CE Sabadell FC

Sabadell

Full name	Centre d'Esports Sabadell Futbol Club, S.A.D.
Nickname(s)	Arlequinats Sabadellencs Vallesans
Founded	11 December 1903; 120 years ago (1903-12-11)
Ground	Nova Creu Alta, Sabadell, Catalonia, Spain
Capacity	11,908[1]
President	Pau Morilla-Giner
Head coach	David Català
League	Segunda Federación – Group 3
2023–24	Primera Federación – Group 1, 16th of 20 (relegated)
Website	https://www.cesabadellfc.com/
Home colours Away colours

Centre d'Esports Sabadell Futbol Club, S.A.D. (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈsentɾə ðəsˈpɔɾ(ts) səβəˈðeʎ fubˈbɔl ˈklup]) is a Spanish football team based in Sabadell, in Catalonia. Founded in 1903, its first men's team plays in the Segunda Federación – Group 3. Its first women's team is active in the Primera Divisió catalana, the sixth level, and its first men's team under 19 participates in the Liga Nacional Juvenil, the second tier. Moreover, the club has over 50 teams in its youth academy.^[2] The club holds home games at the Estadi de la Nova Creu Alta.

The side has competed in national leagues since 1928, gaining its first promotion to the Segunda División in 1933 and then to La Liga in 1944. Sabadell's longest spell in the top flight was from 1965 to 1972, and their most recent one from 1986 to 1988. In total, Sabadell has played 14 seasons in the Primera División, which makes it the third Catalan club with the most seasons and points in the competition after FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol. Moreover, the club has reached one Copa del Rey final, which they lost 3–0 to Sevilla FC in 1935.

Sabadell has always known an intense rivalry with Terrassa FC, as both clubs are the strongest sides in the comarca Vallès Occidental. The Vallès derby is fueled by the rivalry between the cities of Sabadell and Terrassa and is known as one of the hottest derbies in Catalonia.

The crest of Sabadell is formed by two elements. The first one is the coat of arms in the middle, based on the coat of arms of the city of Sabadell, which consists of two parts. The upper part contains blue and white squares, referring to the club's colours, and an onion, one of the symbols of the city. The lower part is formed by the Senyera, the flag of Catalonia. The coat of arms is surrounded at the top and the sides by a white ribbon containing the name of the club in black: Centre d'Esports Sabadell F.C.^[3] The crest has not undergone major changes since the club's foundation in 1903.^[4]

The hymn of Sabadell is called Honor al Sabadell ("Honour to Sabadell") and replaced the hymn Sempre endavant Sabadell ("Always forward Sabadell") after the 1990-91 season.^[5] The current hymn was composed by Adolf Cabané (music) and Lluís Papell (lyrics).

The lyrics of the hymn are the following:

Cantem, cantem la joia indefinida

de veure el Sabadell entre els millors

després d'uns anys de lluita decidida

han assolit ressò nostres colors.

Alcem la copa així, ben alta

en honor del futbol de Sabadell.

Ciutat aimada que somriu i canta

donant goig i prestigi al joc més bell.

Honor al Sabadell! Honor a la Ciutat!

i visca el nostre club sempre estimat!

Cantem, cantem al Club de tanta història

forjada amb tants neguits i tants afanys.

Lluitant per assolir aquesta glòria

que ens ha portat l'esforç tants i tants anys.

Alcem la copa així, ben alta

en honor del futbol de Sabadell.

Ciutat aimada treballadora

ben units el més jove i el més vell.

Honor al Sabadell! Honor a la Ciutat!

i visca el nostre Club sempre estimat!

English translation:

Let's sing, let's sing the indefinite joy

of seeing Sabadell among the best

after some years of decided battle

our colours achieved repercussion.

Let's lift the cup like this, high enough

in honour of football from Sabadell.

Ciutat aimada, which laughs and sings,

giving excitement and prestige to the most beautiful game.

Honour to Sabadell! Honour to the City!

And long live our always-beloved club!

Let's sing, let's sing for the club with so much history

formed by so many worries and so much eagerness.

Battling to reach this glory

that our effort has brought us for so many years.

Let's lift the cup like this, high enough

in honour of football from Sabadell.

The working ciutat aimada,

uniting the youngest and oldest well.

Honour to Sabadell! Honour to the City!

And long live our always-beloved club!

• Home kit: white and blue checkered shirt, blue shorts and blue socks
• Away kit: black shirt, black shorts, and black socks

Before playing with the typical checkered shirt, Sabadell used vertical stripes. The club changed its shirt to blue and white squares in a match against Terrassa FC in 1913.^[6][7]

• Centre d'Esports de Sabadell (1903-1910)
• 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)^[8]

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 in 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; in 1912, in the same site, the first game under floodlights was played in the country.

