CD Numancia Logo

Numancia was named after the ancient Celtiberian town of Numantia, near where Soria would be later founded. Having spent a long time in the Tercera División, the club made consistent progress, reaching the first division on three occasions: 1999, 2004 and 2008.

The club became first widely known in Spain in 1995–96, while still playing at the third level, for its extraordinary run in the Spanish Cup, eliminating three top flight clubs (Real Sociedad, Racing de Santander and Sporting de Gijón) and only being knocked out in the quarter-finals by Barcelona, after Numancia drew in the first leg and took the lead in the second.

Following a 1–3 loss at Sporting de Gijón on 2 November 2008, Numancia had conceded a total of 200 goals in the top division in slightly more than three seasons, reaching 44th in the all-time list. It battled bravely against relegation, but eventually returned to level two after just one year, as second from bottom, even though the season had started on a high note with a 1–0 home win against eventual champions Barcelona.