Valladolid

20th-century history (1928–2001)

Real Valladolid was founded from the merger of Real Unión Deportiva de Valladolid and Club Deportivo Español, the club played its first game on 22 September 1928. It was a 2–1 win over Alavés. Valladolid first reached the top level in the 1947–48 season, as champions of the Segunda División. The club became the first Castile and León club to play in the Spanish top flight. The following year, the team pushed on from this success and reached the finals of the Copa del Rey in Chamartín Stadium against Athletic Bilbao, losing 4–1.

The next ten years were spent in the first division, and relegation was short-lived as Valladolid gained promotion again in 1958–59 with a 5–0 win over Terrassa under manager José Luis Saso, a legendary figure in club history. He had originally been a goalkeeper for the club and went on to perform many roles, including serving as president of the club.

Valladolid swung between the first and second divisions in subsequent years, falling as low as to the third division in 1970–71. Next year the club was promoted to second division and in 1980 promoted to first division, where Valladolid played until 1992 when the club was relegated to the second division again. Promoted in 1992–93, the club was again sent down after the 2003–04 season. In 1984, Valladolid also won the Copa de la Liga (a competition only played in the early 1980s) over Atlético Madrid.

On 14 April 1996, Valladolid played its 1,000th game in La Liga.

The side's highest position during this 11-year stint was seventh in 1996–97, being coached in the previous seasons by former Real Madrid Castilla coach Rafael Benítez, as various players from that team would also later appear for Valladolid.

Carlos Suárez era (2001–2018)

In the 2006–07 season, after signing Basque José Luis Mendilibar as head coach, Valladolid had one of its best years in its history while playing in the second level. The club took the league lead in the 15th matchday and went on to finish with a competition all-time high 88 points, winning the championship by a total margin of eight points, and holding an advantage of 26 points over the non-promotion zone (fourth and below), both being all-time records in the league. Valladolid also achieved the honour of going unbeaten in 29-straight matches, from 10 October 2006 to 6 May 2007, being mathematically promoted after a 2–0 away win against Tenerife on 22 April 2007 (the 34th matchday of the season), the earliest any club has achieved promotion in Spanish history.

Also remarkable was the side's role in the season's Copa del Rey, reaching the quarter-finals after defeating two top division teams, Gimnàstic de Tarragona (4–1 aggregate) and the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League contender Villarreal (3–1), while playing the entire competition with reserve players.

Two relatively successful seasons in the top division followed, finishing in 15th place while avoiding relegation after a 1–1 draw on the last matchday of both seasons (against Recreativo de Huelva in 2007–08 and Real Betis in the following campaign).

After a slow start to 2009–10 (three wins in the first 20 matches), Mendilibar was sacked on 1 February 2010 following a draw at home against Almería. The week following his sacking, Valladolid dropped into the relegation zone (something that never happened during Mendilibar's 138-match stint), with former player Onésimo Sánchez taking charge.

After only one win in 10 matches, Sánchez was fired. Former Spain national team manager Javier Clemente was named Sánchez's replacement in a desperate move to avoid relegation with only eight matches remaining. After a brief breather (16th position), Valladolid again returned to the bottom three, then faced a must-win last game at the Camp Nou against a Barcelona squad needing a win to secure the Liga championship. Level in the standings with Racing de Santander, Málaga and Tenerife for the two final safe positions, Valladolid lost 0–4 and consequently was relegated, ending a three-year stay in the top flight.

The 2011–12 season saw Valladolid return to La Liga under the management of Miroslav Đukić, promoted through the play-offs after finishing third in the division.

Valladolid were relegated back to the Segunda División on the last matchday of the 2013–14 season.

In the 2017–18 season, Valladolid was promoted back to first division after four years via play-off defeating Sporting de Gijón and Numancia.

Ronaldo Nazario, new owner (2018–present)

In the summer of 2018, a series of purchase offers were presented by several foreign entrepreneurs. This process concluded with the acquisition led by the former Brazilian player Ronaldo Nazário, who was officially introduced as the majority shareholder and president of the board of directors on 3 September 2018. The presentation took place in the reception hall of the Valladolid City Hall. It's worth noting that the former president, Carlos Suárez [es], continued in the role of CEO until he resigned in August 2019.

When Ronaldo was introduced, the team had already completed the first three rounds of the 2018–19 La Liga season. Despite failing to score any goals, they managed to secure two draws out of three matches, largely due to their strong defensive performance. Their standing improved to 6th place by the 10th round, but a lack of goals combined with a deteriorating defense resulted in a series of unfavorable outcomes. Throughout April, they found themselves periodically in positions that could lead to relegation. However, the team's performance notably picked up in the final rounds of the season, ensuring their safety in the league mathematically one match prior to the end of the championship. As part of changes, Calero, who had performed well, was transferred to Espanyol for a fee of 8 million euros plus additional variables.

Sergio González Soriano continued as the coach for the 2019–20 season. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a pause in the season on 13 March when the team was in 15th place, four points above the relegation zone. The league resumed from mid-June to mid-July, with the team securing safety in the second-to-last round and finishing 13th, their best position in 18 seasons. Throughout the season, Valladolid avoided relegation positions, relying on effective but not flashy play. The standout was Salisu, a Ghanaian defender from the youth team, who excelled in defense. He was sold to Southampton FC for 12 million euros in the summer, a record sale for Valladolid. In January, Ronaldo signed high-profile player Ben Arfa, who played sparingly and left at the season's end.

