Las Palmas

Foundation

A decade after the Spanish Civil War, football in Las Palmas faced numerous challenges and difficulties. The financial situations of Las Palmas’ five biggest clubs, Real Club Victoria, Marino FC, CD Gran Canaria, Atlético Club, and Arenas Club, were deteriorating rapidly due to their financial strength of being able to compete for players against Spain’s top clubs. A new registration law by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, which limited players to a maximum of a two-year contract, resulted in the clubs in Las Palmas being unable to retain their academy players for extended periods. Consequently, many players relocated to the Spanish mainland to continue their football careers in national competitions. As a result, Eufemiano Fuentes Díaz, president of Marino CF, went to a meeting in Madrid to change the legislation of contracts to a minimum of four years. A different proposal was also presented, stating that all Spanish clubs were prohibited from signing players in the Canary region with the exception if they were first-team players who had already passed the stage of being academy players. These proposals were delayed and denied by the RFEF.

During this time, clubs continued to see their debts increase, leading to the possibility of defunction. The Vice President of the Las Palmas Football Federation, Manuel Rodríguez Monroy, proposed a merger of the five teams comprising the regional competition, aiming to compete in national competitions and resolve the economic situation as a result. The purpose of this proposal was to present a compelling case to the RFEF for allowing the Canary Islands to participate in national competitions, enabling Canarian footballers to compete without relocating to the Spanish mainland. This proposal was presented towards the president, Adolfo Miranda Ortega, who among other board members agreed. On 4 February 1949, a letter was sent to the presidents of the five clubs, proposing a potential merger to compete in the national competitions. The first meeting was held on 28 February 1949 in Alameda de Colón, Las Palmas with the representatives of the five merging clubs attending. Gran Canaria, Atlético and Arenas promptly agreed to the proposal due to their finances whilst Marino and Victoria remained wary of the repercussions it could have on the club and its fans. From there, the representatives agreed to meet every Monday and create a collaborative group that would be known as the Fusion Presentation.

After more than a month of deliberations, Miranda and Monroy were delegated the role of requesting a transfer into the Spanish Second Division via a letter to the RFEF. The letter was sent on 4 April 1949 but the proposition was rejected for being to detriment for the other teams and that it would alter the regulation of promotions. However, Ricardo Cabot, a secretary in the RFEF, resumed the proposition towards the board members and, on 6 June 1949, following a meeting in Madrid that Miranda and Monroy attended, it was announced by telegram that Canary Islands football was accepted into the third division of Spanish football. The acceptance allowed the merger of Arenas Club and CD Gran Canaria, both of whom gave up their headquarters and trophies, to form under the name Unión Deportiva Las Palmas as the first phase for total integration.

On 16 August 1949, the Fusion Presentation had their last meeting where after coming in contact with Marino and Victoria stated the clubs would not merge as of yet due to difficult financial situation. This led to refusals to financially support the lease of the Las Palmas Stadium for UD Las Palmas to play its games in the 1949–50 season. As a result, a "Magna Assembly" was held by Monroy on 22 August 1949 at Real Club Náutico. After a successful meeting in which all five clubs unanimously agreed towards the final proposition presented by Monroy, Unión Deportiva Las Palmas was officially established at 8 p.m. on 22 August 1949. A committee was established with José del Río Amor as the club’s first president and Monroy appointed as the club's first vice president. The headquarters of Las Palmas was located in the Plazoleta Luis Antunez.

Las Palmas’ first training session was held on 16 September 1949 with new manager, Pancho Arencibia. Juan Santana Macías, a winger from Atlético, was the first player signed by the club and was present during the training session. On 9 October 1949, Las Palmas played their first match against Marino with Antoñito Jorge scoring the first goal in their history of a 2–1 win at Las Palmas stadium. Antoñito played three seasons for Las Palmas, scoring 11 goals in their promotion campaign towards the Second Division.

(1949–1963)

In their debut competitive season, the club secured 2nd place in a group that included CD Tenerife, Imperial de Murcia, SD Ceuta, CD Toledo, and UD Melilla, earning promotion to the Second Division. Las Palmas played their first derby match against Tenerife on 30 April 1950, at the Santa Cruz Stadium, winning 2–1. Their first away match outside the islands was on 21 May 1950, against Toledo at the Palomarejos Stadium, resulting in a 5–2 victory. However, on 25 June 1950, Las Palmas suffered a 2–0 defeat in their last league match against Melilla, which initially threatened their chances of promotion. Fortunately, Imperial de Murcia, who sat third in the table, also faced defeat, securing Las Palmas' certified promotion to the Second Division. Tragically, one of Las Palmas' first signed players and starter, Antonio Vieira, died from illness on 4 April 1951. His funeral was held in the Church of San Pablo and a tribute match was held with locals in which Las Palmas won 3–1. In the club’s participation in the 1950–51 Second Division, the club achieved a second consecutive promotion to the First Division, following a 4–1 victory over Málaga on 8 July 1951 that sent the club to first place of the table. Las Palmas became the first club in Spanish football to gain promotion twice consecutively to the First Division despite being two years old at the time. By the end of the season, Las Palmas’ first goalkeeper, Manolo Montes, was sold to Atletico Madrid in 1951 for a fee of 375,000 Pt. Nicknamed "El Patrón", Montes made 55 official appearances for Los Amarillos and became the first player to be sold by the club.

