda División champions four times, in1953–54,1963–64,1984–85 and1999–2000, and have won theSegunda División B twice, in1992–93 and1995–96. They have been runners-up inLa Liga once, in1968–69, and runners-up in theCopa del Rey, in1977–78. Las Palmas is the only side in Spanish football to achieve back-to-back promotions to La Liga in their first two seasons. They had a 19-year run in the competition, ending in1982–83 and has been promoted to La Liga on four additional occasions since that time, achieving it recently in2022–23.
Since its foundation, the club has played with yellow and blue as their primary and secondary colours. They have a fierce rivalry withneighbouring islandTenerife, with whom they contest theCanary Islands derby. The two clubs are among the most isolated professional football clubs in Europe since they play their away games on the distant Spanish mainland.
A decade after theSpanish Civil War, football in Las Palmas faced numerous challenges and difficulties. The financial situations of Las Palmas’ five biggest clubs, Real Club Victoria, Marino FC, CD Gran Canaria, Atlético Club, and Arenas Club, were deteriorating rapidly due to their financial strength of being able to compete for players against Spain's top clubs.[3][4] A new registration law by theRoyal Spanish Football Federation, which limited players to a maximum of a two-year contract, resulted in the clubs in Las Palmas being unable to retain their academy players for extended periods. Consequently, many players relocated to the Spanish mainland to continue their football careers in national competitions. As a result, Eufemiano Fuentes Díaz, president of Marino CF, went to a meeting inMadrid to change the legislation of contracts to a minimum of four years. A different proposal was also presented, stating that all Spanish clubs were prohibited from signing players in the Canary region with the exception if they were first-team players who had already passed the stage of being academy players. These proposals were delayed and denied by the RFEF.[3]
During this time, clubs continued to see their debts increase, leading to the possibility of defunction. The Vice President of theLas Palmas Football Federation, Manuel Rodríguez Monroy, proposed a merger of the five teams comprising the regional competition, aiming to compete in national competitions and resolve the economic situation as a result. The purpose of this proposal was to present a compelling case to the RFEF for allowing the Canary Islands to participate in national competitions, enabling Canarian footballers to compete without relocating to the Spanish mainland.[3][4][5] This proposal was presented towards the president, Adolfo Miranda Ortega, who among other board members agreed. On 4 February 1949, a letter was sent to the presidents of the five clubs, proposing a potential merger to compete in the national competitions. The first meeting was held on 28 February 1949 inAlameda de Colón, Las Palmas with the representatives of the five merging clubs attending. Gran Canaria, Atlético and Arenas promptly agreed to the proposal due to their finances whilst Marino and Victoria remained wary of the repercussions it could have on the club and its fans. From there, the representatives agreed to meet every Monday and create a collaborative group that would be known as the Fusion Presentation.[3][4][5]
Don José Del Río Amor, of legal age and from this neighborhood, acting as President of the Management Commission of the Club "Unión Deportiva Las Palmas" to that Excma. Corporation that allows exhibiting:That by agreement of the five teams that make up the First Regional Category, dependent on the Regional Football Federation of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, it has been done with permission to merge them with the objective that, grouped in one only all their potential economically and sportingly, incorporate this powerful Club into national football competitions.
Likewise, and by unanimous agreement of the merged teams, its name is "Unión Deportiva Las Palmas" and that both the colors and the shield of the teams resulting from this merger are those of this city; but for the latter to be legally carried out, it is necessary that the Hon. Corporation gives its approval in this regard, that is why it begs that Excma. Corporation that, having presented this document, deigns to authorize the aforementioned Club "Unión Deportiva Las Palmas" to use the shield of this city, orlando with the name of this Club and the emblems of the five merged teams.
It is grace that you expect from that Excma. Corporation, whose life God save many years.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, September 1, 1949.
