Retro Leganés Shirts – The Pride of Los Pepineros

CD Leganés was founded in 1928, though like many clubs of their generation, early records are patchy and the club's early decades were spent grinding through the regional divisions of Spanish football with little national recognition. For most of the twentieth century, Leganés were very much a Segunda División B and Tercera División club – competitive locally, but rarely threatening to break into the upper echelons of Spanish football. The community around them grew rapidly, particularly from the 1960s onward as Madrid expanded outward and Leganés became one of its most populous satellite cities, but the football club's fortunes did not immediately mirror that population boom.

The modern era of CD Leganés truly began with their promotion to Segunda División – the second tier of Spanish football – which gave the club sustained exposure to professional football at a higher level. But it was the extraordinary 2015-16 season that changed everything. Under manager Asier Garitano, Leganés secured promotion to La Liga for the very first time in their 88-year history. The city erupted. For a club that had spent so long in football's lower reaches, reaching the top flight of Spanish football was nothing short of miraculous.

What followed was equally remarkable. Leganés did not simply survive in La Liga – they competed. Season after season in the top flight, they defied predictions and punched well above their weight at their compact Estadio Municipal de Butarque, which became one of the most atmospherically intense small grounds in Spain. The highlight of their top-flight adventure came in the 2018-19 Copa del Rey, when Leganés stormed all the way to the semi-finals, eliminating Real Madrid along the way in a result that sent shockwaves through Spanish football. It was the kind of giant-killing moment clubs like Leganés live for.

Relegation came in 2020, a painful end to a golden era, but it did nothing to diminish what had been achieved. The rivalry with Getafe, another Madrid satellite club with similar working-class roots, remains fierce and deeply felt. These are matches where bragging rights in the southern suburbs of Madrid are very much at stake. Leganés have continued to push for a return to the top flight, and their fanbase has never wavered. The story of Los Pepineros is far from over.

Given their relatively brief time in La Liga, Leganés may not boast the galaxy of superstars that their Madrid neighbours attract, but the players who have worn the blue and white have done so with tremendous heart and technical quality. Martin Braithwaite, the Danish forward who would later play for Barcelona, spent time developing his game during Leganés' La Liga years and became one of the most recognisable faces associated with the club. His goals and energy during those competitive top-flight campaigns endeared him to the Butarque faithful.

Nabil El Zhar, the Moroccan midfielder, was a key figure during the club's historic promotion push and early La Liga campaigns, providing creativity and stability in midfield. Goalkeeper Pichu Cuéllar was another fan favourite, a commanding presence between the posts whose performances were crucial in keeping Leganés competitive against far wealthier opponents.

Asier Garitano deserves special mention not merely as a manager but as an architect of a club's identity. His tactical discipline and ability to forge a collective spirit from a squad of players most La Liga sides had overlooked was genuinely extraordinary. He understood that Leganés could not out-spend their rivals, so they would out-work and out-organise them instead.

Oscar Rodriguez, on loan from Real Madrid, dazzled during his time at Butarque, showcasing the kind of technical brilliance that reminded fans how good football can look even when resources are limited. These are the names that colour the pages of Leganés history – not always household names, but players who gave everything for the shirt.

The Leganés retro shirt universe is centred on the club's classic blue and white stripes – a design that is immediately recognisable and deeply rooted in the club's identity. In the decades before their La Liga rise, Leganés kits were produced by smaller Spanish manufacturers and often carried a simple, no-frills aesthetic that perfectly matched the club's unpretentious character. These early shirts, relatively rare today, are genuine collector's pieces precisely because of their scarcity and their connection to the long, patient years before glory arrived.

The La Liga era brought with it more prominent kit deals and the kind of commercial attention that comes with top-flight status. The home shirts of the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons – those first intoxicating years in the top flight – are among the most sought-after in the club's catalogue. The vertical blue and white stripes remained the constant, a visual statement of identity that remained untouched even as sponsors and manufacturers changed.

The away and third kits from the La Liga years offered interesting variations, sometimes featuring darker blues or bold contrasting designs that stood out on grounds across Spain. The retro Leganes shirt collector who focuses on the Copa del Rey semi-final season of 2018-19 is chasing something particularly special – a kit worn during one of the most stunning cup runs in recent Spanish football memory.