Real Valladolid

History in the 20 century (1928–2001)

Founded from the amalgamation of Real Unión Deportiva de Valladolid and Club Deportivo Español, Valladolid first reached the top level in the 1947–48 season, as champions of the Segunda División. The following year, the team pushed on from this success and reached the finals of the domestic cup in the Chamartín Stadium against Athletic Bilbao, losing 4–1.
The next ten years were spent in the first division, and relegation was short-lived as Valladolid gained promotion again in 1958–59 with a 5–0 win over Terrassa under manager José Luis Saso, a legendary figure in club history. He had originally been a goalkeeper for the club and went on to perform many roles, including serving as president of the club.
Valladolid swung between the first and second divisions in subsequent years, falling as low as to the third division in 1970–71. Next year promoted to second division and on 1980 promoted to first división, where it played until 1992 when it downs to second division again. Promoted in 1992–93, the club was again sent down after the 2003–04 season. In 1984, Valladolid also won the Copa de la Liga (a competition only played in the early 1980s) over Atlético Madrid.
On 14 April 1996, Valladolid played its 1,000th game in La Liga.
The side's highest position during this 11-year stint was seventh in 1996–97, being coached in the previous seasons by former Real Madrid Castilla coach Rafael Benítez, as various players from that team would also later appear for Valladolid.

Carlos Suárez era (2001–2018)

In the 2006–07 season, after signing Basque José Luis Mendilibar as head coach, Valladolid had one of its best years in history while playing in the second level. The club took the league lead in the 15th matchday and went on to finish with a competition all-time high 88 points, winning the championship by a total margin of eight points, and holding an advantage of 26 points over the non-promotion zone (fourth and below), both being all-time records in the league. Valladolid also achieved the honour of going unbeaten in 29-straight matches, from 10 October 2006 to 6 May 2007, being mathematically promoted after a 2–0 away win against Tenerife on 22 April 2007 (the 34th matchday of the season), the earliest any club has achieved promotion in Spanish history.
Also remarkable was the side's role in the season's Copa del Rey, reaching the quarter-finals after defeating two top division teams, Gimnàstic de Tarragona (4–1 aggregate) and the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League contender Villarreal (3–1), while playing the entire competition with reserve players.
Two relatively successful seasons in the top division followed, finishing in 15th place while avoiding relegation after a 1–1 draw on the last matchday of both seasons (against Recreativo de Huelva in 2007–08 and Real Betis in the following campaign).
After a slow start to 2009–10 (3 wins in the first 20 matches), Mendilibar was sacked on 1 February 2010 following a draw at home against Almería. The week following his sacking, Valladolid dropped for the first time to the relegation zone (something that never happened during Mendilibar's 138-match stint), with former player Onésimo Sánchez taking charge.
After only 1 win in 10 matches, Sánchez was fired. Former Spain national team manager Javier Clemente was named Sánchez's replacement in a desperate move to avoid relegation with only eight matches remaining. After a brief breather (16th position), Valladolid again returned to the last three, then faced a must-win last game at the Camp Nou against a Barcelona squad needing a win to secure the Liga championship. Level in the standings with Racing de Santander, Málaga and Tenerife for the two final safe positions, Valladolid lost 0–4 and consequently was relegated, ending a three-year stay in the top flight.
The 2011–12 season saw Valladolid return to La Liga under the management of Miroslav Đukić, promoted through the play-offs after finishing third in the division.
Valladolid were relegated back to the Segunda División on the last matchday of the 2013–14 season.
On 2017–18 season, Valladolid was promoted back to first division after four years via play-off defeating Sporting de Gijón and Numancia.

Ronaldo Nazario, new owner (2018–present)

On 3 September 2018, it was announced Brazilian former international footballer Ronaldo had become the majority shareholder after purchasing a 51% controlling stake in the club.

Stadium

Real Valladolid play at the 26,512-capacity Estadio Nuevo José Zorrilla, finished in 1982 to replace the previous stadium of the same name which had stood since 1940. Both grounds are named after José Zorrilla y Moral, a 19th-century poet from the city. After opening for the club on 20 February 1982, it hosted the Copa del Rey Final on 13 April of that year, and then three Group D matches at the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
In 2010, it was announced that there were plans to expand the stadium to 40,000 spectators. This project was known as Valladolid Arena [baʎaˈðolið aˈɾena], but was contingent on Spain winning the right to host the 2018 FIFA World cup.