Jon Moncayola has been a regular at El Sadar Stadium since he was three years old and is now living out his dream of playing for his boyhood team, Osasuna, after signing a decade-long contract in 2021. Navarros possess a “fighting spirit, of never giving in” and Osasuna supporters have a legitimate claim to being the most passionate in the division. They are certainly the loudest, recording a Spanish-record 115.17-decibel roar inside a raucous El Sadar as they beat Real Madrid on the final day of the 2008-09 season to avoid relegation. More recently, as one of four member-owned clubs in La Liga, the socios voted to renovate a ground that claims to be the league’s highest-attended venue by percentage of its 23,516 capacity.
Osasuna will face Real Madrid in Seville on Saturday in just their second Copa del Rey final appearance, looking for a first major trophy. In Moncayola’s lifetime, he has seen Osasuna almost reach the Champions League but also narrowly avoid relegation to the third tier amid spiralling club debt. This is their fourth successive season in La Liga and they are currently five points off a European spot with five games to play.
The man tasked with delivering stars of tomorrow is club legend Patxi Punal, another Navarro who began following the side “as a toddler when I didn’t even have teeth yet” and went on to play 513 times in a Los Rojillos jersey. Punal sees the low point of 2014-15 as the platform for which Osasuna’s success is now built, earning promotion to the top flight in 2017 and restoring that place two years later. He believes Osasuna offer the best path for players from the region into first-team football, providing them with a clearly defined education strategy that includes academic, human and psychological aspects.
On Saturday, when Osasuna chase history against Real Madrid, there will likely be another young Navarro roaring in the crowd, ready to replicate heroes Moncayola and Punal when their time comes. There’s a job waiting at the Navarra tourist board when Jon Moncayola hangs up his boots, but for now he will be looking to provide a ferocious backing for his side against Real Madrid in Seville.