 | |||
| Full name | Unionistas de Salamanca Club de Fútbol | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Unionistas | ||
| Founded | 26 August 2013; 12 years ago (2013-08-26) | ||
| Ground | Reina Sofía,Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain | ||
| Capacity | 4,895 | ||
| Owner | 5027 partners | ||
| President | Roberto Pescador Jiménez | ||
| Head coach | Mario Simón | ||
| League | Primera Federación – Group 1 | ||
| 2024–25 | Primera Federación – Group 1, 15th of 20 | ||
| Website | unionistascf | ||
Unionistas de Salamanca Club de Fútbol is aSpanish football club inSalamanca, in the autonomous community ofCastile and León. Founded in 2013, the club plays inPrimera Federación – Group 1, holding home games atCampo de Fútbol Municipal Reina Sofía with a 4895-seat capacity.[1]
AfterUD Salamanca's dissolution, a group of supporters foundedUnionistas de Salamanca Club de Fútbol, a fan-based club created mainly to preserve UDS' memory.[2][3] After the club's creation, famous people likeVicente del Bosque[4] andDani Rovira[5] became associates. A number of British citizens resident in Spain and England are also members.[2] The fees contributed by the members of the club are a very important part of club's budget. 2,653 people who decided to become partial owners the club, all at individual title, in season 2018–2019.[6] During the first season following its foundation, the club played home games at the “Rosa Colorado” municipal stadium.[7]
On 2 September 2014, Unionistas was inscribed inPrimera Provincial de Salamanca, the sixth level of Spanish football.[2][8] A day later it played its first official match, a 0–1friendly loss againstUD Santa Marta.[9]
Unionistas achieved promotion toPrimera Regional in April 2015, after defeating Real Salamanca Monterrey.[10] Just one year later, it was promoted toTercera División after defeating Onzonilla.
The first season of the club in Tercera division was successful, as it ended in the third position of the Castile and León group and qualified to thepromotion play-offs toSegunda División B. The club qualified for asecond attempt in the next season, after topping the group 8. This time it achieved promotion by defeatingSocuéllamos in the last match, with apenalty kick scored in the 96th minute.
The first season inSegunda Division B was successful, as the team managed to finish in ninth place, avoiding relegation and qualifying for theCopa del Rey the following season.
In their debut in Copa del Rey in 2019, Unionistas reached the round of 32nd after beatingAtlético Baleares andDeportivo La Coruña. In that round, they were eliminated by powerhouseReal Madrid, after losing 1–3. In the league, the season was more difficult. After first 11 league games the club was holding 19th position among 20 teams.[11] However, the club avoided relegation after leaving the last positions and following the suspension of the league due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
In the 2023-24 season, the club made it to the round of 32 of the2023-24 Copa del Rey after beatingGernika,Sporting de Gijón, where the club facedVillarreal on 8 January 2024.
After keeping the score to 0-0, Unionistas eventually conceded to Villarreal attackerIlias Akhomach, but scored an 87th minute equalizer through anAlfred Planas penalty. The score remained 1-1 even after extra time, and the game went to penalties. However, due to a power outage, the stadium's floodlights failed and the penalty shootout was postponed to the following morning.[12] In the morning's penalty shootout, Unionistas won the match withAdri Gómez scoring the winning penalty. This sent Unionistas to the Round of 16 of the competition, where they would meetFC Barcelona at home,[13] losing 1-3 after taking the lead.[14]
| Season | Tier | Division | Place | Copa del Rey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | 6 | 1ª Prov. | 1st | |
| 2015–16 | 5 | 1ª Reg. | 1st | |
| 2016–17 | 4 | 3ª | 3rd | |
| 2017–18 | 4 | 3ª | 1st | |
| 2018–19 | 3 | 2ª B | 9th | Second round |
| 2019–20 | 3 | 2ª B | 16th | Round of 32 |
| 2020–21 | 3 | 2ª B | 2nd /4th | |
| 2021–22 | 3 | 1ª RFEF | 7th | Second round |
| 2022–23 | 3 | 1ª Fed. | 7th | |
| 2023–24 | 3 | 1ª Fed. | 7th | Round of 16 |
| 2024–25 | 3 | 1ª Fed. | 15th | Second round |
| 2025–26 | 3 | 1ª Fed. |
| Season | Tier | Division | Pos | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Cup | Top scorer(s) |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | 6 | 1ª Prov | 1st | 20 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 66 | 9 | 53 | Nacho Sánchez | 24 | |
| 2015–16 | 5 | 1ª Reg | 1st | 34 | 27 | 7 | 0 | 114 | 27 | 88 | Vitolo | 24 | |
| 2016–17 | 4 | 3ª | 3rd | 38 | 22 | 12 | 4 | 77 | 29 | 78 | Cristo | 20 | |
| 2017–18 | 4 | 3ª | 1st | 38 | 25 | 5 | 8 | 72 | 34 | 80 | Cristo | 18 | |
| 2018–19 | 3 | 2ªB | 9th | 38 | 12 | 16 | 10 | 39 | 37 | 52 | Second round | Carlos De la Nava / Unai | 6 |
| 2019–20 | 3 | 2ªB | 16th[a] | 28 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 39 | 43 | 31 | Round of 32 | Guille Andrés | 7 |
| 2020–21 | 3 | 2ªB | 2nd / 4th[b] | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 24 | 17 | 39 | Carlos De la Nava | 5 | |
| 2021–22 | 3 | 1º RFEF | 7th | 38 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 55 | 37 | 61 | Second round | Jesús De Miguel | 12 |
| 2022–23 | 3 | 1º Fed. | 7th | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 38 | 40 | 56 | Iván Chapela | 8 | |
| 2023–24 | 3 | 1º Fed. | 7th | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 40 | 29 | 58 | Round of 16 | Ivaylov Stankov "Slavy" | 13 |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Players who have reached international status or reached 100 league matches for the club
In its first season, Unionistas de Salamanca played its home games atPolideportivo Rosa Colorado, commonly known asLa Sindical, with a capacity of 2,000 spectators.[16]
Since 2015, the club has played its games atPistas del Helmántico (next toHelmántico Stadium), with a capacity of 3,000 spectators.[17][18]
On 11 November 2017, it was announced that a new stadium would be built in theZurguén district, in the southern part of Salamanca. The new home of Unionistas, "Estadio Zurguén" will presumably be open for the 2019–2020 season.[19] Roughly one year later, however, the club announced an agreement with Real Salamanca Monterrey CF and the City Council to use theReina Sofía stadium, with a planned expansion to 5,000 spectators; the transition to the new field was concluded for the 2020–21 season,[20] and was announced by the club on 5 October 2020.[21]
Unionistas de Salamanca has a strong rivalry withSalamanca UDS, formerly known as Salmantino. Both teams meet in their matches, calledthe derby of the 50 metres as their stadiums were separated by this distance.[18]
While Unionistas was born as a homage of former UD Salamanca, dissolved in 2013, Salamanca CF claims it is its continuation by using their name and their shield, despite a judicial statement established it is a completely different club.
40°59′45″N5°39′47″W / 40.9959°N 5.6630°W /40.9959; -5.6630