Letter by José Del Río Amor, President of UD Las Palmas.[3]
After more than a month of deliberations, Miranda and Monroy were delegated the role of requesting a transfer into theSpanish Second Division via a letter to the RFEF.[4] The letter was sent on 4 April 1949 but the proposition was rejected for being to detriment for the other teams and that it would alter the regulation of promotions.[3] However, Ricardo Cabot, a secretary in the RFEF, resumed the proposition towards the board members and, on 6 June 1949, following a meeting in Madrid that Miranda and Monroy attended, it was announced by telegram that Canary Islands football was accepted into thethird division of Spanish football.[4] The acceptance allowed the merger of Arenas Club and CD Gran Canaria, both of whom gave up their headquarters and trophies, to form under the name Unión Deportiva Las Palmas as the first phase for total integration.[3][4]
On 16 August 1949, the Fusion Presentation had their last meeting where after coming in contact with Marino and Victoria stated the clubs would not merge as of yet due to difficult financial situation. This led to refusals to financially support the lease of theLas Palmas Stadium for UD Las Palmas to play its games in the1949–50 season.[4] As a result, a "Magna Assembly" was held by Monroy on 22 August 1949 atReal Club Náutico. After a successful meeting in which all five clubs unanimously agreed towards the final proposition presented by Monroy, Unión Deportiva Las Palmas was officially established at 8 p.m. on 22 August 1949.[3][4][5][6] A committee was established with José del Río Amor as the club's first president and Monroy appointed as the club's first vice president.[3][7] The headquarters of Las Palmas was located in the Plazoleta Luis Antunez.[4][5]
Las Palmas’ first training session was held on 16 September 1949 with new manager, Pancho Arencibia.[4] Juan Santana Macías, a winger from Atlético, was the first player signed by the club and was present during the training session.[8][9] On 9 October 1949, Las Palmas played their first match against Marino with Antoñito Jorge scoring the first goal in their history of a 2–1 win at Las Palmas stadium.[10][11] Antoñito played three seasons for Las Palmas, scoring 11 goals in theirpromotion campaign towards the Second Division.[12][13]
In their debut competitive season, the club secured 2nd place in a group that includedCD Tenerife,Imperial de Murcia,SD Ceuta,CD Toledo, andUD Melilla, earning promotion to the Second Division.[3] Las Palmas played theirfirst derby match against Tenerife on 30 April 1950, at theSanta Cruz Stadium, winning 2–1. Their first away match outside the islands was on 21 May 1950, against Toledo at the Palomarejos Stadium, resulting in a 5–2 victory.[14] However, on 25 June 1950, Las Palmas suffered a 2–0 defeat in their last league match against Melilla, which initially threatened their chances of promotion. Fortunately, Imperial de Murcia, who sat third in the table, also faced defeat, securing Las Palmas' certified promotion to the Second Division.[15] Tragically, one of Las Palmas' first signed players and starter, Antonio Vieira, died from illness on 4 April 1951. His funeral was held in the Church of San Pablo and a tribute match was held with locals in which Las Palmas won 3–1.[16] In the club's participation in the1950–51 Second Division, the club achieved a second consecutive promotion to theFirst Division, following a 4–1 victory overMálaga on 8 July 1951 that sent the club to first place of the table.[3][14] Las Palmas became the first club in Spanish football to gain promotion twice consecutively to the First Division despite being two years old at the time.[17] By the end of the season, Las Palmas’ first goalkeeper, Manolo Montes, was sold toAtletico Madrid in 1951 for a fee of 375,000Pt. Nicknamed "El Patrón", Montes made 55 official appearances forLos Amarillos and became the first player to be sold by the club.[18][19]
