The new La Liga season is fast approaching, and only four days remain until its start, as there is huge anticipation among fans for the start of the new season. The teams are busy achieving their goals for the summer transfer market and are shaping their squads for the upcoming season, but Racing de Santander, a promoted La Liga team, has a point to prove in the Spanish top flight this season.
Racing de Santander: Brief History Of The Newly Promoted La Liga Team
This season, three new teams have joined La Liga, just like every season. One of these newly promoted La Liga teams is Racing de Santander. Racing de Santander are a team hailing from the city of Santander, located in the autonomous community of Cantabria on the northern coast of Spain. The newly promoted La Liga team last featured in the Spanish top flight in the 2011/12 season and are making a return to the first division after 14 long years. With that being said, their journey back to La Liga have not been an easy one by any means.
14 Years Of Financial Irregularities And Turmoil
After their demotion in 2012, they were further relegated to the third division in 2012/13. After that, the club faced severe financial issues, and in 2014, the players even protested on the field because of unpaid wages and refused to play after the referee blew the whistle in the Copa del Rey quarter-final against Real Sociedad.
After the kick-off, the players stood arm-in-arm with each other around the centre circle and did not start playing. Real Sociedad played the ball around for almost one minute. Eventually, the match was abandoned, and Real Sociedad progressed to the semi-finals to face FC Barcelona. Due to the protest by the players, Racing de Santander were subsequently expelled from the next season’s Copa del Rey and fined €3000.
Between 2012 and 2026, the club have faced multiple relegations and promotions between Spain’s second and third divisions. However, they could never maintain consistency and failed to get to the top division of the Spanish football pyramid because of their financial turmoil and off-field drama. Now, for the 2026/27 season, they have returned to the top flight as a newly promoted La Liga team from the second division.
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How Did The Promoted La Liga Team Fare Last Season?
Racing de Santander won the second division last season, as they finished on top with 82 points, five points ahead of the team finishing second, Deportivo de A Coruña. The promoted La Liga team are a side that likes to play attacking football and lean towards relationalism more than positional play in their footballing philosophy.
Their manager, Jose Alberto, in an interview with Sky Sports, said:
“Modern football demands adaptability, quick thinking and rich interactions. Opponents are very well prepared, and if you are too predictable, you become easy to control. We want to be a team that is hard to read, while still being balanced, brave and attacking.”
As a result, they scored the most goals in the division last season (90) but also conceded more (61) than Real Zaragoza (59), who finished bottom. Thus, they were by far the best attacking team in LaLiga HyperMotion last season, but their defence lacked stability and was vulnerable.
Can The Newly Promoted La Liga Team Succeed In The Top Flight?
The Segunda División is a lot different from La Liga in terms of tactics and style. The teams that play attacking, fluid football in the second division often need to adjust their tactics in the first division to survive, and this is exactly what Racing de Santander, the newly promoted La Liga team, might need to do to survive.
However, so far, they have retained their best attackers, Andres Martin and Inigo Vicente, from last season and are looking to build a team around them. It remains to be seen whether they will continue their approach from last season or adjust to the demands of a new league. With that being said, if they don’t implement crucial defensive changes in time, they’ll struggle against formidable Spanish teams like FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid, and could face relegation once more, as they did in 2011/12.
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