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.

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.

In 1968–69, Sabadell, guided by manager Pasieguito, finished a best-ever fourth as the top flight already consisted of 16 clubs. 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); in 1972, a seven-year ran in the top division came to an end, as the Arlequinats were relegated after finishing dead last.

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. The club spent the following seventeen years in the third level (with the exception of 2006–07 in the fourth).

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, returning to the professional divisions after 18 years.

Sabadell struggled in their return to the second level finishing in 19th place, being the first side in the relegation zone. However, they were spared when Villarreal CF dropped down a division in the top flight, which led to the automatic relegation of its reserve team Villarreal CF B. Sabadell finished second level as 16th in 2012–13 season, as 10th in the 2013–14 season. Finally Sabadell finished it as 21st and relegated to third level after 4 years.

Sabadell had a lot of financial problems after the relegation to Segunda B. Japanese owner Keisuke Sakamoto, who had bought the club in 2012, sold it to Aragón-based company Viacron in 2015. Esteve Calzada, a former member of FC Barcelona board and a marketing expert whose company worked for Manchester City, bought the club in 2017. Since then, the club's debt has been restructured. Difficulties in finding a new investor meant that from 2017 to 2019 the club was more concerned with relegation avoidance than real hopes of promotion.

In August 2019, the club announced an historical agreement with a group of international investors, whereby this Group would achieve majority ownership through periodic capital infusions over the following three years to guarantee institutional stability and financial resources to achieve sustainable success.^[9]

On 26 July 2020, the Club secured promotion to the La Liga Smartbank Segunda División by beating Barcelona B 2–1 in the Segunda División B playoff final after five-years in third division.^[10]

The team was immediately relegated in the following 2020–21 season by the narrow margin of one point, and joined the newly created 1a RFEF Division.

After three seasons in Primera Federación, the team was relegated to Segunda RFEF after failing to win the last game away against CD Lugo on 25 May 2024.

• 14 seasons in La Liga
• 44 seasons in the Segunda División
• 3 seasons in the Primera Federación/Primera División RFEF
• 22 seasons in the Segunda División B
• 1 season in the Segunda Federación
• 8 seasons in the Tercera División

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Score
1969–70	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	1st		Club Brugge	2–0, 1–5

As of 12 September 2024.^[11]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ESP Gianni Cassaró 2 DF  ESP Marc Vargas 3 DF  ESP Adrián Salguero 4 DF  ESP Diego Cámara 5 DF  ESP Alfredo Pedraza 6 FW  ESP Marc Marruecos 7 FW  ESP Álex Gonpi 8 MF  ESP Sergio Cortés 9 FW  ESP Javi Delgado 10 FW  ESP Peque Polo 11 FW  ESP Rubén Martínez 12 FW  ESP Carlos Pérez

No. Pos. Nation Player 13 GK  ESP José Ortega 14 DF  ESP Alberto Trapero 16 MF  BRA Arthur Bonaldo 17 FW  ESP Ton Ripoll 19 FW  ESP Miguelete 20 MF  ESP Urri 21 DF  ESP Juanma García 23 FW  FRA Ryan Bakayoko 24 DF  ESP Pau Fernández 27 MF  ESP Javi Morcillo 28 GK  ESP Lluc Matas 30 FW  ESP Junior

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 29 DF  ESP Iker Hernández

• Copa del Rey
  • Runners-up (1): 1935
• Copa Federación de España
  • Winners (2): 1999–2000
• Segunda División
  • Winners (2): 1942–43, 1945–46
• Segunda División B
  • Winners (2): 1983–84, 2010–11
• Tercera División
  • Winners (4): 1931–32, 1963–64, 1976–77, 1993–94
• Copa Mediterráneo
  • Winners (1): 1944
• Campeonato de España de Segunda Categoría
  • Winners (1): 1913

• Primera Categoria del Campionat de Catalunya
  • Winners (1): 1933–34
• Segona Categoria del Campionat de Catalunya
  • Winners (3): 1912–13, 1913–14, 1929–30

• Copa Catalunya
  • Winners (1): 2015–16

• Torneig Nostra Catalunya
  • Winners (4): 1978, 1979, 1988, 1989

• Pepe Martinez: 151
• Isidro Sánchez: 142
• Ramón Montesinos: 142
• Ramón Marañón: 140
• Mario Pini: 138
• Josep Palau: 115
• Joaquín Navarro: 103
• Lluís Múñoz: 100
• Antonio Vázquez: 92
• Alberto Arnal: 86
• Manuel Pallas: 85
• Ricard Pujol: 81

