Santutxu FC (Spain)

Santutxu Fútbol Club is a football club from the Basque Country city of Bilbao in Sain, who were formed in 1918 after a group of players had played under the title Santutxu FBC from 1914.

The club joined Serie C of local football and moved into a home ground, Campo de Landa Orlegi, in 1924, where the team continued to play until 1936, when they vacated the field until 1940.

Santutxu went on to play at Campo de Basoselai, Artxanda, Galdakao, Etxezuri, Zorrozaurre and then Campo de Montefuerte, where they shared with CD Peña. The club progressed to the top division of regional football.

The 1964-65 season saw Satutxu move into Campo de Mallona high above the city and overlooking the old town, Casco Viejo, allowing the club to develop. The club fluctuated between the first and second local divisions until 1970 before progressing to the Regional Preferente.

The club lifted the prestigious Trofeo Hierro in 1973 and 1975 following victories over CD Larramendi and SD Lemona. A junior side was set up to start the 1975-76 season as the club looked to develop further.

The 1979-80 season saw Santutxu win promotion to the fourth tier of Spanish football, as they became members of the Tercera División, where they were placed in Grupo III. The 1985-86 and 1986-87 seasons were spent away from Mallona as the stadium was remodelled.

The club returned having been relegated to the Territorial Preferente Vizcaya through the play-offs against CD Galdakao. Santutxu won the Territorial Preferente title in 1990-91 under coach D Iñaki Dueñas.

The 1992-93 campaign saw the club relegated back to the Preferente, from where the club descended further in 2000-01 down to the 1a regional division. Promotion back to the new top flight División de Honor was won at the first attempt before gradual momentum led to Santutxu regaining their Tercera División after a title win in 2005-06.

However, their spell in the fourth tier lasted just one season before the club dropped back down to the División de Honor, where they remained to the completion of the 2009-10 season, as another title win was accrued along with promotion back to the fourth tier.

The progression was only made possible by the dedication of the many club coaches and presidents who presided over up to twenty teams representing the club, which produced many youngsters for the first team.

Once back in Grupo IV of the Tercera División, Santutxu established itself with some steady performances just below mid-table in the final standings until the 2016-17 campaign, when they finished just outside the final relegation spot with Íñigo Orozko topping the scoring, as iconic coach Marquitos, appointed in 2009, remained in charge of the team.

Gradual improvements over the next few seasons saw Santutxu ready to face the challenges of the 2020-21 season, when the Spanish football league system was slightly restructured. The team's performances led to the club being placed in the now fifth-tier Tercera División RFEF.

However, the 2021-22 season ended in relegation to División de Honor Vizcaya, where the side finished in eighth and then sixth place at the lower level. After ending tenth in 2024-25, Marquitos called it a day after the best part of sixteen seasons to be replaced by Igor Guijarro.

Santutxu FC will play in the División de Honor Vizcaya in the 2025-26 season.

My visit

Saturday 25th February 2017

To read all about Campo de Mallona and Danok Bat, the youth side that shares the facility and my visit there, click here.