Embedded in the DNA of Spanish football is the Copa del Rey quirk that sees the like of Barcelona drawn to play on the road at lower-league clubs.

That is the case this season as the Blaugrana will play at Segunda Division side Racing Santander, who drew the European giants in the competition’s Round of 16.

The RFEF has specified that any La Liga club drawn against a lower-league side prior to the semifinals must play on the road, giving the smaller clubs a chance to host these major institutions at their home ground.

The Sporting News details Barcelona’s next opponent Racing de Santander, for whom the Copa del Rey will always be bound up with a pivotal moment in their modern history.

MORE: Latest Barcelona injury updates and team news ahead of their next match

Who are Racing de Santander?

Officially known as Real Racing Club de Santander S.A.D. (Sociedad Anonima Deportiva), the club was founded in 1913 and currently plays in the Segunda Division, or the second tier of Spanish football at the time of their meeting with Barcelona in the 2025/26 Copa del Rey.

Racing de Santander were one of the 10 founding members of La Liga when the Spanish top flight formed almost a century ago in 1928.

The team’s name comes from a common trend at the time of its inception, where fledgling clubs were influenced by English sports culture and traditions signifying athleticism and speed. During the “Castilianization” of Spanish football in the 1940’s, when the Franco dictatorship forced Spanish clubs to drop foreign influences from their names, the club adopted the “Real” prefix.

Since 2023, they have been owned by Sebman Sports International, a consortium primarily helmed by the partnership between Argentine businessman Sebastian Ceri and former Spanish footballer Manolo Higuera. As you might have noticed, the consortium’s name “Sebman” is an amalgamation of the partners’ first names.

Where are Racing de Santander from?

Racing de Santander hail from Santander, Spain, which is located on the northern coast of the country, just a short drive west of Bilbao.

The club has played its home matches in the same location since being established in 1913.

The city was known historically as “Portus Victoriae” or “Port of Victory” by Emperor Augustus in 26 B.C. Its strategic location helped the Romans achieve victory over the Cantabrians. The English sometimes referred to it as the “Liverpool of Spain” thanks to its status as an important port city in Europe.

Why were Racing de Santander banned from the Copa del Rey?

One of the most fascinating moments in Racing’s history came in 2014 when the club suffered through significant financial difficulties.

Their president at the time, Angel Lavin, is currently serving a multi-year jail sentence for fraudulent management and embezzlement.

Consecutive relegations and financial corruption saw the club on the brink of ruin. During a four-month stretch in the 2013/14 season, players at Racing did not see a paycheck, and a run to the Copa del Rey quarterfinals gave them the opportunity to secure national attention for their plight.

After a 3-1 defeat to top-flight club Real Sociedad in the first leg of the quarterfinals, the players refused to take the pitch in the second leg unless the board resigned. At kickoff of the match, the players joined hands in the centre circle, linking arms and refusing to participate. Real Sociedad passed the ball around before putting it out of play, and the official abandoned the match after just under one minute of play.

The club was disqualified from that year’s Copa del Rey and banned for the following season, but it may have saved the club from bankruptcy. Through 2015, the club worked to reduce debts. With a year’s wages owed to staff and seven months of back-pay owed to players, 13,000 shares of the club were sold to raise funds.

“This was the most important game of their lives, for the players and the coach,” the club’s current president, Manolo Higuera, told The Athletic of that 2014 match. “Yet it was a gesture that exemplified our club. It was a moment of honour, of dignity. Nobody can ever take that away from us.”

Higuera was brought in as president in the aftermath of that game, and helped the club reduce its financial strain. He left in 2018 with Racing mired in the third tier, but they had been saved from collapse. He returned in 2023 as part of an ownership consortium.

Who were the founding clubs of La Liga?

Racing de Santander was one of the 10 founding members of La Liga when the Spanish top flight was established in 1928.

Notably, they were the final member chosen above Valencia, Real Betis, and Sevilla in a qualification competition, beating Sevilla 2-0 in the decisive match.

Racing de Santander stadium name, capacity

Racing de Santander’s home ground is Estadio El Sardinro, which was constructed in 1988 and boasts a capacity of 22,300 spectators. It has been Racing’s home ground since opening, when it replaced the old Estadio El Sardinero, which had been in use since 1913.

The stadium sits directly on the water, overlooking the Bay of Biscay.

Thanks to this sizable capacity, the club is consistently in the top five of average attendance in the Segunda Division, finishing fifth last season (2024/25) behind other historical Spanish clubs Malaga, Deportivo de La Coruna, Sporting Gijon, and Real Oviedo.

The ground has hosted six Spain national team matches since opening. Five of those were friendlies, with Spain only losing once in a 4-2 defeat to Hungary. The lone competitive match was a World Cup qualifier held in 2004 where Spain beat Belgium by a 2-0 score.

Racing de Santander trophies won

The most significant trophies Racing de Santander have won in club history are the two Segunda Division titles they have claimed, coming in 1950 and 1960.

They were cruelly denied their only major trophy in 1931 when they missed out on the La Liga title on goal difference, finishing level on points with Athletic Bilbao but with a vastly inferior differential of -12 to the winners’ mark of +40.

Racing de Santander have also won the Tercera Division, formerly Spain’s regionally administered third tier, four times, mot recently in 2022. Their best result in the Copa del Rey is a pair of semifinal appearances in 2008 and 2010.