Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the , holding its home games at La Romareda.
Founded on 18 March 1932, the club has spent the majority of its history in La Liga, although they have not played at that level since they were last relegated in 2013. They have won the Copa del Rey six times, 1963–64 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and the 1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, amongst other trophies. Traditionally, their team colours are white shirts and socks with royal blue shorts.
A government survey in 2007 found that 2.7% of the Spanish population support Real Zaragoza, making them the seventh-most supported in the country.
The club's main rivals are: Huesca, their opponents in the Aragonese derby; Numancia, from the nearby Province of Soria; and Osasuna, the largest club in the neighbouring Navarre region.
History
Early years Real Zaragoza was originally formed from two rival teams: Iberia SC and Real Zaragoza CD. In 1939, after three years without football due to the Spanish Civil War, the team made its first appearance in La Liga, ending in 7th position out of 12 teams, but being relegated in 1941. The club returned to the top division one year later, only to be immediately relegated back.Spain 1939/40; at RSSSF It remained in Segunda División until the end of the 1950–51 campaign, when it achieved promotion by finishing second in a play-off league.Spain, Final Tables 1949–1959; at RSSSF
On 8 September 1957, the team left its original stadium, El Torrero, for its current stadium, La Romareda.
The golden era Beginning in the 1960–61 season, Zaragoza enjoyed a period of great success, showcasing some of the greatest players playing in Spain during that decade, which earned for themselves the designation of Los Magníficos. While the team failed to capture the league title, it finished in the top five every year until 1968–69, with two third-place finishes, and also won its first two Copa del Rey titles and the 1963–64 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Zaragoza's famous attacking line included Canário, Carlos Lapetra, Marcelino, Eleuterio Santos and Juan Manuel Villa. The Peruvian Juan Seminario, who started his career in Spain with Los Maños before moving to Barcelona, won the Pichichi Trophy in the 1961–62 campaign, scoring 25 goals in 30 matches as Zaragoza finished in fourth position.
1970s to the end of the century
Zaragoza finished third in 1973–74 and a best-ever second in the following season, losing the title in the last round to Real Madrid. The club was also defeated 0–1 in the 1976 domestic cup final against Atlético Madrid,Spain – Cup 1976; at RSSSF spending two seasons in the second level during the decade, with promotion at the first attempt on either occasion.
In 1986, Zaragoza won its third Copa del Rey, defeating Barcelona 1–0. The club finished the 1990–91 season in 17th position, thus having to appear in the promotion/relegation play-offs against Real Murcia; on 19 June 1991, after a 0–0 away draw, a 5–2 home win meant the team managed to maintain its top level status.
Víctor Fernández was appointed manager in 1991. On 10 May 1995, one year after winning the Copa del Rey against Celta, Zaragoza won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup against Arsenal at the Parc des Princes, Paris, after having disposed of the likes of Feyenoord and Chelsea en route. With the score level at 1–1, the two teams entered extra time and, in the 120th minute, Nayim hit a half-volley from just past the halfway line, putting it beyond the reach of goalkeeper David Seaman for the final 2–1. The club then contested the 1995 UEFA Super Cup against Ajax, losing 1–5 on aggregate despite a home draw in the first leg.1995: Ajax on a roll; UEFA, 1995 Víctor Fernández was dismissed from his post in early November 1996, after only winning one league match that season.Víctor y Brzic, cesados (Víctor and Brzic, sacked); El Mundo Deportivo, 8 November 1996
The 21st century
The 2000s brought a further two Copa del Rey titles to Zaragoza's trophy cabinet, including the 2003–04 edition against Real Madrid in Barcelona (3–2 after extra time).Spain Cups 2000/01; at RSSSF However, the club also suffered top flight relegation in 2002Spain 2001/02; at RSSSF after narrowly avoiding so the previous season,Spain 2000/01; at RSSSF but achieved immediate promotion in 2003.Spain 2002/03; at RSSSF In late May 2006, Agapito Iglesias purchased Alfonso Solans' shares and took control of the club, promising to build one of the strongest teams in Spain and Europe. In his first year in charge, he purchased Pablo Aimar from Valencia for €11 million,Aimar confirma su traspaso al Zaragoza (Aimar confirms Zaragoza move); El Mundo, 29 July 2006 and former manager Víctor Fernández also returned to the club.Fernandez agrees new Zaragoza deal; CNN, 5 June 2006
Mainly due to Diego Milito's 23 goals in 2006–07 (he finished third to Roma's Francesco Totti and Real Madrid's Ruud van Nistelrooy – 26 and 25 goals, respectively – in the European Golden Shoe race), Real Zaragoza finished in sixth position, thus qualifying to the UEFA Cup. However, the following season ended in relegation (18th position among 20 teams with only 10 wins in 38 matches, among them only 1 away win in 19 games) – for the second time in the decade – with the side also being eliminated in the first round in European competition. Legendary club coach Víctor Fernández returned for a second spell, although he was sacked in January 2008,Garitano succeeds Fernández at Zaragoza ; ESPN Soccernet, 14 January 2008 as the club had four managers during the campaign. On the last matchday, a brace from Ricardo Oliveira proved insufficient in a 2–3 away loss against Mallorca, with the team totalling 42 points to Osasuna's 43.
