Elche CF

Elche

Full name	Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D.
Nickname(s)	Los Franjiverdes (The Green-striped ones) Los Ilicitanos (The Ones from Elche)
Founded	1923 (1923)
Ground	Martínez Valero, Elche, Valencia, Spain
Ground Capacity	36,017
Chairman	Juan Serrano
Manager	Rubén Baraja
League	Segunda División
2014–15	La Liga, 13th (relegated)
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. (Valencian: Elx Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), is a Spanish football team based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1923 ,the club currently plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, with a capacity of 36,017 seats.

Founded in 1923 as the result of a merger between all of the town's clubs, Elche entered the league system in 1929, reaching Segunda División in 1934 and La Liga in 1959, finishing fifth in the latter tournament in 1963–64. It was runner-up in the Copa del Rey in 1969. They were relegated at the end of the 2014–15 season due to unpaid tax debts.

History

Foundation and early years

Elche Club de Fútbol was founded in the summer of 1923, after the merger of all of the town's football teams. The club's first-ever game was againstMonóvar ,where they beat the home team 4–0, and its first official match was a 2–0 win over Crevillente Deportivo. The team played its first league season in 1929–30, in Tercera División, achieving promotion to Segunda División in 1934; it suffered relegation for the first time six years later, but promoted back the following season.

In the late 1950s, Elche achieved two consecutive promotions from the third level to La Liga, securing its first promotion to the latter competition with a 3–0 success against CD Tenerife in 1959.

1959–78: La Liga

Elche opened its first season in the top level with a 1–1 draw against Real Oviedo, the first goal being scored by Vicente Pahuet. The club finished tenth out of 16 sides, nine points ahead of relegated CA Osasuna – the campaign included a 2–1 comeback home victory over FC Barcelona, but also a 2–11 loss at Real Madrid. The following season saw the team having to compete in the relegation/promotion play-off, where it overcame a 0–1 loss in the away leg against Atlético Ceuta with a 4–0 home victory.

Elche achieved their best-ever league finish in 1963–64, ranking in fifth position. The season also saw the club's reserve team, Elche Ilicitano, promote to Segunda División.

In 1969 the club reached their first and only Copa del Rey final, following victories over Pontevedra CF, Valencia CF and Real Sociedad. The semi-final against the latter was won 2–0 in a replay in neutral Madrid, as the tie had finished 4–4 on aggregate; the final, played on 15 June at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the same city, brought a 0–1 loss to Athletic Bilbao.

After twelve seasons Elche was relegated to division two in 1971, having finished second from bottom. Two years later the team returned to the main category, as champions. Its second spell in the top flight lasted five seasons, often immerse in relegation fights as the best campaign (1974–75) ended with the club in eighth position; at the end of 1977–78 the side returned to the second division after finishing 17th out of 18 clubs, the last game being a 4–4 draw with Atlético Madrid, which was led 2–4 with five minutes remaining.

80s and 90s: severe financial crisis

After the relegation in 1978 Elche suffered. Although on paper they had a good team they never managed to gain promotion to the top flight – in fact, in the first five years since their return to the second level, they were fourth on three occasions and fifth on two (and on a further two, even on points with the third-placed team but with a worse goal difference), often losing the chance of promotion on the last matchday. Especially traumatic was the finish of the 1980–81 season: with one game remaining, they were second two points ahead of Rayo Vallecano and Racing de Santander, only needing a draw against Cádiz CF at the Martínez Valero; the game ended however in a loss, and Elche finished with 45 points alongside CD Castellón, Cádiz, Racing and Rayo.

A promotion finally occurred at the end of 1983–84, even though Elche only finished fifth in the regular season – the first two positions were occupied by Real Madrid Castilla and Athletic Bilbao B, who could not promote as reserve sides. The whole of the top division campaign was spent in the relegation zone, and relegation consequently befell as 17th. In 1988 they were promoted again for another cameo appearance, as the side went on to finish dead last with eighteen points, dropping down a category alongside Real Murcia, who they trailed by nine points; the last match for years in the category was a 1–3 away loss against Real Zaragoza, the goal coming courtesy of Alfonso Fernández.

