The Return of Real Racing Club
Looking back at Racing de Santander in Europe and why they should dream again.
14 years after falling out of La Liga and spiralling onto a journey that would see them descend and spend years in the third tier, Racinguistas were on the pitch at El Sardinero as they celebrated promotion back to the top table of Spanish football. Whilst Jose Alberto Lopez came close last season, it has been an emphatic push to get one of the founding fathers of La Liga back where they belong and the football being played on the pitch is as incredible as the transformation the club has seen off it. With this manager, the squad they’ve built and this momentum, don’t be surprised if Real Racing take Primera by storm next and season and possibly, even dream of a return back to European football…
In this article, Paul takes us back to 2008 when Real Racing Club played their solo season in the UEFA Cup and what it meant to see the famous green and white in Europe!
Throughout its 112 year history, Real Racing Club de Santander has arguably carried with it the pride of the city, and in doing so the hopes of the wider Cantabria region. The picturesque sights of the historic city, its seafood cuisine, the golden sands which line the coast and the piercing mountains inland, provide an exquisite backdrop for the club’s home of Estadio El Sardinero. The 22,000 capacity stadium may not always be full, but it often provides a vibrant atmosphere for the men in white and green. Los Racinguistas scooped up no less than 13 Cantabrian Championships in the early part of the 20th Century, but in terms of the wider reach, their triumph at the end of the 2021/22 season in topping the third tier and returning to the Segunda was a big step back for the club, but would have counted for nothing if they failed to stay up and consolidated their status at the first time of asking. They managed that and are currently rebuilding a platform.
Although Racing currently have two Segunda titles to their name, this is a club which has spent 44 of its 113 year existence in the Primera and there’s somewhat of a vibe around Racing that gives the impression that this is a club which, characteristically at least, belongs at a higher level than the turbulent events and results of the last 15 years or so would point to. Throughout its recent history club has seen extremes of adulation from the fans as the team stood in the centre circle refusing to take part in a huge cup game, and conversely seen fans storm the director’s box in disgust, as well as financial troubles. Winning the Primera División RFEF title on 3rd June 2022 is a notable high in a turbulent period for Racing. This is a club that has seen a lot on and off the pitch, fans have had to endure Administration in 2011 and relegations, the wind has changed; the club is much more stable now, it has unveiled plans to redevelop their stadium (though at the time of writing there has been some objections raised by the local council), and after last night’s 4-1 demolition of Real Valladolid, Racing returned to the top flight after 14 years away. And on that note, let’s turn our attention to the time Racing Santander took on Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City in European competition.
Looking back to 2008 and that UEFA Cup campaign, all six matches of it that is, there was a buzz around the town as Racing took on clubs from England, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland. It was an exciting new step into European competition for the first time in the club’s history. Further still, a key stat that comes from that memorable campaign, is that Racing Santander are the only team in Spain which can boast a 100% win record vs Manchester City in competitive fixture – Valencia fans may jump in here and point out that they have never lost a competitive game vs City, and they would be correct but given that one of the their two meetings in the 1972/73 UEFA Cup ended in a draw, it’s not quite the perfect record that Racing can boast.
Racing’s UEFA Cup campaign began in the First Round on 18th September 2008, with a 1-0 home win over Finnish side, Honka, courtesy of a Jonathan Pereira goal in the 46th minute. The Cantabrian’s then travelled to Finland for the second leg on 2nd October and were able to repeat the result, this time it was Edu Bedia who gave Racing the edge with a goal in the 4th minute of the tie. Such was the format of the UEFA Cup in those days, Racing were then entered into a Group Stage, which saw them drawn against FC Twente, Schalke 04, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City. The format of the competition meant that the top three sides from each group would progress to the knock-out rounds and each team played one another just once in games that took place between 23 October and 18 December.
The first Group Stage game saw Racing travel to De Grolsch Veste, home of FC Twente Enschede, who were at the time managed by Steve McClaren. The Dutch side took the lead in the 7th minute and calmly saw out a 1-0 win over Racing. It was a learning experience for Los Racinguistas.
Three weeks later 15,000 fans entered El Sardinero to see Racing take on German side, Schalke 04. The Bundesliga side had overcome French outfit PSG in their first game and were expected to challenge for a spot in the knockout phase. A resolute performance from Racing saw them take the lead courtesy of Tchité just before the hour mark, but their lead lasted less than five minutes as Orlando Engelaar equalised for the visitors. A 1-1 draw was not a bad result considering Schalke were considered one of the favourites in the group and the home crowd had just got their first real taste of European football.
