Welcome to…Real Unión

A winner of four editions of the Copa del Rey

A founder of the Primera División and four-time national champion, Real Unión is one of the most historic teams that can be found in the lower divisions of Spanish football. However, the Basque club has played most of its history in the third tier, far away from the glory days of a century ago. Welcome to…Real Unión.

*Players of Real Unión posing before a match in the King’s Cup, the club’s favorite competition. © F. de la Hera.*

Irun

Irun is a unique city located at Spain’s coastal border with France. The countries are separated by the Bidasoa River. Even though the Basque place only has around 60,000 inhabitants, it’s a well-known city in the entirety of Spain. Especially the station of Irun is of considerable importance for international trade and tourism.

Even though one might think that cultures between bordering cities from different countries differ much, this is not the case with Irun. Irun divides Spain from France but, at the same time, unites the Spanish part of the greater Basque Country with the French part. The zone around Irun, regardless of the country, has a similar culture: Basque culture.

*A picture that clearly shows the location of the most important cities around the Spanish-French border. © Bidasoa Turismo.*

Two historic football clubs

The very first football club in Irun was Irún FC – founded as early as 1902, a club that turned into Irún Sporting Club some years later. Irun was still a smaller town at the time, but Irún SC emerged as one of the strongest Basque sides, winning many important competitions in the first years.

*Above: the logo of Irún Sporting Club. Under: the logo of Racing Club de Irún.*

In 1908, some directives decided to leave the club and created their own one: Racing Club de Irún. There emerged a hot rivalry between Racing and ‘Sporting’, even though the latter remained the better team. As a matter of fact, Irún SC competed in some of the first editions of the Copa del Rey, winning it in 1913. Let’s not forget that the Primera División was not founded yet and that the Copa del Rey was regarded as the national championship back in the day. Therefore, Irún SC was the champion of Spain.

*The team that won the 1913 Copa del Rey. © Marca.*

Two became one

The directors of both clubs were very proud of the strength of two teams from a small town and started fantasizing about the potential of a merger. In 1915, they decided to put away the rivalry and create one representative club in Irun, a club that was supposed to win more national championships: Real Unión Club. Real Unión would fulfill the wishes of all irundarrak, winning the Copa del Rey again in 1918, 1924, and 1927. At the time, only three teams had been crowned champions of Spain more often: Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Athletic Club.

*If you go to Real Unión’s official website (realunionclub.com) and scroll down, you end up at an animation of the four cups that the club has won. © Real Unión Club.*

In 1929, the Primera División was installed, replacing the Copa del Rey as the country’s most prestigious competition. All champions and runners-up of the Copa del Rey were invited to participate, which means that Real Unión is one of the ‘founding fathers’ of the league that we now know as one of the best leagues in the world.

The first edition of the Primera División: 1929. Real Unión ended 9th and avoided the relegation play-off by three points. Its highest classification would be achieved the next season: 6th. © bdfutbol.com

The end of the glory days

Sadly, the txuribeltzak could not compete with clubs from bigger and richer cities and got relegated after four glorious seasons in the top tier. Real Unión would never return to the Primera, but they played some seasons in the Segunda División. However, by the 1950s, the Basques played usually in the Tercera División.

Real Unión’s stadium has been the same since 1926: the Stadium Gal, named after Salvador Echeandía Gal, the man who allowed the club to build a stadium on his grounds. He was the co-founder of Perfumerías Gal, a perfume manufacturer that created Heno de Pravia, a soap that is still very popular in Spain. So, if you use this soap, you experience the heritage of the man after whom Real Unión’s stadium is named. © 2PlayBook.

This changed in the 1990s, when Real Unión became a regular in the Segunda División B, with two exceptions: a relegation to the Tercera División in 1998 and a promotion to the Segunda División in 2009. 2009-10 was the last season in which the Irun-based club participated in professional football. Since 2021, the white-blacks are present in the new third tier: the Primera Federación.

Yuri Berchiche in the shirt of Real Unión, where he played from 2010 to 2012. The left-back would play for Real Sociedad, Tottenham Hotspur, and Paris Saint-Germain, before becoming a regular at Athletic Club. © F. de la Hera.

A famous owner

In 2021, Real Unión appeared in international news outlets after announcing its new owner: Unai Emery. The coach of Villarreal, Arsenal, and Paris Saint-Germain, among others, wanted to return the txuribeltzak to the higher divisions and give the club a stable financial base. His brother Igor became the president of Real Unión. The decision of the family to invest in Real Unión is not strange, considering that Unai Emery’s grandfather was the goalie of Real Unión in the 1920s, winning two championships. The father of the brothers has also worn the shirt of Real Unión.

*Unai Emery during an interview in the Stadium Gal. © EITB.*

The future

It will be interesting to see if the Emery’s will bring back glory to the Basque city. Since reaching the Primera Federación, Real Unión has finished every season in the middle of the table without being one of the favorites for promotion. It seems like Irun is facing a long-term project. One thing is certain: Real Unión has more history than many Primera División sides. This was…Real Unión.

*The supporters of Real Unión. © Juantxo Lusa.*

Sources

Borchers, L. (2021). GOLAZO. Self-published.
Borchers, L. (2022). CARA O CRUZ. Self-published.
https://realunionclub.com/
http://lafutbolteca.com/real-union-club-s-a-d/