Barakaldo CF (Spain)

Barakaldo Club de Fútbol is a football club that was formed in 1917, originally as Baracaldo Football-Club, in the town of Barakaldo, which is located on the south side of the River Nervión, a few miles west of Bilbao in Spain’s Basque Country.

The club started out in Biscaya regional football, playing on land between the railway and El Cuadro Maderos, in their formative years. They moved to a field by Rio Galindo before moving a few hundred yards further away from the river to the original Campo Lasesarre in 1922.

‘Fabriles‘, meaning factories in Spanish and reflecting the area of the time, became the club nickname, as they entered the third tier Tercera División in 1928-29 as members of Grupo II.

Barakaldo won their division in 1929-30 with future Spanish international Serafín Aedo in the side alongside Pablo Barcos. 

However, they missed out on promotion to Segunda División after defeat in the playoff final to CD Castellón. Another title followed in 1930-31, but once again the team were denied second-tier football after losing to Celta de Vigo. Three runners-up places followed before Barakaldo were elevated to Segunda División for the 1934-35 season. 

The team retained their lofty status as Bata banged in the goals. In 1940, the club changed its title to Baracaldo Oriamendi until 1943. As Baracaldo Altos Hornos, meaning Barakaldo Blast Furnace when translated, again to reflect the area's industry and club patronage, the club suffered relegation in 1944-45.

It regrouped and won promotion at the first time of asking via a play-off win over Jerez.

Barakaldo continued in Segunda División with former international striker Guillermo Gorostiza having a spell at the club and Mandáluniz managing the side between 1949 and 1950, with some top-five finishes. 

Barakaldo finished bottom of the table in 1956-57 to suffer relegation to Tercera División despite the efforts of striker Telmo Zarra. Once again, the club bounced straight back with promotion twelve months later. This time, the clubs' spell in the second level lasted three seasons. Back in Tercera División, Barakaldo had a mid-table finish. 

They went on to lift the Grupo IV title in 1962-63 before losing in the play-offs to Atlético Ceuta.

The team retained their divisional title in 1963-64, going on to win promotion to Segunda División after an aggregate win against Calvo Sotelo Andorra in the play-offs. Barakaldo’s fluctuating fortunes continued as they suffered relegation in 1965-66.

Barakaldo remained at that level until the Grupo IV title was once again lifted in 1971-72, with Carmelo Cedrún in charge of the team in the first of his two spells. This came after the club changed its name to the current title, to win promotion to the second tier once again, as former international Luis María Echeberría ended his career at the club. 

Eusebio Ríos then took control of team affairs, with the 1974-75 season seeing the team relegated once again before they went back up in 1976-77 under the stewardship of manager Manuel Fernández Mora.

Manuel Sarabia, the former Athletic Club and Spain striker, had a loan spell at Lasesarre, under the new team boss Moruca, before a nineteenth-place finish in 1978-79 led to relegation to Segunda División B following league reorganisation. 

Barakaldo lifted the Grupo I title a year later to return to the second level of Spanish football. However, the step up proved too steep as the side was relegated after just one season. Future La Liga manager Mané was in charge of the team in the 1981-82 campaign, before another setback hit the club in 1983-84. 

Barakaldo went down another tier to the fourth level Tercera División. A title arrived at the increasingly dilapidated Lasesarre in 1987-88 to elevate Barakaldo back to Segunda División B, where they were placed in Grupo I. 

Koldo Aguirre was appointed as manager in 1995, remaining in charge for two years before the appointment of Alfonso del Barrio. In 1997-98, the team won the title with goals coming from Aitor Bouzo, as Jon Ander López stood out in goal. The team missed out on promotion through the play-offs.

1999 saw the arrival of Peio Agirreoa as manager, who lasted the season before the reappointment of del Barrio. The end for the original Campo Lasesarre came in October 2000, which was marked with a 1-0 victory over Osasuna B. The club decamped to Campo de San Vicente, a municipal athletic stadium half a mile away from their base.