After the relegation in 1989, Elche started to suffer heavily in the financial department, and relegated to Segunda División B – the new third level created in 1977 – at the end of 1990–91. During the better part of the 1990s the club reached the second division promotion playoffs, only to consecutively fall short.

In 1997 Elche finally managed to return to division two, being immediately relegated back but gaining another promotion subsequently.

2010s: return to the top flight

In 2010–11, again in the "silver category", the team finished fourth and thus qualified for the playoffs: after disposing of Real Valladolid in the first round (3–2 on aggregate) the dream of top flight promotion ended at the hands of Granada CF, on the away goals rule.

On 18 May 2013, following FC Barcelona B and AD Alcorcón's 1–1 draw, Elche was automatically promoted to the top level, returning to the competition after 24 years. In the meantime the team coached by Fran Escribá had broken a number of Segunda División records, being the only team to date able to lead the competition from the very first until the last match of the season, setting in the process a new record of both matches won and points scored to date as well as the best first round in the history of Segunda's championship.

During the 2013–14 season, the team managed to keep in the top competition, with an average attendance to home matches estimated at 25,104 people.

In the 2014-15 season, despite managing once again to keep in the top flight (the team was already safe from relegation four dates before the end of the competition) Elche became the first team ever in the history of the Spanish Primera División being relegated to Segunda following new regulations by the Spanish football league limiting excess debt and economic mismanagement.

Seasons

Recent seasons

Season		Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P
2002–03	2D	16	42	12	14	16	49	52	50
2003–04	2D	14	42	13	11	18	50	63	50
2004–05	2D	10	42	16	9	17	51	52	57
2005–06	2D	14	42	13	14	15	47	54	53
2006–07	2D	11	42	16	10	16	47	46	58
2007–08	2D	10	42	14	12	16	44	50	54
2008–09	2D	12	42	13	14	15	52	50	53
2009–10	2D	6	42	18	9	15	67	57	63
2010–11	2D	4	42	18	15	9	55	42	69
2011–12	2D	11	42	17	6	19	56	58	57
2012–13	2D	1	42	23	13	6	54	27	82
2013–14	1D	16	38	9	13	16	30	50	40
2014–15	1D	13	38	11	8	19	35	62	41

Season to season

• As Elche Football Club

Season Division Place Copa del Rey 1929–30 3ª 2nd Did Not Play 1931–32 3ª 5th DNP 1932–33 3ª 2nd DNP 1933–34 3ª 2nd DNP 1934–35 2ª 4th 6th round 1935–36 2ª 8th 1st round 1939–40 2ª 7th DNP

• As Elche Club de Fútbol

Season Division Place Copa del Rey 1940–41 3ª 1st 2nd round 1941–42 2ª 6th 1st round 1942–43 2ª 6th DNP 1943–44 3ª 1st DNP 1944–45 3ª 1st DNP 1945–46 3ª 2nd DNP 1946–47 3ª 2nd DNP 1947–48 3ª 1st 3rd round 1948–49 3ª 2nd 2nd round 1949–50 2ª 14th 1st round 1950–51 3ª 6th DNP 1951–52 3ª 13th DNP 1952–53 3ª 16th DNP 1953–54 3ª 3rd DNP 1954–55 3ª 1st DNP 1955–56 3ª 3rd DNP 1956–57 3ª 1st DNP 1957–58 3ª 1st DNP 1958–59 2ª 1st Round of 32 1959–60 1ª 10th Semifinals

