Club Ciclista de San Sebastián
Cycling club whose footballers won the 1909 Copa del Rey.
Taken from futbol.me Spanish Football data base http://www.futbolme.com/lacopa/index.asp?modo=cuadro · via Wikipedia: Club Ciclista de San Sebastián · Fair use
Club Ciclista de San Sebastián was a cycling club from San Sebastián, in Spain’s Basque Country. It was founded in February 1907, at a time when cycling was very popular in the city. The main figure behind the club was Julián Comet, a Frenchman who had moved there in the late 1800s. Comet was a keen cyclist and had already pushed for the construction of the Atocha Velodrome in 1906, though it did not last long. Top international cyclists competed there. By August 1908, the club was organizing the Spanish Track Cycling Championship.
Football arrived in San Sebastián in the early 1900s, brought by students and workers returning from Britain. The first local football club, the San Sebastián Recreation Club, was founded in 1904. In 1907, a split among its members led several players—including Alfonso and Miguel Sena, Domingo Arrillaga, and Bonifacio Echeverría—to leave and form the San Sebastian Football Club in 1908. The Recreation Club played at Ondarreta Stadium, so the new team used the Atocha Velodrome, which belonged to the Cycling Club. This shared use led to a merger on 21 September 1908, creating the Ciclista Football Club, with Federico Ferreirós as its first president.
After a string of wins against local and foreign teams, the cyclists decided to enter the 1909 Copa del Rey. But because the club had not been legally registered for more than a year, it could not play official matches under its own name. So it borrowed the license of the Club Ciclista de San Sebastián and entered the tournament under that name. The team surprised everyone by reaching the final. In the quarter-finals, they beat the powerful Athletic Club 4–2, with a hat-trick from George McGuinness. Then they defeated Galicia FC 2–0, both goals again from McGuinness. In the final on 8 April at Campo de O’Donnell, Club Ciclista beat Español de Madrid 3–1. McGuinness opened the scoring with a penalty, and Simmons and Miguel Sena added goals. The lineup was: Pedro Bea, Alfonso Sena, Manuel Arocena, Domingo Arrillaga, Bonifacio Echeverría, José Rodríguez, Miguel Sena, Mariano Lacort, CF Simmons, G. McGuiness, and J. Biribén.
A few months after this victory, on 7 September 1909, the players who had won the tournament founded the Sociedad de Football—later known as Real Sociedad—and broke away from the Cycling Club.
Quick Facts
- Clubname
- Club Ciclista
- Fullname
- Club Ciclista de San Sebastián
- Founded
- 1909 (football)
- Dissolved
- 1909 / (merged to form Real Sociedad)
- Ground
- Ondarreta Stadium, San Sebastián
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Club Ciclista de San Sebastián was founded in February 1907 as a sports club dedicated to cycling, which had great following in the city. The main promoter was Julián Comet, a French citizen who had settled in San Sebastián at the end of the 19th century. Comet drove the creation of the Atocha Velodrome in 1906, and by August 1908 the club was organizing the Spanish Track Cycling Championship.
Football was introduced to San Sebastián in the early 1900s by students and workers returning from Britain. In 1907, a split in the San Sebastián Recreation Club led to the creation of San Sebastian Football Club, which used the Atocha Velodrome as its playing field. This shared use led to a merger on 21 September 1908, creating the Ciclista Football Club, with Federico Ferreirós as first president.
In 1909, the team borrowed the license of Club Ciclista de San Sebastián to enter the Copa del Rey, as they had not been legally registered for more than a year. They defeated Athletic Club 4–2 in the quarter-finals, Galicia FC 2–0 in the semi-finals, and Español de Madrid 3–1 in the final. George McGuinness scored a hat-trick in the quarter-final and both goals in the semi-final, and opened the scoring in the final from a penalty. A few months later, on 7 September 1909, the victorious players founded the Sociedad de Football (now Real Sociedad), disassociating from the Cycling Club.
Reader's Guide
Club Ciclista de San Sebastián holds a unique place in Spanish football history as the vehicle through which a group of players won the Copa del Rey in 1909, only to immediately form the club that would become Real Sociedad. The cycling club itself was a significant force in Basque cycling, organizing the Spanish Track Cycling Championship in 1908 and building the Atocha Velodrome. However, its legacy is overshadowed by the football triumph. The victory was achieved under the club's name because the football team lacked the required registration period. This borrowing of identity allowed the players to compete and win, but it also created tension: Julián Comet, the cycling club's president, felt mistreated when the footballers later demolished the velodrome to build Atotxa Stadium for Real Sociedad. Comet reportedly cursed the new club, saying 'Real will never be champion.' The episode illustrates the early, fluid nature of Spanish football, where clubs merged, borrowed licenses, and splintered. The cycling club itself faded after the footballers left, but its name remains in the record books as a Copa del Rey winner.
Did You Know?
- The club was founded in February 1907 as a cycling club.
- Its football section won the 1909 Copa del Rey under the cycling club's license.
- The players who won the cup founded Real Sociedad on 7 September 1909.
- Julián Comet, the club's president, later cursed Real Sociedad, saying 'Real will never be champion.'
More in Club History
Elsewhere in Real Sociedad
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced