Welcome to…Arenteiro

A green team along the Arenteiro river

Ourense is an interesting province football-wise. After its primary team, CD Ourense, was dissolved in 2014, other teams did not manage to reach the third level. Until a smaller, relatively unknown club stepped up. Welcome to…Arenteiro.

The fans of Arenteiro. ‘Imos verdes’ means ‘Come on you greens’. © Faro de Vigo.

An unknown club

Football arrived in O Carballiño in 1910 when Carballino FC was founded. However, this club would not be able to live a stable life, nor would its successors. The first club that survived for a long time was Club Deportivo Arenteiro (1958), which is still the representative club of O Carballiño.

The crest evolution of Arenteiro. © lafutbolteca.com

Arenteiro would only establish itself in the Tercera División in the 80s, the same decade as when the club debuted in the Segunda División B. However, this did not appear to boost the economy of the club, dropping to the amateur leagues by 1994. The verdes would only return to the Tercera in 2017.

The Estadio do Espiñedo, a ‘typical’ stadium for the lower leagues, as it disposes of only one stand along the long side of the field. © Brais Lorenzo.

The golden era

By 2017, Arenteiro’s achievements would only improve every year:

• In 2017-18, Arenteiro finished 14th in the Tercera División.
• In 2018-19, Arenteiro finished 13th in the Tercera División.
• In 2019-20, Arenteiro finished 9th in the Tercera División.
• In 2020-21, Arenteiro finished 1st in the Tercera División, achieving promotion to the Segunda RFEF.

The players and staff of Arenteiro just topped their group of the Tercera División in 2021. This was the first championship in this division in the club’s history. © Fernando Casanova.

• In 2021-22, Arenteiro finished 10th in the Segunda RFEF, maintaining the division in a strong season. Interestingly, the carballiñeses played – and lost -a cup match against Valencia at home, which meant the most significant moment in the club’s history.

The starting XI for Arenteiro against Valencia. The players were waiting for the biggest game of their lives to start. © CD Arenteiro.

• In 2022-23, Arenteiro finished 1st in the Segunda RFEF, climbing up to the Primera RFEF. This was not the only historic feat Arenteiro achieved, as the club also beat Almería in the cup and, in the second round, almost managed to beat Atlético de Madrid.

The greens achieved promotion to the Primera RFEF in 2023, which meant they would play in the same division as Deportivo de la Coruña and Málaga, among others. © Faro de Vigo.

A village in the Galician inland

Even though Arenteiro has played against famous teams in the last few years, the municipality of O Carballiño is not that big. It’s the second-biggest town in the province of Ourense and has an interesting coat of arms, including two bears – which are also visible in the logo of Arenteiro. The bears symbolize the Lands of Oseira, the territory to which O Carballiño used to belong.

The church of La Velacruz in the center of O Carballiño. © spain.info.

Moreover, O Carballiño is regionally known for its dessert: the ‘cañas do Carballiño’ (‘canes of O Carballiño’). The dish consists of ribbons of pastry dough rolled into a river cane and fried in a pan with much oil, after which the dough is detached from the cane. Next, the dough is filled with sweet custard and topped with sugar and cinnamon.

The ‘cañas do Carballiño’. © Recetas de rechupete.

THE Future

Arenteiro has become the strongest club in the province, which is a big honor. Still, it seems like Arenteiro is ready for more. Having played against Valencia and Atlético and having achieved promotion twice in three seasons, the green club is climbing a golden ladder, and no one knows where it’ll end. It is one of the most recent fairy tales in Spanish football. This was…Arenteiro.

Marquitos celebrates his goal against Atlético de Madrid. At this point, Arenteiro was leading 1-0. © EFE.

Sources

• Borchers, L. (2021). GOLAZO. Self-published.
• Borchers, L. (2022). CARA O CRUZ. Self-published.
• http://lafutbolteca.com/club-deportivo-arenteiro/
• https://www.vueltayvuelta.org/2018/06/canitas-fritas-de-carballino.html
• https://cdarenteiro.es/historia/