The opponent
Osasuna is a club from the northern Spanish city of Pamplona. The team was founded in 1920 and plays in red and blue colors. Domestically, it has never been able to grab a prize. Both in 2005 and last year, Osasuna lost the cup final of the Copa Del Rey. Their stadium, Estadio El Sadar, seats 23,516 spectators and was named after the river that is close to the stadium.
CA Osasuna has only played two official duels (both in LaLiga) since the start of the season. On the opening game the team won 0-2 on the field of RC Celta de Vigo, but last game day Los Rojillos lost 0-2 to Athlétic Club Bilbao.
CA Osasuna managed to win from a Belgian team at the European level once in their history. During their first ever UEFA Cup campaign in 1985-86, they came against KSV Waregem. The West Flemish won 2-0 at home and a 2-1 result in the return match eventually eliminated Osasuna.
The opponent's most successful European campaign dates back to 2006-07 during the UEFA Cup. Osasuna then finished second in their group and made it to the semifinals, where they were eliminated by compatriot Sevilla FC.
Last summer, the club said goodbye to striker Abde Ezzalzouli (back to FC Barcelona) and defender Manu Sánchez (back to Atlético Madrid), among others.
Los Rojillos reinforced themselves with these players:
- defenders: Alejandro Catena (Rayo Vallecano), Johan Mojica (Villarreal CF) & Jesús Areso (back from Burgos CF)
- midfielder: Javi Martínez (back from SD Huesca)
- strikers: Raúl García (Real Betis) & José Manuel Arnáiz (CD Leganés)
Already since media 2018, Jagoba Arrasate has been the head coach of the team. The Spaniard's first achievement was the championship in the Segunda División in 2019. The three subsequent seasons he parked CA Osasuna in the mid-table each time. Last season was their most successful with the European ticket as a reward.
There are 2 players who played for both CA Osasuna and Club Brugge KV.
- Javier Portillo: Played on loan at Club (from Real Madrid) in 2005-06. From 2007 the Spaniard played a year and a half for CA Osasuna.
- Francisco "Gato" Silva: Played from January 2013 to mid-2014 at CA Osasuna. In the summer of 2014, the Chilean midfielder transferred to Club, where he left again after one year.