Thefollowing season saw Las Palmas relegated down to the Second Division after coming 15th with 9 wins, 4 draws and 17 losses.[20] In the club's first match of the season, Las Palmas would lose 4–1 toReal Madrid at the newly inaugurated Insular Stadium on 9 September 1951.[3] A hat-trick fromPahiño and a goal fromLuis Molowny sealed Madrid's win whilstJuan Cedrés scored the first goal in the division for Las Palmas.[21] The following games saw defeat toCelta (5–2),Sevilla (5–0) andDeportivo La Coruña (3–1) before the club earned their first point toRacing Santandar after a 1–1 draw on 23 September 1951.[22] The poor run of form convinced the club's personnel to sign more experienced players with Manolo Torres and Beneyto, both signing from Málaga on 14 October 1951 for a combined total of 1,000,000 Pt. The club achieved their first win of the season two days later, defeatingAtlético Tetuán 4–1 with two goals from Torres on his debut and another two from Tacoronte.[23] Additionally, the first foreign player for Las Palmas,Jean Luciano, who signed from Real Madrid, made his debut on 16 December 1951 in a 6–0 defeat toReal Zaragoza atTorrero Stadium.[24][25]
In January 1952, goalkeeperJosé “Pepín” Casas Gris was signed as a replacement for Montes and for a starting position after goalkeepers Viera and González were having poor performances in recent matches. Born inValencia, Pepín became the first player from thePeninsular region to represent Las Palmas. He arrived at theHotel of Santa Brígida, Las Palmas fromAlicante on 5 January 1952.[26][27] On 26 March 1952, Las Palmas playedMillonarios de Bogotá in a match that contained the likes ofAlfredo Di Stéfano. The Colombian team at the time was consideredthe best in South America and had remained undefeated against the likes ofPorto, Real Madrid, Sevilla andValencia during their tour in Europe. Las Palmas triumphed 3–2 over Millonarios with Di Stéfano scoring his first goal in Spain whilst Las Palmas became the only European team to have defeated Millonarios.[28] In the1952–53 season, manager Luis Valle Benítez, who managed Las Palmas in their promotion campaign to the First Division, resigned on 6 October 1952.[29] The club remained in the Second Division until the1953–1954 season when they achieved promotion back to the First Division.[3] The club won their first title in their history underSatur Grech after finishing first in the table, jointly becoming winners withAlavés.[30][31] On 27 December 1953, Las Palmas played their first derby match against Tenerife in a national competition.[32]Los Amarillos drew both matches they played against Tenerife, the last being on 25 April 1954 where a goalless draw led to Las Palmas' promotion at the Santa Cruz Stadium.[33]
Las Palmas would stay in the First Division for the first time during the1954–55 season after placing 12th on the table. During the season, Las Palmas won their first game againstBarcelona on 9 February 1955 with a final score of 2–1 at the Insular Stadium.[34] The club ensured survival with 27 points on 10 April 1955, defeating Celta 3–1 at home and overcomingEspanyol who sat below with 26 points on the table.[35] The1955–56 season saw Las Palmas reaching a peak of 3rd place in the first half of the season before succumbing towards a relegation battle in the second half of the season.[36] According to Marcial Sánchez, a player who signed fromReal Murcia in the 1954–55 season,[37] the club briefly shared a spot in the top three of the league table with Barcelona at one point. However, due to the losses of key players, including captain Juan Beltrán and Marcial himself, the club's form deteriorated as the season progressed. Beltrán suffered a two-year knee injury, eventually recovering, but Marcial recalled that the player was never the same again and the injury led him to retirement.[38] Beltrán, in particular, was a highly respected captain and nicknamed by the fans as "El del pañuelo en la frente" (The one with the handkerchief on his forehead). He was the first player selected fromLas Palmas Atlético's side and also the first from the club to represent theSpanish national football team. On 16 January 1957, Beltrán was appointed as the first designated youth coach of Las Palmas during his recovery from injury.[39][40][41] During the1956–57 season, Las Palmas claimed their 100th point in their First Division history on 28 October 1956 after a 2–2 draw with Valencia.[22] Two Canarian-born players,Alfonso Silva and Rafael Mújica, both of whom were considered to be the best players from the Canary Islands, made their return to Las Palmas to play forLos Amarillos.[42] Mújica made his league debut on 9 September 1956 in a 2–0 victory againstReal Jaén at home while Silva made his debut midway through the season on 13 January 1957 when the club won 2–0 against Deportivo La Coruña atEstadio Riazor.[43][44]