• Antonio Vázquez: 35
• Manuel Pallas: 27
• Josep Palau: 26
• Antonio Sangrador: 23
• Juan del Pino: 24
• José Luis Garzón Sr.: 21
• Josep Antoni Noya: 15
• Josep María Vall: 15
• Ramón Marañon: 15
• Juli Gonzalvo : 14
• Benjamín Telechea: 12
• Periko Alonso: 12

• Joan Grau (1906–1910)
• Felip Davi (1910–1911)
• Joan Saus (1911–1923)
• Emili Moragas (1923–1929)
• Valentí Gorina (1929–1930)
• Antoni Tamburini (1930–1933)
• Josep Maria Marcet (1933–1934)
• Josep Bofarull (1934–1935)
• Josep Maria Marcet (1935–1939)
• Antoni Tamburini (1939)
• Josep Maria Marcet (1939–1942)
• Pau Maria Llonch (1945–1946)
• Miquel Sala (1946–1949)
• Pau Maria Llonch (1949–1951)
• Josep Maria Marcet (1951–1952)
• Pere Fontanet (1952)
• Josep Maria Marcet (1952–1953)
• Joan Ricart (1953–1955)
• Ricard Rosson (1955–1958)
• Antoni Altarriba (1958–1961)
• Ramiro Fernández (1961–1963)
• Josep Bargalló (1963)
• Antoni Llonch (1963–1965)
• Ricard Rosson (1965–1973)
• Francesc Marlasca (1973–1974)
• Joaquim Hors (1974–1975)
• Francesc Valldeperas (1975–1983)
• Rafael Arroyos (1983–1987)
• Alfred Besonias (1987–1991)
• Josep Miquel Sanmiquel (1991)
• Rafael Arroyos (1991–1993)
• Francesc Soldevilla (1993–1994)
• Joan Soteras (1994–1996)
• Eugeni Sánchez (1996)
• Joan Puig (1996)
• Miquel Arroyos (1996–2002)
• Francisco González Cano (2002–2004)
• Josep Manel Piedrafita (2004–2005)
• Antonio Larrosa (2005–2006)
• Joan Soteras (2006–2013)
• Keisuke Sakamoto (2013–2015)
• Antoni Reguant (2015–2018)
• Esteve Calzada (2018–2023)
• Pau Morilla-Giner (2023–present)

Sabadell plays home games at Estadi de la Nova Creu Alta. Inaugurated on 20 August 1967 with a 1–0 win against FC Barcelona, it has a capacity of 11,908 spectators.^[12]

The club has multiple supporter groups. Most groups have activities related to the social life of the members. For example, THE WALKING ARLEKIN CLUB has walking excursions during the season, usually before matches.^[13] There are also groups like Honor 1903, La Força Arlequinada and Supporters Gol Nord, that focus more on the encouragement of the team, before, during and after the matches. Most of those groups usually concentrate in the northern stand at the Nova Creu Alta.^{[citation needed]}

The club used to have a fan club called Hooligans Vallès. They used to be a far right-wing group which was established in 1993.^[14] In 2011, the group was disbanded as an official supporter group. In 2014, two fans were expelled from the Nova Creu Alta, after performing a Nazi salute during a match.^[15] However, in 2016, an unofficial Hebrew supporter group was created, under the name CE Sabadell Hebreu - סבאדל בעברית. The group provides news about the club in its Facebook and Twitter pages, for Israeli and other Hebrew-speaking fans.^{[citation needed]}

The fans have good relations with Bristol Rovers, which initially began due to several Rovers fans noticing that the local club had the same colours.^[16] They also have a friendship with Gerunda Sud of Girona FC, and rivalries with Desperdicis of UE Sant Andreu, Penya Sport of Palamos CF and Rudes Lleida of Lleida Esportiu.^[17]

• CE Sabadell FC (women)
• CE Sabadell FC B
• Nova Creu Alta

• Fité, Joaquim (2011). Centre d'Esports Sabadell. El club de mi vida [Centre d'Esports Sabadell. The club of my life] (in Spanish). Sabadell: Centre d'Esports Sabadell Futbol Club. DL B 22588-2011.

• Padilla, Toni (2024). Mala Piel [Bad Skin]. Hooligans Ilustrados (in Spanish). Madrid: Libros del K.O. ISBN 978-84-19119-58-2. DL M 4147-2024.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to CE Sabadell.

• Official website
• Futbolme team profile (in Spanish)
• BDFutbol team profile