A green-white Andalusian side living a second youth
The famous river of Guadalquivir, an important symbol of the southern region of Andalusia, meets the Atlantic Ocean in the harbor of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, one of those charismatic south-Spanish towns. In uptown Sanlúcar, we find the old El Palmar stadium, which is the home of a club that’s knocking on the door of professional football. Welcome to…Atlético Sanluqueño.
SANLÚCAR DE BARRAMEDA: THE BIRTHPLACE OF MANY FOOTBALLERS
Sanlúcar de Barrameda is one of the bigger cities in the Cádiz province, just like Jerez de la Frontera, Algeciras, San Fernando, and Cádiz itself. Hence, it’s not strange to see that quite some famous footballers are from the coast city, such as Salvi Sánchez, José Carlos Lazo, and the Europa League winner Nolito, who already made his senior football debut at 15 with Sanluqueño.
However, footballers are not the only export products Sanlúcar de Barrameda is famous for. For instance, the Andalusian city is known in the world of wine for its manzanilla, a fino sherry with a flavor of chamomile. Moreover, many people visit Sanlúcar for the long, white beaches, to watch horse races, or to experience flamenco in the zone where it’s originally from.
THE ORIGINS
Atlético Sanluqueño Club de Fútbol, founded under the same name in 1948, was the first team in Sanlúcar to found some stability and survive for many years. Still, the sanluqueños bounced between the amateur divisions and the Tercera División, only to make their debut in the Segunda División B in the 80s, which meant their first era of glory.
The second era would occur by 2012, when Sanluqueño reached the Segunda B for the second time. Most of the following years would be played in the third level, whether it was called Segunda B, Primera RFEF, or Primera Federación. Still, the last years have been tumultuous in the southwest of Andalusia. To illustrate: In 2021, 2022, and 2023, the verdiblancos have either been promoted or relegated.
THE CHARACTERISTIC COLORS
Atlético Sanluqueño plays in with a kit that combines clear green stripes and more neutral white stripes, differentiating itself from other teams from the Cádiz province, such as Cádiz (yellow-blue), Xerez (blue), San Fernando (blue), Algeciras (red-white), and Balona (black-white). However, when zooming out to the entire region of Andalusia, one of the most ‘Andalusian’ team plays in the same kit as Sanluqueño: Real Betis. And that’s no coincidence.
As Atlético Sanluqueño explains on its own website, the local advocate Domenech arranged the donation by Real Betis of its kits to Atlético Sanluqueño right after the latter’s foundation, given that Domenech was also the president of the Andalusian Football Federation. He had earlier presided over Real Betis and wanted to offer Leti a gift after joining the regional federation. Afterward, the wives and girlfriends of players and directives of the club sewed of the Real Betis badge and sewed Sanluqueño’s one on.
THE FUTURE
When looking at the future for the atletistas on a provincial scale, it looks quite good. Even though the biggest team (Cádiz) is continuing in the top tier during 2023-24, Sanluqueño is fighting for the honor of being the second team from Cádiz province with San Fernando and Algeciras, clubs that will participate in exciting derbies. It will be an interesting season to follow, with the green-whites wanting to maintain the division and doing everything they can to top the expectations. This was…Atlético Sanluqueño.
sources
- http://lafutbolteca.com/atletico-sanluqueno-club-de-futbol/
- https://atleticosanluquenocf.com/historia/
- https://atleticosanluquenocf.com/los-colores-verdiblancos/
- Borchers, L. (2021). GOLAZO. Self-published.
- Borchers, L. (2022). CARA O CRUZ. Self-published.
Modest Spanish Football 
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