Top five things you may not know about Granada CF, the newly promoted LaLiga side

Granada CF are back in LaLiga EA Sports

Here are five things you may not have known about the newly promoted Andalusian side.

Granada CF have returned to LaLiga EA SPORTS, the top flight of Spanish football, winning the second tier LaLiga HYPERMOTION in 2022-23. The Andalusian outfit have enjoyed a number of successes in the 21st century, so ahead of their return to top level action here are five things you might not know about the club.

Their stadium is named after the typical houses of Granada

Granada CF play home matches at the Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes, ever since moving from the old Los Cármenes stadium, which was located in a different part of the city. The name of the ground comes from the typical houses of the city, commonly known as a Carmen. These are buildings with gardens and vegetable patches, and they are very common in some of Granada’s neighbourhoods, such as the area of El Albaicín.

They wear red and white because of… Atlético de Madrid

Granada CF play in red and white, not because of tradition but because of imitation, or rather out of necessity. Until 1939, the club wore blue and white, but after the Spanish Civil War, and the lack of materials at that time, they had to wear the Atlético de Madrid shirt, the only one they could find. Since then, they have continued to don the red and white colours, although in 1973 they decided to change the vertical stripes for horizontal hoops, in order to differentiate themselves from Atlético de Madrid and other red and white teams!

Diego Maradona once played for Granada CF, together with his brothers!

Only on one occasion have the three Maradona brothers played together wearing the colours of the same club, and that team was Granada CF. It was on November 15th 1987 in a friendly match at the old Los Cármenes against Swedish side Malmö. Granada CF had just signed Lalo Maradona and the contract stipulated that there would be a friendly in which Diego Armando and Hugo, who later played for Rayo Vallecano, would wear the colours of Granada CF to help raise money to pay for the transfer.

Their goalkeeper ate oranges in the middle of matches

Gyula Alberty, the Hungarian goalkeeper who played for Granada CF in the 1941/42 season, had a curious habit during matches. One day, Alberty stepped out onto the pitch with a bag of oranges which he left at the back of his goal. Every time his teammates were attacking, meaning his area was not in danger, he would take an orange and squeeze it with his hands to drink its juice. The custom became so popular that even some fans started to bring oranges and fruit to the matches.

Their nickname is of Moorish origin

Granada CF are known as Los Nazaríes, a nickname that comes from the historical period in which the city was a Muslim-controlled territory and, specifically, from the name of the last dynasty to rule the city, which was the Nasrid dynasty. As such, this is a nickname full of history for the club from the city of La Alhambra, one of the most visited monuments in Spain and one that away fans who travel to Granada may wish to check out.