Real Zaragoza
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| Full name | Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Blanquillos, Maños |
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| Founded | 1932 | ||
| Ground | La Romareda, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain (Capacity: 34,596) |
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| Chairman |  Eduardo Bandrés |
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| Manager | Marcelino García Toral |
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| League | La Liga | ||
| 2008-09 | Segunda División, 2nd (Promoted) | ||
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Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team from Zaragoza in Aragón. Founded on 18 March 1932, Zaragoza have this season gained promotion in the 2008/09 Segunda División to the the Spanish top-flight. They play in white shirts with royal blue shorts. The home stadium is called La Romareda and seats 34,596 spectators.
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[edit] 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 8 September 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. Juan Seminario he was top scorer in La Liga (with 25 goals in 30 matches) for the 1961/62 season. 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.
On 10 May 1995, Real Zaragoza won the UEFA Cup Winner's Cup against Arsenal in Parc des Princes, in Paris. The result was 1:2, and Mohammed Ali Ammar "Nayim" scored from the half in 120', just before penalty kicks.
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 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 Roma's Francesco Totti and Real Madrid'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. Despite having a nearly unchanged squad from 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 earning 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 Mallorca 3-2, despite 2 goals from Ricardo Oliveira and at 1-1 looking like they might stay up.
Real Zaragoza got promoted for the 2009-2010 season after their final game. They drew 2-2 away to Rayo Vallecano with goals from Generelo and ex-Real Madrid defender Pavon.
[edit] Honours
[edit] Winners
- Copa del Rey: 6
- 1964-1965, 1965-1966, 1985-1986, 1993-1994, 2000-2001, 2003-2004
- Spanish Supercup: 1
- 2004
- Segunda División: 1
- 1977-78
[edit] Players
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