The following season saw Las Palmas relegated down to the Second Division after coming 15th with 9 wins, 4 draws and 17 losses. In the club's first match of the season, Las Palmas would lose 4–1 to Real Madrid at the newly inaugurated Insular Stadium on 9 September 1951. A hat-trick from Pahiño and a goal from Luis Molowny sealed Madrid's win whilst Juan Cedrés scored the first goal in the division for Las Palmas. The following games saw defeat to Celta (5–2), Sevilla (5–0) and Deportivo La Coruña (3–1) before the club earned their first point to Racing Santandar after a 1–1 draw on 23 September 1951. The poor run of form convinced the club's personnel to sign more experienced players with Manolo Torres and Beneyto, both signing from Málaga on 14 October 1951 for a combined total of 1,000,000 Pt. The club achieved their first win of the season two days later, defeating Atlético Tetuán 4–1 with two goals from Torres on his debut and another two from Tacoronte. Additionally, the first foreign player for Las Palmas, Jean Luciano, who signed from Real Madrid, made his debut on 16 December 1951 in a 6–0 defeat to Real Zaragoza at Torrero Stadium.

In January 1952, goalkeeper José “Pepín” Casas Gris was signed as a replacement for Montes and for a starting position after goalkeepers Viera and González were having poor perfomances in recent matches. Born in Valencia, Pepín became the first player from the Peninsular region to represent Las Palmas. He arrived at the Hotel of Santa Brígida, Las Palmas from Alicante on 5 January 1952. On 26 March 1952, Las Palmas played Millonarios de Bogotá in a match that contained the likes of Alfredo Di Stéfano. The Colombian team at the time was considered the best in South America and had remained undefeated against the likes of Porto, Real Madrid, Sevilla and Valencia during their tour in Europe. Las Palmas triumphed 3–2 over Millonarios with Di Stéfano scoring his first goal in Spain whilst Las Palmas became the only European team to have defeated Millonarios. In the 1952–53 season, manager Luis Valle Benítez, who managed Las Palmas in their promotion campaign to the First Division, resigned on 6 October 1952. The club remained in the Second Division until the 1953–1954 season when they achieved promotion back to the First Division. The club won their first title in their history under Satur Grech after finishing first in the table, jointly becoming winners with Alavés. On 27 December 1953, Las Palmas played their first derby match against Tenerife in a national competition. Los Amarillos drew both matches they played against Tenerife, the last being on 25 April 1954 where a goalless draw led to Las Palmas' promotion at the Santa Cruz Stadium.

Las Palmas would stay in the First Division for the first time during the 1954–55 season after placing 12th on the table. During the season, Las Palmas won their first game against Barcelona on 9 February 1955 with a final score of 2–1 at the Insular Stadium. The club ensured survival with 27 points on 10 April 1955, defeating Celta 3–1 at home and overcoming Espanyol who sat below with 26 points on the table. The 1955–56 season saw Las Palmas reaching a peak of 3rd place in the first half of the season before succumbing towards a relegation battle in the second half of the season. According to Marcial Sánchez, a player who signed from Real Murcia in the 1954–55 season, the club briefly shared a spot in the top three of the league table with Barcelona at one point. However, due to the losses of key players, including captain Juan Beltrán and Marcial himself, the club's form deteriorated as the season progressed. Beltrán suffered a two-year knee injury, eventually recovering, but Marcial recalled that the player was never the same again and the injury led him to retirement. Beltrán, in particular, was a highly respected captain and nicknamed by the fans as "El del pañuelo en la frente" (The one with the handkerchief on his forehead). He was the first player selected from Las Palmas Atlético's side and also the first from the club to represent the Spanish national football team. On 16 January 1957, Beltrán was appointed as the first designated youth coach of Las Palmas during his recovery from injury. During the 1956–57 season, Las Palmas claimed their 100th point in their First Divison history on 28 October 1956 after a 2–2 draw with Valencia. Two Canarian-born players, Alfonso Silva and Rafael Mújica, both of whom were considered to be the best players from the Canary Islands, made their return to Las Palmas to play for Los Amarillos. Mújica made his league debut on 9 September 1956 in a 2–0 victory against Real Jaén at home while Silva made his debut midway through the season on 13 January 1957 when the club won 2–0 against Deportivo La Coruña at Estadio Riazor.

