The lowdown on RC Celta de Vigo

Time for a closer look at the team that FC Barcelona will be visiting this Saturday at 9.00pm CET.

WHERE ARE THEY FROM?

With a population of just under 300,000, Vigo is the biggest city in the region of Galicia in north-west Spain, which has its own unique language and culture. Located on the Atlantic coast, just a few miles from the Portuguese border, it is home to the European Fisheries Control Agency, being a natural choice for that honour due to its close ties to the industry.

HISTORY

The several small teams in Vigo decided in 1923 that in order to be more competitive on a national level they would be better off combining forces as a single club. Thus Real Club Celta was formed, named in honour of the Celtic tradition in Galicia, where it vies for supremacy with local rivals Deportivo La Coruña.

The club has never won either of the two biggest trophies in Spanish football, having lost in all three of their Copa del Rey final appearances, most recently in 2001.

The last decade or so has been the best in club history, but although Celta are regularly in contention for Champions League places, 2003 was the only year that they actually qualified. Their finest showing in the Europa League was a a run to quarter finals in 2016–17, where they eventually went out to Manchester United.

THE STADIUM

Balaídos holds 29,000 spectators and has existed since 1924, making it one of the oldest professional stadiums in the country. There have been many changes since then, particularly for when it hosted games at the 1982 World Cup, and in recent years has been undergoing further redevelopments.

HEAD TO HEAD

Vigo hasn't been the happiest of hunting grounds for Barça in recent years. Since 2015/16, they have been there nine times and have only won twice, the other games being three draws and four defeats.

And of the 17 league games at Balaidos this century, seven have ended in a blaugrana defeat. Only at the Santiago Bernabéu do Barça have a poorer record. On the plus side, Barça did the league double over Cellta last season. The game at the Estadi Olimpic was that spectacular comeback from 2-0 in the last ten minutes to win 3-2, while a Robert Lewandowski brace secured a 2-1 win in Galicia.  

Last five meetings (all La Liga)
17/02/24 Celta 1-2 Barça
23/09/23 Barça 3-2 Celta
04/06/23 Celta 2-1 Barça
09/10/22 Barça 1-0 Celta
10/05/22 Barça 3-1 Celta

FORM GUIDE

Celta have been having an up and down season, generally picking up a fair few points at home but not faring too well on the road. Rather poignantly, the two teams that have won at Balaidos this term are Real and Atlético Madrid, suggesting that Celta tend to struggle against the bigger teams. But they have done enough to sit comfortably in mid-table at the moment and also progressed in the cup by beating lower league San Pedro of Marbella.

A 13th place finish last year means there's no European football for Celta this time.

THE PLAYERS

The man to worry about is Iago Aspas, who has an astonishing knack of scoring against Barça. He has netted 11 times in his 19 games against the Catalans, more goals than anyone else has managed against the team this century.

Most capped internationals
Luca de la Torre (USA, 24), Iago Aspas (Spain, 20), Anastasios Douvikas (Greece, 18), Joseph Aidoo  (Ghana, 11), Mihailo Ristić (Serbia, 9), Carl Starfelt (Sweden, 11), Jonathan Bamba (Ivory Coast, 10), Marcos Alonso (Spain 9), Franco Cervi (Argentina, 4)

Barça connections
Right-back Óscar Mingueza (below) a product of La Masia, had played 46 first team games for FC Barcelona in two seasons before being sold to Celta last year.

Another familiar face is central midfielder Ilaix Moriba (below) who spent his teenage years at Barça and became one of the stars of Barça B while also getting the occasional outing with the senior team. In 2021 he departed for RB Leipzig, but he has barely played for the Germans, instead being loaned first to Valencia, then Getafe and now Celta.

The son of a former Barça player of the same name, Marcos Alonso joined Barça from Chelsea in 2022. After two seasons and 29 sppearances, he left for Celta last summer is looking forward to chance to face his now former club for the first time.

THE BOSS

Claudio Giráldez was managing the Celta reserves when he was invited to replace the sacked Rafa Benítez towards the end of last season. A native the Vigo area, he spent his youth in the Real Madrid academy but never made it as high as the first team. Instead, he plied out a career as a left back in the lower leagues in Galicia.

Since retiring, he has been worked with different teams in Celta-s youth setup, climbing all the way up to his current position in charge of the first team, his first ever senior post in football management.