Season Division Place Copa del Rey 1960–61 1ª 14th Round of 32 1961–62 1ª 8th Round of 16 1962–63 1ª 8th Round of 16 1963–64 1ª 5th Round of 32 1964–65 1ª 8th Round of 32 1965–66 1ª 6th Quarterfinals 1966–67 1ª 9th Semifinals 1967–68 1ª 11th Quarterfinals 1968–69 1ª 9th Runner-up 1969–70 1ª 11th Round of 32 1970–71 1ª 15th Round of 16 1971–72 2ª 4th 4th round 1972–73 2ª 2nd 4th round 1973–74 1ª 14th Round of 32 1974–75 1ª 8th 4th round 1975–76 1ª 15th Round of 32 1976–77 1ª 11th Round of 16 1977–78 1ª 17th 3rd round 1978–79 2ª 5th Round of 16 1979–80 2ª 4th 5th round

Season Division Place Copa del Rey 1980–81 2ª 4th 3rd round 1981–82 2ª 4th Round of 16 1982–83 2ª 7th 3rd round 1983–84 2ª 5th 2nd round 1984–85 1ª 17th 2nd round 1985–86 2ª 4th 2nd round 1986–87 2ª 4th 1st round 1987–88 2ª 2nd Round of 32 1988–89 1ª 20th Round of 32 1989–90 2ª 14th 2nd round 1990–91 2ª 17th Round of 16 1991–92 2ªB 4th 2nd round 1992–93 2ªB 3rd 2nd round 1993–94 2ªB 12th 4th round 1994–95 2ªB 6th 1st round 1995–96 2ªB 3rd 1st round 1996–97 2ªB 2nd 1st round 1997–98 2ª 19th 2nd round 1998–99 2ªB 3rd 2nd round 1999–00 2ª 15th Prelim. round

Season Division Place Copa del Rey 2000–01 2ª 18th Round of 64 2001–02 2ª 5th Round of 64 2002–03 2ª 16th Round of 64 2003–04 2ª 14th Round of 64 2004–05 2ª 10th Round of 16 2005–06 2ª 14th 1st round 2006–07 2ª 10th 3rd round 2007–08 2ª 10th Round of 32 2008–09 2ª 12th Round of 32 2009–10 2ª 6th 2nd round 2010–11 2ª 4th 3rd round 2011–12 2ª 11th 3rd round 2012–13 2ª 1st 2nd round 2013–14 1ª 16th Round of 32 2014–15 1ª 13th Round of 16 2015–16 2ª - 2nd round

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• 21 seasons in La Liga
• 36 seasons in Segunda División
• 7 seasons in Segunda División B
• 19 seasons in Tercera División

Current squad

As of 1 February 2016

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Pol Freixanet 2 DF Javi Noblejas 3 DF Álex Martínez (on loan from Betis) 4 DF Hugo Álvarez 5 DF Armando Lozano 6 MF Mandi 7 MF Álex Moreno (on loan from Rayo Vallecano) 8 MF Pelayo 9 FW Sergio León 10 FW Álvaro Giménez 11 FW Héctor Hernández (on loan from Atlético Madrid) 14 DF José Ángel Alonso

No. Position Player 15 MF Álex Felip 16 MF Franco Cristaldo (on loan from Boca Juniors) 17 MF Eldin Hadžić 18 FW Nikos Vergos (on loan from Olympiacos) 19 MF Ilie Sánchez (on loan from 1860 München) 20 MF Javier Espinosa (on loan from Villarreal) 21 DF José Isidoro 22 FW Hugo Fraile 24 MF Lolo 25 GK Javi Jiménez 28 DF José Antonio Caro (on loan from Betis) 29 DF Maximiliano Amondarain

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — DF Cifu (on loan at Málaga) — DF Jordi Hostench (on loan at Murcia) — MF Michael Anaba (on loan at Alcoyano) — MF Nono (on loan at UCAM Murcia)

No. Position Player — MF Samu Martínez (on loan at Reus) — MF Víctor Rodríguez (on loan at Getafe) — FW Liberto Beltrán (on loan at Alcoyano)

Honours

• Segunda División: 1958–59, 2012–13
• Copa del Rey: Runner-up 1969

International players

Marc Bernaus Juan Carlos Heredia Marcelo Trobbiani Fernand Goyvaerts Mazinho Garry Rodrigues Mario Pašalić Tommy Christensen Nicki Bille Nielsen Rodolfo Bodipo Iván Bolado Richmond Boakye Wakaso José Cardona