Zaragoza achieved promotion from the second division at the first attempt. On the last matchday, on 20 June 2009, the team drew 2–2 at Rayo Vallecano with goals from youth graduate David Generelo and ex-Real Madrid defender Francisco Pavón, only trailing champions Xerez in the table. Nevertheless, that season Zaragoza was the best team at home, gained 50 from their 81 points in home games. However, after four seasons mainly spent in the bottom half of the table, Zaragoza was relegated following the 2012–13 Liga season after finishing last.Real Zaragoza relegated; Sky Sports, 1 June 2013
In April 2022, the purchase of 51% of the shares of the SAD by an international investment fund led by Jorge Mas was disclosed. In 2025–26 season, Zaragoza were relegated to the third division for the first time since 1949.
Seasons
Season to season SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1932–3333ª1stRound of 161933–3433ª1stRound of 161934–3522ª3rdQuarter-finals1935–3622ª2ndQuarter-finals1939–4011ª7thSemi-finals1940–4111ª11thThird round1941–4222ª2ndRound of 161942–4311ª13thRound of 161943–4422ª6thRound of 321944–4522ª7thFirst round1945–4622ª10thFirst round1946–4722ª13thFirst round1947–4833ª3rdThird round1948–4933ª2ndFirst round1949–5022ª4thSecond round1950–5122ª2ndDid Not Play1951–5211ª12thQuarter-finals1952–5311ª16thDNP1953–5422ª9thDNP1954–5522ª3rdDNPSeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1955–5622ª3rdDNP1956–5711ª9thRound of 161957–5811ª14thRound of 161958–5911ª9thRound of 161959–6011ª11thRound of 321960–6111ª3rdRound of 161961–6211ª4thSemi-finals1962–6311ª5thRunner-up1963–6411ª4thWinner1964–6511ª3rdRunner-up1965–6611ª4thWinner1966–6711ª5thRound of 321967–6811ª5thQuarter-finals1968–6911ª13thRound of 161969–7011ª8thSemi-finals1970–7111ª16thRound of 161971–7222ª3rdFourth round1972–7311ª8thFifth round1973–7411ª3rdQuarter-finals1974–7511ª2ndSemi-finals SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1975–7611ª14thRunner-up1976–7711ª16thQuarter-finals1977–7822ª1stRound of 161978–7911ª14thQuarter-finals1979–8011ª10thFourth round1980–8111ª14thFirst round1981–8211ª11thQuarter-finals1982–8311ª6thSecond round1983–8411ª7thThird round1984–8511ª10thSemi-finals1985–8611ª4thWinner1986–8711ª5thRound of 161987–8811ª11thRound of 321988–8911ª5thRound of 321989–9011ª9thQuarter-finals1990–9111ª17thRound of 161991–9211ª6thFifth round1992–9311ª9thRunner-up1993–9411ª3rdWinner1994–9511ª7thRound of 16SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1995–9611ª13thQuarter-finals1996–9711ª14thThird round1997–9811ª13thSemi-finals1998–9911ª9thThird round1999–200011ª4thRound of 162000–0111ª17thWinner2001–0211ª20thRound of 642002–0322ª2ndRound of 322003–0411ª12thWinner2004–0511ª12thRound of 642005–0611ª11thRunner-up2006–0711ª6thQuarter-finals2007–0811ª18thRound of 162008–0922ª2ndSecond round2009–1011ª14thRound of 322010–1111ª13thRound of 322011–1211ª16thRound of 322012–1311ª20thQuarter-finals2013–1422ª14thSecond round2014–1522ª6thSecond round SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey2015–1622ª8thThird round2016–1722ª16thSecond round2017–1822ª3rdRound of 322018–1922ª15thThird round2019–2022ª3rdRound of 162020–2122ª15thSecond round2021–2222ª10thRound of 322022–2322ª13thFirst round2023–2422ª15thFirst round2024–2522ª18thSecond round2025–2622ª22ndSecond round2026–2731ª Fed.TBD
