Welcome to…Utrera

The ‘cake’ club in a historic Sevillan city

In the province of Sevilla, Real Betis and Sevilla are the powerhouses. However, these two clubs are not the only interesting ones in this part of Andalusia. Utrera is a classic of Andalusian football and played many seasons in the Tercera División. Moreover, only a few Spanish teams have a nickname like this club has. Welcome to…Utrera.

The players and supporters of Utrera celebrate their team’s promotion to the Segunda Federación in 2022. © José López.

A center of culture

Utrera lies southeast of the regional capital of Sevilla and has a population of around 50,000, making it one of the biggest cities in the province. The Andalusian town is mainly known for its architectural heritage in its historical center, its influence on the development of flamenco and bullfighting, and its typical mostachón.

Utrera by night, including a castle and two churches. © Salvador Moreno Rivas.

Utreran football

Utrera’s first football club was born in 1922: Utrera FC, even though the Club Deportivo Utrera that we know today was created in 1946. Only four years later, Utrera managed to make its debut in the Tercera División, showing the club’s great potential. However, Utrera would never reach the Segunda División, playing many seasons in the third tier. Still, this included matches against strong teams.

In 1950-51, Utrera competed with sides like Cádiz, Real Betis, Recreativo, Xerez, and Real Jaén. © Besoccer.

In 1968, several circumstances led to the end of Utrera, which was completely inactive for five years, after which the club was brought back to life. The utreranos returned to the Tercera División in the 1980s and even reached the Segunda B in 1989. It was a feat that was celebrated much in Utrera and gave a boost to the fanbase.

The main stand of the Estadio San Juan Bosco after the renovation in 2022. © 20M EP.

Unfortunately, Utrera’s adventure in the ‘bronze’ division only lasted one season. In the 1990s, the Andalusians played another season in the Segunda B but got relegated again. Next, many years would follow in which Utrera was present in the fifth tier, just below the Tercera División.

The evolution of Utrera’s crest since 1973, of which the basic design has always remained the same. © lafutbolteca.com

The blancos returned to the Tercera in 2015, after which the supporters were waiting for another promotion. As a matter of fact, since Utrera’s refoundation in 1973, the club has always followed a similar pattern: promotion to the Tercera, promotion to the Segunda B, relegation to the Tercera, relegation to the amateur competitions. After two successful cycles of this process, Utrera did actually manage to achieve another jump to the Segunda B in 2022, even though the competition was renamed Segunda Federación. And indeed, after one season, the blancos returned to the Tercera.

Carlos Valverde (left) was one of Utrera’s fan favorites of the 2021-22 season. The Utrera-born winger played for Extremadura in the Segunda División and returned to his hometown club in 2021. He was important in the successful battle for promotion and remained at the club during its stay in the Segunda Federación. He hung up his boots in 2023. © CD Utrera.

An interesting nickname

When a team is playing like a machine, the Spanish press likes to give the team a certain nickname: something the club’s city is known for, plus the adjective mecánico, meaning ‘mechanic’. Following this formula, Albacete has received the nickname queso mecánico (‘mechanic cheese’), Reus avellana mecánica (‘mechanic hazelnut’), Lorca brócoli mecánico (‘mechanic broccoli’), and Utrera mostachón mecánico.

The supporters of the mostachón mecánico. © Utrera Digital.

The mostachón is the most famous product from the Utreran gastronomy. It’s a flattened sponge cake with only five ingredients: flour, eggs, sugar, honey, and cinnamon. Apart from being a delicious and relatively easy cake to make, the mostachón is the closest one can get to the spirit of Utrera by baking.

A mostachón. © Tirithel

The future

So far, Utrera has not been able to return to the Segunda Federación after relegation to the Tercera before spending some time in amateur football. Nevertheless, the utreranos are eager to break this curse and recover their status as the strongest Sevillan squad after the clubs in the Primera División. This was…Utrera.

The players of Utrera celebrating the promotion to the fourth tier in 2022. © RFAF.

Sources

• Borchers, L. (2021). GOLAZO. Self-published.
• Borchers, L. (2022). CARA O CRUZ. Self-published.
• Fernández de los Santos, S. (2001). El C.D. Utrera en el siglo XX. CD Utrera.
• http://lafutbolteca.com/club-deportivo-utrera/