Sabadell

Name evolution

Centre d'Esports Sabadell Foot-ball Club (1910-1941)

Centro de Deportes Sabadell Club de Fútbol (1941-1975)

Centre d'Esports Sabadell Futbol Club (1975-1992)

Centre d'Esports Sabadell Futbol Club, S.A.E. (1992-present)

Beginnings

In 1901, Joan Saus and a group of youngsters from the Sabadell Catalan Centre founded Centre d'Esports Sabadell, which became fully legalized on 5 June 1906. The club's first games were held on a grass field at Prat de Sant Oleguer but, on 3 June of that year, a stadium in the Creu Alta District was inaugurated, in a game against "Team X" from Barcelona, later known as RCD Espanyol. On 6 August 1912, the first game under floodlights in Spain was played in the same venue against Universitari, a club also from Barcelona.

Spanish Cup Final

In 1933–34, the club won its first major trophy, the Catalan Football Championship, which allowed the winner to participate in the Copa del Presidente de la República. During the former tournament, it won 15 games and drew once, reaching the latter's final in the following season, losing 0–3 to Sevilla FC at the Chamartín Stadium.

First promotions to La Liga

Sabadell first competed in La Liga in the 1943–44 season, finishing ninth. It improved to fifth in 1946–47, ranking in front of Real Madrid and only four points behind champions Valencia CF, just one season after returning from Segunda División.

Fourth place and Fairs Cup participation

In 1968–69, Sabadell, guided by manager Pasieguito, finished a best-ever fourth as the top flight already consisted of 16 clubs. José Luis Garzón was the top scorer of the team with 9 goals. Subsequently, it competed in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, losing to Club Brugge K.V. of Belgium in the first round (3–5 on aggregate). Sabadell won 2–0 at home in the first leg, with Pedro Zaballa scoring the first-ever goal of the club in a European competition and Cristo adding the second in the last minutes of the game. A 5–1 defeat in Brugge, with Josep Palau scoring the away goal, ended the dream. In 1972, a seven-year run in the top division came to an end, as the Arlequinats were relegated after finishing dead last.

Last time in the top tier

On 18 May 1986, Sabadell returned to Primera División after defeating Atlético Madrileño 2–0 at home with goals from Joaquín Villa and Nacho. The team, which finished runner-up in 1985-86 Segunda División, was guided by manager Pedro Mari Uribarri and was captained by homegrown midfielder Lino Gutiérrez. The following season, the team survived in the first tier after succeeding in a dramatic relegation group in the 1986-87 La Liga managed by former goalkeeper and legend Pepe Martínez, the player with most games in Primera División in the club's history. Martínez was sacked on 2 November 1987 and was replaced by Antonio de la Cruz, who could not keep the team in the top division. Relegation to Segunda División was confirmed on 22 May 1988 after losing 2–0 in San Mamés against Athletic Club and finishing second from bottom. Four months before, in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals first-leg, Sabadell had produced one of its most famous games ever after a dramatic comeback against Real Madrid in the second half. The Spanish giants were two goals ahead at half time, but Jordi Vinyals, Josep Maria Sala and Josep Villarroya scored in the second half to seal a memorable win. In the return leg at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid won 2–0 in the extra-time.

18 years outside of professional leagues

CE Sabadell became a public limited sports company in 1991, being relegated to Segunda División B two years later, and immediately to Tercera División following severe economic problems. After achieving promotion in 1994 with a very young team guided by manager Antonio Jaurrieta, the club spent the following seventeen years in the third level (with the exception of 2006–07 in the fourth). In that dark period, there were only three highlights, two of them with manager Pere Valentí Mora in charge: the 1999-2000 Copa Federación de España title against the reserve team of Elche CF and a third-place finish the following season which allowed the team to play in the play-offs, with hopes of promotion to the second tier ended after a home defeat against Burgos CF. The third one was another unsuccessful promotion play-off after the team finished fourth in the 2008–09 Segunda División B. This time, the dream was over after a controversial game against Real Unión de Irún. Ramón Moya, who had also been the manager in the return to Segunda B two seasons before, narrowly missed a second promotion with the club.

Return to second tier and Japanese takeover

In the 2010–11 season, Sabadell, managed by Lluís Carreras, won its group in the regular season. In the playoffs, the team drew both games against SD Eibar, but was eventually promoted on the away goals rule following the 1–1 score at the Ipurua Municipal Stadium with Marc Fernández scoring the goal, returning to the professional divisions after 18 years. Three young players who were loaned by other Catalan clubs, winger Isaac Cuenca, midfielder Juanjo Ciércoles and striker Hiroshi Ibusuki, had a big impact in the successful campaign. It was the second promotion for goalkeeper David de Navas, who signed for the club when it was in the fourth tier in 2007.