58 seasons in La Liga 29 seasons in Segunda División 1 season in Primera Federación 4 seasons in Tercera División
Current squad
Reserve team
Out on loan
Current technical staff
Honours Domestic League Segunda División Winners: 1977–78
Campeonato Regional Centro: Runners-up (1): 1935–36
Cups Copa del Rey Winners: 1963–64, 1965–66, 1985–86, 1993–94, 2000–01, 2003–04 Supercopa de España Winners: 2004
International UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Winners: 1994–95 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Winners: 1963–64
Records
Club Best La Liga position: 2nd (1974–75) Worst La Liga position: 20th (2001–02) Overall La Liga historical classification: 9th Greatest home win: Real Zaragoza 8–1 Español (1978–79), Real Zaragoza 8–1 Sevilla (1987–88) Greatest away win: Elche 2–7 Real Zaragoza (1960–61) Greatest home defeat: Real Zaragoza 1–7 Real Madrid (1987–88) Greatest away defeat: Athletic Bilbao 10–1 Real Zaragoza (1951–52)
Player Most matches: Xavier Aguado (473) Most minutes: Xavier Aguado (33,480) Most goals all-time: Marcelino (117) Most goals in one season: Ewerthon (28, 2008–09) Foreign player with most appearances: Gustavo Poyet (239) Red cards: Xavier Aguado (18)
Notable players
Note: this list includes players that have appeared in at least 100 league games, have reached international status, or both. Pablo Aimar Andrés D'Alessandro Roberto Ayala Juan Barbas Sergio Berti Fernando Cáceres Juan Pablo Carrizo Juan Esnáider Darío Franco Leo Franco Luciano Galletti Kily González Gustavo López Diego Milito Gabriel Milito Daniel Montenegro Leonardo Ponzio Marcelo Trobbiani Jorge Valdano Otto Konrad Sergei Gurenko Cafu Canário Ewerthon Paulo Jamelli Gustavo Nery Ricardo Oliveira Sávio Bozhidar Iskrenov Nasko Sirakov Patricio Yáñez Humberto Suazo Abel Aguilar Faryd Mondragón Marko Babić Mate Bilić Alen Peternac Mario Inchausti Jiří Jarošík Florent Sinama Pongolle Andreas Brehme Ádám Pintér Romaric Shinji Kagawa Pablo Barrera Efraín Juárez Frank Rijkaard Ikechukwu Uche Roberto Acuña Saturnino Arrúa José Luis Chilavert Carlos Diarte Miguel Rebosio Juan Seminario Cezary Wilk Fábio Coentrão Fernando Meira Hélder Postiga Rui Jordão Rúben Micael Constantin Gâlcă Dorin Mateuț Cristian Săpunaru Vladislav Radimov Stefan Babović Savo Milošević Ivan Obradović Goran Drulić Xavier Aguado Santiago Aragón Pablo Alfaro Cani Andoni Cedrún César Sánchez Gabi Sergio García Rafael García Cortés Jesús García Sanjuán Ander Herrera Pedro Herrera Francisco Higuera Juanele Juanito Juanmi Carlos Lapetra Marcelino Javi Moreno Fernando Morientes José María Movilla Víctor Muñoz Nayim Óscar Paco Miguel Pardeza Gerard Piqué Salva Eleuterio Santos Juan Señor Marcos Vales David Villa Juan Manuel Villa José Luis Violeta Juan Vizcaíno Alberto Zapater Alberto Belsué Gary Sundgren Carlos Diogo Gustavo Poyet Rubén Sosa