SD Compostela

History

Founded in 1962, Compostela spent the better part of that and the following decades playing regional football. Its first promotion to a semi-national stage occurred in 1977, with a promotion to Segunda División B (Group 1), which lasted just one season; Compos promoted again in 1980, this time lasting six years.

Relegation in 1986 was compounded by off-field controversy surrounding the actions of then president Francisco Steppe. He resigned amid allegations of receipt of payments to throw a game against Pontevedra CF, which would assure the opposition's maintenance in the category. The late 1980s saw a significant restructuring of the club both at board and management levels and, in 1990, Compostela regained third-level status.

The following campaign was to prove the club's most successful to date. On 23 June 1991, a capacity crowd of 8,000 at the Estadio Municipal Santa Isabel, saw goals from Juanito and Ochoa (two) clinch a 3–1 victory in the final play-off match against CD Badajoz, for a first-ever Segunda División visit.

The move to Estadio Multiusos de San Lázaro coincided with the continuing rise in the team’s fortunes and, at the end of 1993–94, following a 3–1 play-off victory against Rayo Vallecano, Compostela reached La Liga. For a small regional club it did remarkably well, and reached a best finish of 10th in 1995–96, mainly courtesy of strikers Christopher Ohen and Bent Christensen, whom totalled 23 league goals.

After four seasons at the top, Compostela was relegated after losing a relegation play-off match to Villarreal CF on the away goals rule, despite playing overall attractive football. The club was also about to start a downward spiral; after a relegation to the third level in 2001 the team returned the following year but, in the following campaign, played to a backdrop of off-field distractions, with the players and staff going unpaid for months – a final ninth place was not enough to prevent another relegation, as the club failed to meet the 31 July deadline to settle all wage debts.

Off-field problems continued in 2003–04, with the pinnacle being the players, who had not been paid in several months, refusing to appear for a fixture at UB Conquense, with the subsequent loss of three points. At the season's close, after the actual relegation, Compostela dropped further to the Galician Regional Preferente (north) after failing again to meet the financial deadline.

Compostela's rise and decline has been mirrored by other regional clubs such as CF Extremadura, Granada CF and Mérida UD. In the 2007–08 season, however, the club won its regional league and returned to Tercera once again. In the following campaign, after finishing first in its group, the team beat Atlético Monzón with a 4–2 aggregate (3–0, 1–2) and won a second consecutive promotion. However, this would be a short-lived return, with relegation befalling at the season's end, immediately followed by another one due to overwhelming financial problems. Longtime president José María Caneda left the club.

Current squad

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

Famous players

Note: this list includes players that have appeared in at least 100 league games and/or have reached international status.

Stadia

Compostela play at the Estadio Multiusos de San Lázaro, which has a capacity of 14,000. Pitch dimensions are 105 x 68 metres.

Compostela played their first season at Estadio da Residencia da Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, whilst work was completed on their first permanent ground, Estadio Municipal de Santa Isabel; on 22 September 1963, it played the first match at the new stadium. It was a basic enclosure and lacked a covered stand until 1969, when a tribune was erected and floodlights installed at a cost of 1 million pesetas. Compostela continued to use the ground for first team fixtures until the end of the 1993 season. The reserve team, Compostela B, played on at Santa Isabel until early 2003, when the ground was finally demolished and replaced with a municipal sports centre that bore the same name.

Work started on the Multiusos de San Lázaro in 1991. Situated in the eastern suburb of San Lázaro, it was a multi-purpose arena, used primarily for the football matches of its two resident clubs, Compostela and SD Ciudad de Santiago. Oval in shape and with a terracotta-coloured roof on the west side to incorporate the directors' seating and press facilities on a second tier, the pitch was surrounded by a 400m athletics track, relatively uncommon in Spanish stadiums.

The inaugural match took place on 24 June 1993, when a four-way tournament was staged, featuring Deportivo de La Coruña, CD Tenerife, Club Atlético River Plate and São Paulo FC. Deportivo and River played in the first match, and Bebeto had the honour of scoring the first goal.