On 23 May 2020, a preliminary agreement was announced with the Club Baloncesto Ciudad de Valladolid for collaboration between the two entities. The merger would result in the basketball club becoming a section within Real Valladolid. Among the changes would be alterations to the club's colors and the basketball team's name. On 10 July 2020, members of Atlético Tordesillas agreed to have the team become a subsidiary of Real Valladolid for one season, extendable over time. Atlético Tordesillas would retain its legal identity and board of directors. The agreement would bring young players from the Valladolid academy, a full coaching staff funded by Valladolid, training for lower division coaches at Tordesillas, supply of sports equipment, and the presence of Valladolid's groundkeepers to maintain the Tordesillas team's fields.

On 3 August 2020, a 3-year collaboration agreement was signed with Club Baloncesto Ciudad de Valladolid. The basketball team's name changed to Real Valladolid Baloncesto, adopting white and purple colors. David Espinar, the basketball team's director, joined the board of directors. This partnership aimed to attract resources, strengthen fan connections, and enhance public relations. On 21 August 2020, the agreement with Atlético Tordesillas was confirmed, making it the club's second subsidiary team..

The 2020–21 season began in September instead of August due to the COVID-19-induced pause. The RFEF established rules for the 2020–21 league that required teams in La Liga and Segunda División to find alternative stadiums for home matches in case COVID-19 complications prevented matches from being played at their regular venues. The preferred option was the Estadio Nueva Balastera in Palencia, provided it met the minimum requirements set by the LFP. The alternative, however, needed to be located outside the club's Autonomous Community. Therefore, stadiums in Madrid were the most likely candidates, and even the possibility of a mutual agreement to share the alternative stadium with another team was considered. Furthermore, during this season, five substitutions in three intervals per match would continue to be allowed. A protocol was designed to address issues like playing surfaces, schedules, first-team player numbers, and what would happen if matches couldn't be played or if positive COVID-19 cases were detected among teams, coaches, and players. The protocol also covered the promotion playoffs to La Liga.

On 18 September 2020, alternative venues for home matches were announced. The primary option was either the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu (depending on the progress of ongoing renovations) or the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano in Madrid. The secondary choices were the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán in Seville and the Estadio de Balaídos in Vigo. Additionally, Valladolid was a highly sought-after host city, being selected as the primary alternative venue by Real Madrid CF and Real Celta de Vigo to play their matches at the Estadio José Zorrilla. Atlético de Madrid, however, opted for another venue. Valladolid was also considered for the list of alternatives, with convenient flight connections in mind, with cities like Valencia and Málaga.

Despite the disappointing results, Real Valladolid had a slim chance of avoiding relegation until the very last matchday. They needed to beat the league champions, Atlético de Madrid, and hope their rivals didn't win their matches. Unfortunately, this scenario didn't play out, resulting in relegation as the second-to-last team. The club faced criticism from fans for not taking adequate measures to prevent relegation. Despite various challenges including injuries and COVID-19 absences, coach Sergio González Soriano remained in charge throughout the season, ultimately leading the team back to the lower division.

The following season, 2021–22, marked Real Valladolid's 36th season in the second tier. The main goal was to rekindle the fans' enthusiasm after one of the worst seasons in the club's history. On 22 June 2021, the subsidiary agreement with Atlético Tordesillas was terminated due to Real Valladolid's relegation. Despite this, the collaboration between the two clubs continued. After a somewhat inconsistent start, the team began 2022 with a strong defense, surpassing the team's previous unbeaten record. It's important to note that the earlier record was set in La Liga by César Sánchez, who went 555 minutes without conceding a goal. This achievement spanned from the 85th minute (goal by Julen Guerrero) of matchday 33 in the 1997–98 season to the 10th minute (goal by Predrag Mijatović) of matchday 2 in the 1998–99 season. Ultimately, the record was extended to 646 minutes by Jordi Masip between the 29th-minute goal by Borja Bastón on matchday 20 and the 45th-minute goal by Bernardo Espinosa on matchday 27. The team eventually secured direct promotion by defeating S.D. Huesca 3–0 in the final matchday, even though it relied on results from U.D. Almería and S.D. Eibar. These results materialized with Almería drawing at Butarque and Eibar surprisingly losing to A.D. Alcorcón, who had been relegated for several rounds. Despite this, Alcorcón finished as the bottom team in the second division. Valladolid concluded the season as runners-up, being the top goal-scorers with 71 goals, largely thanks to the 20 goals contributed by Israeli player Shon Weissman. Furthermore, they set a record by spending the fewest matchdays in direct promotion positions before securing promotion, achieving this in only 5 matchdays in total.

The 2022–23 season of La Liga began with Pacheta as the coach, following their promotion, and notable signings like the return of academy graduate Sergio Asenjo and Valladolid native Sergio Escudero. The season was marked by inconsistent performance, swinging between periods of positive and negative results, often conceding goals in the closing minutes of matches. The team managed to stay above the relegation zone until the break for the Qatar World Cup.

During the winter transfer window, new players were brought in to elevate the team's performance, but injuries hindered the contribution of some players. Paulo Pezzolano replaced Pacheta as the coach after the team conceded six goals in a single match. Despite Pezzolano's efforts, the team's irregular form persisted. In the final matchday, playing at home against Getafe, Valladolid was relegated, marking their fifth relegation in two decades, making them the most relegated team in the 21st century.

The day after relegation, President Ronaldo confirmed Pezzolano as the coach for the 2023–24 season. Just days before the new season's start, Fran Sánchez was dismissed, and Domingo Catoira took over as the sporting director. The fans' dissatisfaction with these changes, along with concerns about the team's direction and squad changes, were evident during the Trofeo Ciudad de Valladolid, with strong protests against the club's leadership, including chants calling for Ronaldo's departure.