The1957–58 season saw the appointment of Luis Molowny as aplayer-coach following the departure of the previous coach, José Urbieta after unsatisfactory results. Prior to his appointment, Las Palmas suffered from poor form in the first half of the season, including a 7–0 loss to Barcelona at theCamp Nou, a 6–1 defeat at home against Celta, and their largest-ever loss in the club's history, a 9–0 drubbing by Atletico Madrid at theMetropolitano.[45] Molowny was signed on 5 December 1957, returning from Real Madrid, and scored 3 goals in 3 appearances for the club during that same season.[46] The most notable match under Molowny's management was on 9 February 1958 when Las Palmas held a clash against Atletico Madrid at the Insular Stadium. With two former Atletico players, Silva and Mújica, Las Palmas triumphed 3–0 over Atletico Madrid in a match that was described for its “beauty and quality.”[44] The club secured safety from relegation by defeatingReal Valladolid 3–1 at home on 4 May 1958, which also resulted in Valladolid's relegation.[47][48] For the first time in the club's history, Las Palmas resorted to the signings of more foreign players, Paraguayan playerJosé Parodi[49] and Argentine players, Pierutz, Ianizzotto and Puche, being the few that arrived at the club.[36][50] Molowny was dropped at the end of the season and was replaced byBaltasar Albéniz for the subsequent season.[46][51] Las Palmas avoided relegation once more, finishing in therelation playoff of the 1958–59 season. They played two home-away legs againstLevante, who placedsecond in their league table during the season. The first leg was played on 10 May 1959 with Las Palmas winning 2–1 atValencia before a week later, a 1–1 second leg draw at home ensured their survival.[52]
Within the same season, Damián Massanet Plomer, the chairman of the Las Palmas Regional Football Federation, dismissed all board of directors of UD Las Palmas, alleging it to the debts that had been accumulating from previous seasons.[53] In the1959–60 season, Las Palmas eventually succumbed to relegation after six seasons in the First Division, with a total of 13 points gained from five wins and three draws by the end of the campaign. The club conceded the most goals out of the league, with 77 and garnered 22 league defeats, leading it to be Las Palmas's worst season at the time.[54] During the season, Vicente Gonzalez Sosa became the first international youth player for Las Palmas, making four appearances for theSpain national under-18 team between March and April 1960.[55] He would register three goals in six league appearances before departing, like most of his teammates,[53] for Barcelona following the club's relegation.[55] Las Palmas relegation was attributed to the over-reliance on foreign players, rather than trusting in the club's youth players, and increasing financial instability which by the end of the season had reached "an extreme situation."[53]
From the 1990s onwards, Las Palmas played mainly in theSegunda División, but also spent six years inSegunda División B – the new third level created in 1977 – and, from 2000 to 2002, competed in the top flight. On 3 October 2001 the side managed a 4–2 home win against Real Madrid, with youth productRubén Castro scoring two goals for the hosts, butthe season ended nonetheless in relegation.[58] On 22 December 2001, Las Palmas played its 1,000th game in La Liga. In the 2009–10 season in Segunda División the club finished 17th, just one point away from being relegated to Segunda División B. On 21 June 2015, Las Palmas was promoted back to La Liga after defeatingReal Zaragoza on theaway goals rule.
On 27 May 2023, Las Palmas achieved promotion to the first division by sealing a 2nd position in the table, respectively, on the very last match day of the season, after spending five years in the second tier.
TheCiudad Deportiva UD Las Palmas, also known asBarranco Seco, is the training ground of UD Las Palmas. Occupying a total area of 70,000 m2, the complex is located in the area known asBarranco Seco at the southern outskirts of the city of Las Palmas.
The current land in Barranco Seco was acquired by UD Las Palmas during the 1960s by the efforts of then club director Manuel Betancor. During the 1970s, there was only a single training pitch used by the reserve and junior teams of the club. In 1982, when the ground was upgraded to be used as a training field by the first team.
