Barakaldo CF · History

Barakaldo Club de Fútbol was registered with the football federation in 1917 in Barakaldo, a town on the left bank of the Nervión estuary in Biscay, although its earliest steps date back to 1915. It was founded as Barakaldo Fútbol Club and plays in yellow and black vertical stripes, which explains the nickname gualdinegros; supporters also call it Baraka or los fabriles, a nod to the town’s industrial past. The club has spent 30 seasons in the Spanish second division, 36 in Segunda División B and 24 in Tercera, and has never played in the top flight.

Early years and the Lasesarre ground

In the 1918-19 season the club won its group in Category C of the regional championship without losing a game and moved up to Category B. In 1919 it settled on the site that would later become Lasesarre, a ground opened on 17 September 1922 with a 3-1 defeat to Athletic Club. That ground was its home for almost eight decades. The team made its debut in the second division in 1928-29 and won the Tercera División in 1930 and 1931. Agustín Sauto, known as Bata, came through the club before becoming a prolific scorer for Athletic in the 1930s, and defender Jacinto Quincoces also played there before moving on to Alavés and Real Madrid.

The 1939 cup semi-final

In 1939 the club competed as Baracaldo Oriamendi, a name that lasted barely a year. Under that name it reached the semi-finals of the 1939 Copa del Generalísimo after knocking out Unión Montañesa and Real Zaragoza. There it lost to Racing de Ferrol, drawing the first leg 1-1 and losing the second 2-1 in Ferrol on 18 June. It remains the club’s best run in the Spanish cup. The club later went back to the name Baracaldo Fútbol Club and in the 1950s, tied to the Biscay steel industry, was renamed Baracaldo Altos Hornos. Between 1939 and 1957 it spent almost every season in the second division, the only exception being 1945-46.

Runners-up in 1954 and the second-division years

Its highest league finish came in 1953-54, when it ended second in the Spanish second division, though it missed out on promotion in the play-off. In 1956-57 its squad included Telmo Zarra, the all-time top scorer of La Liga at the time, who played 12 games and scored twice before retiring in 1957. Guillermo Gorostiza, a star at Athletic and Valencia, also passed through Lasesarre late in his career. The team returned to the second tier in 1958-61, 1964-66, 1972-75 and 1977-79. In 1977-78 it finished fourth, two points behind Celta, with Manu Sarabia in the squad. Its last season at that level was 1980-81.

Segunda B, Tercera and the new Lasesarre

Barakaldo were Segunda División B champions in 1980, 1998 and 2002, but none of those titles took them back to the second division. In 1984 the club dropped to Tercera, which it won in 1988 to return to Segunda B. The old Lasesarre was demolished in the early 2000s; the team spent close to three seasons at the San Vicente ground before moving into the new Lasesarre, which holds 7,960 spectators and was opened with a friendly against Athletic. Its traditional rival is Sestao Sport Club, the opponent in the Left Bank derby. Between 2019 and 2023 the club became a sports public limited company.

Honours

Besides its three Segunda División B titles, the club won the Tercera División in 1930, 1931, 1958, 1963, 1964, 1972, 1977 and 1988, and the Tercera Federación in 2022-23. At regional level its first success was the Category C group of 1918-19, won without a single defeat.

Fall and return to Primera Federación

The restructuring of the Spanish leagues in 2020-21 cost the club a double relegation, from Segunda División B down to Tercera RFEF, the fifth tier. It won the Tercera Federación in 2022-23 and moved up to Segunda Federación, where it finished second in its group in 2023-24. In the play-offs it eliminated UD Atlético Paso; in the final round it lost 3-1 in Orihuela but won 2-0 at Lasesarre with goals from Iker Pedernales and Borja García. After goalless extra time, it was promoted to Primera Federación in June 2024 thanks to its better regular-season position. In 2025-26 it finished seventh in Group 1 of Primera Federación with 58 points, level with Real Madrid Castilla and Pontevedra in the race for the last play-off place.