For the third Group Stage game Racing travelled to France to take on Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes on 27 November 2008. This was three years before Qatar Sports Investment took over and people still commonly referred to by its name ‘Paris-Saint Germain’ rather than the branded ‘PSG’. At the time the French club had spent the 2006-07 and 2007-08 Ligue 1 seasons narrowly avoiding relegation, and they had actually only qualified for the UEFA Cup by winning the – now defunct – 2007-08 Coup de la Ligue. Despite the comparative impoverishment PSG were going through back then, their squad contained recognisable names such as Claude Makélélé, Stéphane Sessègnon, Mateja Kezman and a young Mamadou Sakho.
Former Atletico Madrid striker, Kezman gave PSG the lead in the 5th minute after some poor Racing defensive work. He then turned provider, as Peguy Luyindula (dedicated FIFA ‘06 players may remember him) doubled the lead for the home side in the 32nd minute. However, Racing were by no means out of the running and just five minutes before the end of the first half, they reduced the deficit to one, thanks to a pretty calamitous own goal from PSG’s Sammy Traoré, as tried to head away a Pedro Munitis free kick from deep. Gonzalo Colsa levelled things up in the 55th minute with a golazo. Racing were able to see out the result and the draw in Paris meant if Racing could beat an already qualified Manchester City at home in the final game and Paris St Germain were to lose to FC Twente, then the Cantabrian side would be through to the knockout stage.
The El Sardinero was filled with 18,360 fans on Thursday 18 December 2008, as Racing were poised to take on the nouveau riche Premier League club Manchester City. The English side had been taken over by Sheikh Mansour on the final day of the summer transfer window barely three months earlier, and famously stated their intent by signing Robinho from Real Madrid under the nose of Chelsea, as well as having already secured the likes of Vincent Kompany from Hamburg and Pablo Zabaleta from Espanyol earlier in the window, to add to a squad which contained the likes of Elano, Kasper Schmeichel, Stephen Ireland, Joe Hart and Micah Richards, as well the ageing duo of Darius Vassell and Didi Hamman. There were also a couple of other names La Liga fans may be familiar with that were on the books at City in the shape of former Atletico Madrid winger, Martin Petrov, Spaniard Javier Garrido had joined City from Real Sociedad, and striker Felipe Caicedo was in the squad – he would later go on to play for Malaga, Levante and Espanyol. Meanwhile, the Racing team that faced City contained Ezequiel Garay, but they also had Sergio Canales and Nikola Zigic on their books at the time too. Racing took the lead against the English side after just 18 minutes had been played. After a quick free kick was taken, Oscar Serrano crossed the ball low from the left wing into the City penalty area. The low cross was parried by City goalkeeper, Kasper Schmeichel and fell to Jonathan Pereira and the striker slotted home from close range. It was a dream start on a night where Racing needed to win to have any hope of making it through o the knockout phase.
Serrano found himself on the score sheet just after the half-hour mark, following some nice passing play with the aforementioned Perreria. Racing were firmly on top at the break, and just nine minutes into the second half they had a third goal. City failed to clear a corner and Juan Valera pounced on the opportunity. City did claw a goal back, but it was merely a consolation for the visitors in the end – substitute, Felipe Caicedo was the scorer. It was a memorable night at El Sardinero as Racing got a historic win over Premier League opposition, but the late City goal and a flurry of goals for Paris Saint-German late on in their game against FC Twente, meant the French side would be the ones to progress to the next stage of the competition and Racing would miss out.
The difference between PSG’s progression in the UEFA Cup in 2008 and Racing’s elimination was just one goal. Four years later, Los Racinguistas were relegated from the topflight and they would go on to spend seven out of the next 10 seasons in the third tier of Spanish football. Promotion back to the Segunda in May of this year, by winning the Primera RFEF (1a – Group 1), which was sealed in front of a home crowd of 21,000 fans in El Sardinero with a 2-2 draw against Celta Vigo B, meant everything to the fans and they will righty feel like the club is slowly but surely on its way back.
In the time since that UEFA Cup run, the club was bought by an Indian business tycoon, Ahsan Ali Syed. During the early years of his tenure, the club burnt through managers and players regularly; in 2012 they went through three managers in the same season. The club also went through its centenary year enduring institutional and economic crisis and saw staff go without pay, leading to protests from fans and players alike, including an infamous cup tie against Real Sociedad in which the team refused to play, and the club was then banned from the copa for the following season. However, despite a few setbacks, including a brief return to the Segunda in 2019 before coming back in 2022, to where the club now find themselves Champions in 2026!
With the good feeling around El Sardinero and the fact that La Liga has shown itself to be so competitive for European places, don’t discount Real Club Racing de Santander once again plotting their course for another European adventure once again!