Gilberto Yearwood Balázs Molnár Moha Benedict Iroha Jan Berg Roberto Acuña Florencio Amarilla José Aveiro Juan Casco Ramón Hicks Cayetano Ré Derlis Soto Germán Leguía Juan Carlos Oblitas

Tomasz Frankowski Antoni Łukasiewicz Przemysław Tytoń Silas Ioan Andone Cristian Săpunaru Dennis Şerban Albert Nadj Saša Petrović Juan Manuel Asensi Rubén Cano Santiago Cañizares Carlos Muñoz Javi Navarro

Jorge Otero Marcial Pina César Rodríguez Hilario Eulogio Martínez Fabián Coelho Dagoberto Moll Mario Saralegui Tabaré Silva Juan Carlos Socorro Goran Đorović

see also Category:Elche CF footballers

Coaches

• César (1959–June 30, 1960)
• Antonio Barrios (July 1, 1960–Feb 6, 1961)
• Otto Bumbel (1962–63)
• Heriberto Herrera (July 1, 1963 – June 30, 1964)
• Rosendo Hernández (1964)
• Martim Francisco (1964–65)
• Otto Bumbel (1965–67)
• Alfredo Di Stéfano (July 1, 1967–Jan 8, 1968)
• Ferdinand Daučík (1968)
• Roque Máspoli (July 1, 1968–Dec 31, 1969)
• Salvador Artigas (1970)
• Otto Bumbel (1970–71)
• Roque Olsen (1971–74)
• Néstor Rossi (1974–75)
• Marcel Domingo (1975–76)
• Felipe Mesones (1976–77)
• Roque Olsen (1977–78)

• Heriberto Herrera (July 1, 1978 – June 30, 1979)
• Arsenio Iglesias (1979–80)
• Héctor Rial (1980)
• Felipe Mesones (1981–82)
• Luis Cid (1982–83)
• Cayetano Ré (1983–84)
• Antonio Ruiz (1984)
• Roque Olsen (1984–85)
• Delfín Álvarez (1986–87)
• Felipe Mesones (1987–88)
• László Kubala (1988–89)
• Luis Costa (1989)
• Tomeu Llompart (1991–92)
• Julián Rubio (July 1, 1993 – June 30, 1994)
• Quique Hernández (July 19, 1994 – June 30, 1995)
• Felipe Mesones (1995–96), (2000)
• Fabri (1996)

• Marcial (1996–97)
• Delfín Álvarez (1997–98)
• Jorge D'Alessandro (Jan 25, 2000–June 30, 2000)
• Marcial (2000)
• Jorge D'Alessandro (Dec 21, 2000–April 16, 2001)
• Marcial (2001)
• Julián Rubio (July 1, 2001 – June 30, 2003)
• Carlos García Cantarero (2003)
• Oscar Ruggeri (Dec 22, 2003–May 16, 2004)
• Josu Uribe (2004–06)
• Julián Rubio (2006)
• Luis García (July 1, 2006 – June 30, 2007)
• David Vidal (Jan 12, 2007–Oct 12, 2008)
• Claudio Barragán (Oct 12, 2008–Oct 4, 2009)
• José Bordalás (Oct 5, 2009–April 8, 2012)
• César Ferrando (April 10, 2012 – June 30, 2012)
• Fran Escribá (July 1, 2012 – June 26, 2015)
• Rubén Baraja (July 12, 2015–)

see also Category:Elche CF managers

Reserve team

Elche's reserve team, Elche CF Ilicitano, was founded in 1932. It managed to spend two seasons in the second division, when the main squad was in the top flight.

See also

• Trofeo Festa d'Elx

External links

• Official website (Spanish)
• Futbolme team profile (Spanish)
• BDFutbol team profile
• Elche CF on Facebook
• Elche CF on Twitter