Real Santander

Real Santander is a professional Colombian football team based in Bucaramanga, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera B. They play their home games at the Estadio Villa Concha in Piedecuesta, a municipality in the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga.

History

Early years

The club was founded on 17 January 2006 in Floridablanca, Santander Department after the demise of Real Floridablanca eight years earlier. On 18 December 2006 they acquired the license (ficha) of Pumas de Casanare and became affiliated to DIMAYOR, entering Categoría Primera B, Colombia's second tier in 2007. After two seasons of unremarkable results, the albicelestes advanced to the Primera B's four-team semifinals (cuadrangulares semifinales) for the first time in their history in the 2009 Finalización tournament.

For the 2011 season, and due to the withdrawal of its main sponsors which in turn caused difficulties in making signings to strengthen the squad, Real Santander signed a cooperation agreement with Categoría Primera A club Atlético Nacional, which loaned seven players from its youth ranks. In that same year, the club narrowly missed out on the Finalización semi-finals after placing ninth in the first stage, but reached the quarter-finals of the Copa Colombia, where they were defeated by Atlético Nacional. The alliance with Atlético Nacional ended at the end of the year, and in 2015 Real Santander entered into another cooperation agreement with Deportivo Cali.

The club's best achievement in Primera B was a runner-up finish in the first tournament of the 2017 Categoría Primera B season, losing the double-legged final to Boyacá Chicó.

Relocation to San Andrés Island

Financial difficulties at their hometown forced the club to relocate the men's team to the Caribbean island of San Andrés in late 2018, being renamed as Real San Andrés and playing their home matches at Erwin O'Neil Stadium, becoming the first professional team from the islands, while their youth and women's teams remained behind in Floridablanca. In their first tournament after the relocation, the 2019 Apertura, they ended in 14th place, but in the Copa Colombia the team reached the round of 16 in the two seasons it played in San Andrés.

Return to Santander

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the multiple logistical drawbacks stemming from it ranging from lack of transportation to the islands to games behind closed doors and potentially scarce financial support from the local government, the agreement with the San Andrés and Providencia authorities was not renewed at the end of the 2020 season, and the men's team returned to the Santander Department for the 2021 Primera B season. Having been refused the use of Estadio Alfonso López in Bucaramanga by its main tenant Atlético Bucaramanga, they played their first games of the season at Estadio Daniel Villa Zapata in Barrancabermeja until the completion of the adaptation works of Estadio Villa Concha in Piedecuesta.

Current squad

As of 29 January 2026

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Managers

• Colombia Martín Peluffo (2008)
• Colombia Johan Meza (January 2009 – December 2011)
• Argentina Miguel González (January 2012 – January 2013)
• Colombia Víctor González (January 2013 – January 2018)
• Colombia Nicolás Herazo (February 2018 – December 2018)
• Colombia José García (January 2019 – December 2023)
• Colombia Óscar Álvarez (January 2024 – present)

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