Leganés

CD Leganés – Club History

CD Leganés was founded in 1928 in Leganés, a municipality in the southern part of the Madrid metropolitan area. Despite sharing a metropolitan area with Real Madrid and Atlético, Leganés have carved out their own identity as the "working-class Madrid" club, drawing support from the southern suburbs of the Spanish capital. Playing in blue and white, the Pepineros (Cucumber Pickers, a reference to the agricultural history of the Leganés region) achieved their greatest era from 2016 to 2019 when they maintained La Liga status and qualified for the Copa del Rey final in 2019, losing to Valencia.

Leganés' sustained La Liga presence from 2016 to 2020 was remarkable for a club from a satellite city competing in a metropolitan area dominated by two of the world's great clubs. Under coach Asier Garitano and later Mauricio Pellegrino and others, the club consistently avoided relegation and even reached the Copa del Rey final, defeating clubs including Real Madrid along the cup route in memorable giant-killing performances.

Key Milestones

1928 – Club founded in Leganés. 1994 – Segunda División competition. 2016 – La Liga promotion; first top-flight season. 2017 – La Liga survival. 2018 – La Liga survival. 2019 – Copa del Rey final; lost to Valencia. 2020 – Relegated from La Liga. 2022 – Segunda División competition. 2023 – Consistent Segunda División competition; La Liga return pursuit.