Real Santander

Not to be confused with Racing Santander.

Real Santander is a professional Colombian football team based in Piedecuesta, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera B. They play their home games at the Estadio Villa Concha in Piedecuesta, a municipality in the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga.

Real Santander

Full name	Club Deportivo Real Santander S.A.
Nickname(s)	Albicelestes
Founded	17 January 2006; 17 years ago (2006-01-17)
Ground	Estadio Villa Concha Piedecuesta, Colombia
Capacity	5,500
Chairman	Gustavo Núñez
Manager	José Luis García
League	Categoría Primera B
2022	Primera B, 10th of 16
Home colours Away colours Third colours

History

The club was founded on 17 January 2006 in Floridablanca, Santander Department after the demise of Real Floridablanca eight years earlier. In late 2006 they acquired the license (ficha) of Pumas de Casanare and became affiliated to DIMAYOR, entering Categoría Primera B, Colombia's second tier in 2007. The club's best achievement in Primera B was a runner-up finish in the first tournament of the 2017 Categoría Primera B season, losing the double-legged final to Boyacá Chicó.^[1]

Relocation to San Andrés Island

Financial difficulties at their hometown forced the club to relocate the men's team to the Caribbean island of San Andrés in late 2018, being renamed as Real San Andrés and playing their home matches at Erwin O'Neil Stadium, becoming the first professional team from the islands, while their youth and women's teams remained behind in Floridablanca.^[2][3] In their first tournament after the relocation, the 2019 Apertura, they ended in 14th place.

Return to Santander

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the multiple logistical drawbacks stemming from it ranging from lack of transportation to the islands to games behind closed doors and potentially scarce financial support from the local government, the agreement with the San Andrés and Providencia authorities was not renewed at the end of the 2020 season, and the men's team returned to the Santander Department for the 2021 Primera B season.^[4] Having been refused the use of Estadio Alfonso López in Bucaramanga by its main tenant Atlético Bucaramanga, they played their first games of the season at Estadio Daniel Villa Zapata in Barrancabermeja until the completion of the adaptation works of Estadio Villa Concha in Piedecuesta.^[5]

Current squad

As of 18 August 2021^[6]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF   COL Eduardo Zapata 5 DF   COL Andrés Felipe Rentería 6 MF   COL Yimmer Salas 7 DF   COL Samuel Rivera 8 MF   COL Léider Berrío 10 MF   COL Aldair Ramírez 11 MF   COL Freddy Espinal 12 GK   COL Juan Serrano 13 DF   COL Cristian Molina 14 MF   COL Yilber Arboleda 15 DF   COL Juan José Quintero 16 MF   COL Ryan Pole 18 DF   COL Andrés Ariza 19 FW   COL Jhon Stiven Quinto 20 FW   COL José Daniel Ascanio 21 DF   COL Duván Uribe

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 GK   COL Roameth Romaña 23 DF   COL Gustavo Reyes 24 FW   COL Juan David Rueda 25 MF   COL Juan José Valero 27 FW   COL Jorge Báez 29 FW   COL Julián Angulo 30 DF   COL Donovan Forbes — GK   COL Eduar Esteban — MF   COL Juan Sebastián Carvajal — MF   COL Sergio Celis — MF   COL Haider Otálora — FW   COL Danny Chaves — FW   COL José Esteban Díaz — FW   COL Rafael Liñán — FW   COL Faiber Mendoza — FW   COL Duván Sánchez

References

1. "Boyacá Chicó empató 1-1 con Real Santander y ganó el Torneo I de la Primera B". Gol Caracol (in Spanish). 12 June 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
2. "Real San Andrés: the Colombian club that relocated 1,000km from home". The Guardian. 4 April 2019.
3. "ESTE ES EL ESTADIO QUE ALBERGARÁ FÚTBOL PROFESIONAL EN SAN ANDRÉS". Antena 2 (in Spanish). 2 November 2018.
4. "Real San Andrés aún no sabe dónde jugará el Torneo de la B". Vanguardia (in Spanish). 22 July 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
5. "Real Santander, con dificultades, pero con la convicción de apoyar al jugador local". Vanguardia (in Spanish). 21 January 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
6. "REAL SANTANDER". Dimayor.com.co. División Mayor del Fútbol Colombiano. Retrieved 18 August 2021.