The 1957–58 season saw the appointment of Luis Molowny as a player-coach following the departure of the previous coach, José Urbieta after unsatisfactory results. Prior to his appointment, Las Palmas suffered from poor form in the first half of the season, including a 7–0 loss to Barcelona at the Camp Nou, a 6–1 defeat at home against Celta, and their largest-ever loss in the club's history, a 9–0 drubbing by Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano. Molowny was signed on 5 December 1957, returning from Real Madrid, and scored 3 goals in 3 appearances for the club during that same season. The most notable match under Molowny's management was on 9 February 1958 when Las Palmas held a clash against Atletico Madrid at the Insular Stadium. With two former Atletico players, Silva and Mújica, Las Palmas triumphed 3–0 over Atletico Madrid in a match that was described for its “beauty and quality.” The club secured safety from relegation by defeating Real Valladolid 3–1 at home on 4 May 1958, which also resulted in Valladolid's relegation. For the first time in the club's history, Las Palmas resorted to the signings of more foreign players, Paraguayan player José Parodi and Argentine players, Pierutz, Ianizzotto and Puche, being the few that arrived at the club. Molowny was dropped at the end of the season and was replaced by Baltasar Albéniz for the subsequent season. Las Palmas avoided relegation once more, finishing in the relation playoff of the 1958–59 season. They played two home-away legs against Levante, who placed second in their league table during the season. The first leg was played on 10 May 1959 with Las Palmas winning 2–1 at Valencia before a week later, a 1–1 second leg draw at home ensured their survival.

Within the same season, Damián Massanet Plomer, the chairman of the Las Palmas Regional Football Federation, dismissed all board of directors of UD Las Palmas, alleging it to the debts that had been accumulating from previous seasons. In the 1959–60 season, Las Palmas eventually succumbed to relegation after six seasons in the First Division, with a total of 13 points gained from five wins and three draws by the end of the campaign. The club conceded the most goals out of the league, with 77 and garnered 22 league defeats, leading it to be Las Palmas's worst season at the time. During the season, Vicente Gonzalez Sosa became the first international youth player for Las Palmas, making four appearances for the Spain national under-18 team between March and April 1960. He would register three goals in six league appearances before departing, like most of his teammates, for Barcelona following the club's relegation. Las Palmas relegation was attributed to the over-reliance on foreign players, rather than trusting in the club's youth players, and increasing financial instability which by the end of the season had reached "an extreme situation."

Top-flight success

After Las Palmas returned to La Liga at the end of the 1963–64 season, again as champions, the club went on to have their most successful spell in the competition. Managed by Vicente Dauder, they finished third in 1967–68 behind Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, and four club players made the Spain squad which hosted and won the UEFA Euro 1964 tournament; the following season the team fared even better and only lost the league to Real Madrid, and thus qualified for European competition for the first time in its history, appearing in the 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and being knocked out in the first round by Germany's Hertha BSC (0–0 home draw, 0–1 away loss).

Las Palmas player Juan Guedes died suddenly on 9 March 1971 at the age of 28. The next season, French coach Pierre Sinibaldi led the club to the fifth place, with subsequent qualification for the UEFA Cup: after disposing of Torino F.C. and ŠK Slovan Bratislava, the Spaniards bowed out to Dutch club FC Twente; at the end of 1974–75 another team player, Tonono – a defender who played with Guedes – died of a liver infection.

Las Palmas' third appearance in European competition came with the 1977–78 UEFA Cup, where they defeated FK Sloboda Tuzla of Yugoslavia in the first round before falling to the English side Ipswich Town. Under the management of Miguel Muñoz, and with players such as Argentines Miguel Ángel Brindisi, Daniel Carnevali (the first to arrive in 1973), Carlos Morete and Quique Wolff, the club also reached their first final of the Copa del Rey in that year, losing on 19 April to Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (1–3).

From the 1990s onwards, Las Palmas played mainly in the Segunda División, but also spent six years in Segunda División B – the new third level created in 1977 – and, from 2000 to 2002, competed in the top flight. On 3 October 2001 the side managed a 4–2 home win against Real Madrid, with youth product Rubén Castro scoring two goals for the hosts, but the season ended nonetheless in relegation. On 22 December 2001, Las Palmas played its 1,000th game in La Liga. In the 2009–10 season in Segunda División the club finished 17th, just one point away from being relegated to Segunda División B. On 21 June 2015, Las Palmas was promoted back to La Liga after defeating Real Zaragoza on the away goals rule.

On 27 May 2023, Las Palmas achieved promotion to the first division by sealing a 2nd position in the table, respectively, on the very last match day of the season, after spending five years in the second tier.