Club Atlético Osasuna (Spanish: [ˈkluβ aðˈletiko osaˈsuna], Osasuna Athletic Club), or simply Osasuna or CAO, is a Spanish professional football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish football. The team's home ground is the 23,516-capacity El Sadar Stadium.
Osasuna is the sole Navarrese club to have played in La Liga. Although the club has never won a national trophy, it reached the Copa del Rey final in 2005 and 2023. The club's best league finishes were fourth in 1990–91 and 2005–06.
The team's regular home kit is a red shirt with navy blue shorts. "Los Rojillos" or "Gorritxoak" is the club nickname, meaning "The Little Reds". The word "osasuna" means "health" in Basque, used in a sense of "strength" or "vigour", which makes Osasuna the only team in La Liga with a Basque name. Their fiercest rivalry is with Real Zaragoza from the neighboring Aragon province. Secondary rivals include Real Madrid and some of the other Basque clubs, particularly Athletic Bilbao. These two clubs, along with FC Barcelona, are the only four professional clubs in Spain that are not sports corporations; instead they are owned and operated by club members, who elect the president. The president cannot invest his own money. Like other Basque clubs, Osasuna has produced several successful players through its cantera.
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History
The club was founded on 24 October 1920 and its name, Osasuna, meaning health in Basque, was chosen by Benjamín Andoian Martínez. When Spanish football became professional in 1928, Osasuna was placed in the third division, gaining promotion to the Segunda División after the 1931–32 season by winning the playoff against Nacional de Madrid. They made it to La Liga three seasons later. That same season, they reached the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey and lost to Sevilla. The next season, Osasuna reached the semi-finals again, this time losing to Barcelona over two legs, despite grabbing a victory in the first leg.
The club was hit hard by the rearguard repression implemented by the Nationalist rebels in the 1936 coup-de-état against the Spanish Second Republic. At least ten players, employees and directive board members were murdered, imprisoned or otherwise persecuted. The surviving members were forcibly recruited for the front, with some of them showing enthusiasm for the putsch. The strong support of Navarre for the Nationalist rebels led to Osasuna being offered a place in the 1939–40 La Liga when official competitions resumed, although they had finished last in 1935–36 and should have been relegated; ultimately a play-off was arranged with the other demoted team Atlético Aviación – associated with the Spanish Air Force and thus favoured by the military regime. The Madrid team won the tie and, with support from their powerful backers, went on to claim the league title and retain it. It would not be until 1953–54 that Osasuna again participated in the top division, and 1956–57 when they managed to keep their place among the elite, remaining there for three further years.
In September 1967, Osasuna's El Sadar Stadium was opened with a match between Osasuna and Vitoria de Setubal, with the hosts winning 3–0. The club achieved its first ever UEFA Cup qualification in 1985–86 after finishing sixth in the league; their campaign began in the first round, eliminating Scottish club Rangers before being knocked out by Belgian club Waregem 3–2 on aggregate. In the 1990–91 season, Osasuna finished fourth in the league, their best ever league finish until then. This gave them qualification for the following season's UEFA Cup, where the club reached the third round by eliminating Slavia Sofia and Stuttgart. Finishing last in 1993–94, the side spent six years in the second level, before finally being promoted in 1999–2000 after placing 2nd in the league table.
In the 2002–03 Copa del Rey, Osasuna reached the semi-finals for the first time since 1988. The team entered the competition in the Round of 64, where they beat Lemona. In the following rounds, they beat Eibar, Real Unión and Sevilla, until the semi-finals where they were knocked out after losing to Recreativo de Huelva 4–2 on aggregate.
Kit evolution
Red and navy blue are the colours of CA Osasuna, reflected in the home kit and club logo. The away kit tends to differ greatly from the home kit.
Rivalries
Osasuna has many rivalries: these include Real Zaragoza, Real Madrid, and Athletic Bilbao.
The rivalry with Real Madrid began in December 1990, when Osasuna won 4–0 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. The rivalry with Zaragoza wasn't always a heated rivalry, but hostility between the two clubs began during a match in October 1987, when Zaragoza fans threw an object at Osasuna goalkeeper Roberto Santamaría. Since then, these matches often have altercations between fans and players, and it is known to be one of the most heated rivalries in Spain. In recent years however, there have been large periods of time where this rivalry match wasn't played, due to the clubs being in different divisions.
Seasons
Season to season
45 seasons in La Liga
37 seasons in Segunda División
13 seasons in Tercera División (as third tier)
1 season in Categorías Regionales
Current squad
First team squad
As of 1 September 2026
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Reserve team
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Honours
Copa del Rey
Runners-up (2): 2004–05, 2022–23
Copa Presidente FEF
Runners-up (1): 1939–40
Segunda División
Winners (4): 1952–53, 1955–56, 1960–61, 2018–19
Runners-up (2): 1934-35, 1999-00
Tercera División
Winners (7): 1931–32, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1976–77
Notable players
Note: this list includes players that have appeared in at least 100 league games, have reached international status, or both.
World Cup players
The following players have been selected by their country in the World Cup Finals, while playing for Osasuna.
Famous coaches
Javier Aguirre
Jan Urban
Ivica Brzić
Rafael Benítez
José Antonio Camacho
Miguel Ángel Lotina
José Luis Mendilibar
José Ángel Ziganda
Jagoba Arrasate