Club Overview

One of the largest and most supported clubs in Spain, behind the two dominant giants; Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The 07/08 season proved to be disastrous as the team was relegated to the second division, although they are more than likely to return to the top flight immediately.

The club has a large number of Cup trophies, although it has never won La Liga. Zaragoza is one of Spain's largest city (5th), and the team plans to replace it's old and outdated stadium; La Romereda, in the next few years.

Regular home kits: White and Blue Regular away kits: Black and Yellow

Club History

Real Zaragoza was originally formed out of two rival teams, Iberia SC and Real Zaragoza CD. By the 1930s, the team was making headway in La Liga, but the Civil War put a brake on a lot of the progress made.

On September 8, 1957 the team left their original stadium (the Torrero) for the La Romareda. It was not until the 1960s that Zaragoza would see their first successes, in the Copa del Rey and in the Fairs Cup. The Real Zaragoza side of this era contained los Magnificos (the Greats), an attacking line of Canario, Santos, Marcelino, Villa and Lapetra. Other notable players included Reija and Violeta in defence. Fans of the side had to wait until the 1980s to experience another victory in the cup competition.

Real Zaragoza have played the majority of their history, a total of 45 seasons, in the Primera División. Being more of a specialist cup side, they have not managed to win the league, although they have come second on one occasion. In the 2001-02 season they were relegated from the Primera for the first time in 25 years; however, they earned promotion back to the Primera the following season.

In late May 2006, Agapito Iglesias bought Alfonso Solans' shares and took the control of Real Zaragoza. Agapito promised to build one of the strongest team in Spain and Europe. In his first year owning Real Zaragoza, Agapito bought Pablo Aimar for 11 million euros to reinforce the midfield. In a poll in 2007, Zaragoza fans voted Aimar the teams greatest ever player.[citation needed]

Thanks to Diego Milito's 23 goals in 2006/07 (he finished third to AS Roma's Francesco Totti and Real Madrid CF's Ruud Van Nistelrooy, 26 and 25 goals, respectively, for the European Golden Shoe), Real Zaragoza managed a very respectable 6th place finish, qualifying for Europe. However, despite having nearly the same squad as they had during the previous campaign, the 2007/08 season would finish with this Zaragoza team becoming one of the most disappointing and underachieving teams in La Liga history. They crashed out in the first round of the UEFA Cup. By the turn of the year, they found themselves slipping further and further down the table. Gaffer Víctor Fernández was sacked, and 3 different managers, culminating with former Zaragoza standout Manolo Villanova, were brought in from January to May in a desperate attempt to change Zaragoza's fortunes. Largely due to having managed only a dismal 8 points from 18 away fixtures (despite having managed 34 from all their games at La Romareda), they went into their final fixture of the season needing a win to guarantee their Primera División survival. Kickoff was delayed for over an hour due to a torrential downpour, but not even the rain could keep Zaragoza from relegation as they fell to Real Mallorca 3-2, despite 2 goals from Ricardo Oliveira and at 1-1 looking like they might stay up.

Club Rivalries

Without a doubt, CA Osasuna is the largest rivalry that Zaragoza has. From the nearby city of Pamplona, Osasuna has for the last 30 years been the main adversary for Zaragoza. The two teams hail from the neighboring regions of Aragon and Navarra. While Osasuna is usually much lower in the table than Zaragoza, this match-up is always considered very important to fans of both teams.

Stars of the Current Squad

Ricardo Oliveira and Roberto Ayala both have the most history, both men having played for some very prestigious clubs in the past. Oliveira has the most potential in the future and has a lot to live up to being Zaragoza's current biggest star.

(wikipedia)

Club Legends

Most Appearances

Most Goals

Player Recognition & Awards

Team Honours

Club Management

Uniforms

Stadium

La Romareda (Zaragoza)

Sponsors

There are no current kit sponsors.

Important Links

www.realzaragoza.es

References

www.wikipedia.com (history)