In June 2015, theCiudad Deportiva project was initiated. However, works did not start until 2017. After around 2 years of construction works, the complex was finally opened on July 8, 2019. It was designed by architect Juan Palop-Casado,[59] who assured that the construction of this project was "an attempt that has been made to build with the greatest possible sustainability".[60] The construction was executed by "Construcciones Alex y Nadal, S.L.", involving around 380 workers, 10,000 tons of sand, nearly 300 tons of steel, almost 2,000 cubic meters of concrete and beams of approximately 1,600 meters.[61]
Being only the first phase of the entire sports city project, the club invested 22.5 million euros of its own funds to carry out the construction works of the current facilities.[62] The construction of a multifunctional service building is scheduled in the second phase. The eventual area of the complex will become 70,000 m2 after the completion of the second phase.
The new complex has modern changing rooms, a meeting hall, a gym with physiotherapy facilities, a dining room, a press room, in addition to two parking spaces designated for 130 vehicles. The Ciudad Deportiva is home to 3 regular size training pitches:[63]
Manuel Betancor training field of artificial turf, designated for the training sessions of UDLas Palmas Atlético andUD Las Palmas C; the reserve teams of the club.[64]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Since its founding, Unión Deportiva has had 79 coaching changes (including interim coaches).[66] Among those 79, several have coached the team on more than one occasion.[66] In total, 61 different coaches have held the position in the club's history.[66]Pierre Sinibaldi is the coach who has led the most matches with 166 in four full seasons.[67][68] He is followed byRoque Olsen with 135,Luis Molowny with 130,Juan Manuel Rodríguez with 125,Sergio Krešić with 120,Satur Grech with 113,Paco Castellano with 108 andVicente Dauder with 104 matches.[66][69] In terms of sporting achievements, the Gran Canaria team has 9 promotions (7 toPrimera[70] and 2 toSegunda).[71] The first promotion was achieved by Arsenio Arocha. The promotions to Primera were chronologically achieved by Arsenio Arocha,Jesús Navarro,Vicente Dauder,Roque Olsen,Sergio Krešić,Paco Herrera, and the most recent byFrancisco Javier García Pimienta.[70][72][73] The promotions to Segunda were achieved by Pacuco Rosales[74] and Juanito Rodríguez.[75] Regarding the nationalities of the coaches of Unión Deportiva, Spanish coaches predominate, although 9 other different nationalities have occupied the bench.[66]
Las Palmas has usedfarm teams since 1954, but its official B-team,Las Palmas Atlético, was founded in 1976.[76] Athird side was founded in 2006 and reached the highest division of regional football, thePreferente, before folding in 2010 and being re-created the following season.[77]
Las Palmas' badge is a blue shield with yellow scrolls on top with the club's name, city and archipelago. The municipal arms, granted by the city's mayor, feature in the centre of the design. Underneath lie the five crests of the clubs which united in 1949 to create the club: from left to right – Victoria, Arenas, Deportivo, Marino and Atlético; a smaller white scroll above them displays the city mottoSegura tiene la palma.
InSpanish football, many clubs possess royal patronage and thus are permitted to use the prefixReal in their name and use an image of the Spanish crown. Las Palmas does not have such patronage, but tops its crest with the Spanish crown due to the patronage held by Real Club Victoria.
The crest is the central emblem of the club flag, a horizontal bicolour with yellow on top and blue underneath. The flag of the island of Gran Canaria uses these colours diagonally.
^Canaria, MARTÍN ALONSO Las Palmas de Gran (27 January 2012)."Un entrenador de récord".La Provincia - Diario de Las Palmas (in Spanish). Retrieved19 March 2024.
^Canarias7.es/EFE (1 January 1970)."La UD abandona la Segunda B".Canarias7 (in Spanish). Retrieved19 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Nam Em (13 March 2022)."Jeetbuzz" (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved19 March 2024.
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