Agirreoa returned to lead the team in time for the 2001-02 season, which saw another divisional Grupo II Segunda B title being added to the honours board, but once again Barakaldo missed out on promotion. In September 2003, the club moved into the new Campo de Lasesarre, a few hundred yards north of their old stadium

The whole area benefited from regeneration, while the goals of Alberto Alejandro cheered the fans in the new stadium. Iñaki Zurimendi and then Jesús Iñigo Liceranzu both had spells as Barakaldo manager before the arrival of Alberto Iglesias in the summer of 2008.

Barakaldo reached the second round of the Copa del Rey on a few occasions thanks to the goalscoring efforts of Ion Vélez, before reaching round three in 2008-09, where they went out to Real Unión. The 2010-11 season saw the team finish bottom of the table to be relegated back to Grupo IV of the Tercera División, mainly under the auspice of Mikel Aguirregomezkorta.

A second-place finish in 2011-12, with Zurimendi back in charge of the team, propelled Barakaldo into the playoffs, where they progressed to seal promotion with an aggregate win against Águilas FC. Back in the third level Segunda División B, Barakaldo consolidated their position in Grupo II with goals coming from Jon Orbegozo.

Jon Ander Serantes proved a steady influence in goal until his departure in the summer of 2014, when he was replaced by Pato Guillén. Barakaldo also reached the third round of the 2014-15 Copa del Rey, where they were defeated by SD Huesca. 

This was under the management of Axier Intxaurraga before he was succeeded by David Movilla. His side reached the round of 32, where they went out 5-1 on aggregate to CD Valencia, with Alejandro García continuing the club's fine tradition of signing fine goalkeepers.

Gonzalo Arconada was appointed as team manager in an interim capacity after a thirteenth-place league finish in the 2016-17 season, holding the fort until the arrival of Aitor Larrazabal. Ander Vitoria supplied the goals as his side finished in sixth spot.

The playoffs were reached in 2018-19, where Hércules ended any dreams of promotion. Hernán Pérez took charge of a disappointing campaign to back it up, with Germán Beltrán and Jabi Luaces, both having spells to try and correct things.

The 2020-21 season was a difficult one for the club as the Spanish league system had a transitional year. Barakaldo found itself in the Tercera División RFEF Grupo IV the following season. They reached the playoffs under new manager Nando Alonso, but lost on penalties to local rivals Portugalete

Imanol de la Sota was given the manager's job in the summer of 2022. His side went on to lift the league title in his first season in charge, to go up to the fourth-tier Segunda Federación Grupo II. The team reached the playoffs again in 2023-24, where CD Atlético Paso and then Orihuela CF were defeated.

The goals from Iker Pedernales and Borja García in the final sent Barakaldo up to Grupo I of the Primera Federación, where the team consolidated in 2024-25.

Barakaldo CF will play in Primera Federación Grupo II in the 2025-26 season.

My visit

Friday 24th February 2017

My long weekend in Bilbao and its surrounding districts was finally underway after my British Airways flight arrived in Biscaya over an hour late. The bus had dropped me at San Mamés, before I took the regional railway a few stops to Desertu-Barakaldo.

Campo de Lasesarre was just a short stroll along Paseo El Ferrocarril, not that it would have been obvious to be a football venue, if not for the club offices in the near corner. It really was a stadium which had used modern art to the max.

The roof was made up of straight-line turrets. Translucent panels formed the exterior. Although I couldn’t get inside, the plentiful gaps all the way around gave me some great views of the venue. The floodlight design was also innovative. It was thought that it had been designed on an Etch-a-Sketch; such was the dominance of straight lines.

Inside the stadium, it is an all-seated arena with the seating made up of several colours. They are slightly raised above the pitch. All fans received a fine view. Apparently, old-time Barakaldo fans missed their old home, but there was no doubt of the new place’s functionality.

After wandering all the way around and getting plentiful photos, I headed towards Urbinago Metro station, across old industrial landscapes and a tributary of the river, where old met the modern.

It rather encapsulated Bilbao and its surrounds; little did I realise it at the time. It is a destination I heartily recommend, especially when the weather is right.