Albacete Balompié is a

Spanish football team The Spain national football team ( es, Selección Española de Fútbol) has represented Spain in international men's football competitions since 1920. It is governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football i ...

based in

Albacete Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the ...

, in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Founded on 2 August 1940, it currently plays in Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish football, holding home matches at '' Estadio Carlos Belmonte'', with a capacity of 17,524.

History

This team is from Albacete a city in Castilla-La Mancha. It's been reported in at least three sources that football was first taught in

by John Hulse, an English Engineer of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railways Company, establishing the foundation of

Locomotoras Albacete The Locomotoras Albacete was a steam locomotive manufacturing company established in the 19th century in the Albacete, Spain. It is best known for its football team, Locomotoras Albacete Balón-Pie, who played a pivotal pioneering role in the amat ...

, after the same-named steam locomotive factory in the city, owned by the Goicoechea family, owners of Talgo. Thus, like in Swindon, football in Albacete is originally linked to the railway industry. Hulse introduced the Sheffield Rules in Albacete, and some of the first matches to be reported are against recreational clubs from

Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the List of municipalities of Spain, seventh largest city in the country. It has a ...

(1897), Alcázar de San Juan (1899), and Villarrobledo (1899). After years of amateur and regional development of football, it would not appear formally until the end of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

. The club was founded in 1940 under the name Albacete Foot-ball Association, being later changed in an attempt to make it sound "more Spanish". At the second division in 1985–86, repeating the feat five seasons later. In 1989, Benito Floro consecutively promoted the club from the third division to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

, overachieving for a seventh place in the first season in the top level. Floro would later coach Real Madrid, returning to ''Alba'' two seasons later as the club was relegated in 1995–96. After years in the second division facing serious economic and sporting difficulties, Albacete returned to the top flight in the 2002–03 campaign, led by César Ferrando (later of Atlético Madrid). However, Albacete dropped in 2004–05 after posting just 6 wins from 38 matches, going on to stabilize in the subsequent seasons in the second level. The 2010–11 season brought two coaching changes, with both

Antonio Calderón Antonio Calderón Burgos (born 2 June 1967) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, currently a caretaker manager Challenger Pro League club of Deinze. Over eight seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 215 games a ...

and David Vidal (who returned to the club only a few months after leaving) being fired, as Albacete returned to the third division after 21 years. That season the club finished last in Segunda División with only 32 points in 42 matches. On 6 December 2011, Andrés Iniesta – who played for the club in his youth before joining

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

– became the club's major shareholder, donating €420,000 to the cash-strapped club. The club managed to reach the round of 16 of the 2011–12 Copa del Rey, notably beating Atlético Madrid 3–1 on aggregate. In March 2013, Agustín Lázaro, chief executive officer (CEO) of Andrés Iniesta's winery enterprise, was appointed as Albacete's chairman. In June, Iniesta loaned the club a further €240,000 to cover unpaid wages, thus preventing its administrative relegation to the fourth tier. In 2014, Albacete returned to the Segunda División, but was relegated two seasons later after finishing the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

in the 21st position. The club again returned to the Segunda División in the 2016–17 season after winning against

Valencia Mestalla Valencia Club de Fútbol Mestalla, shortened to Valencia Mestalla, is the reserve team of Valencia CF, a Spanish football club based in Valencia, in the namesake community. Founded in 1944, and currently plays in Segunda Federación – Group ...

in the last round of the promotion play-offs. Albacete finished the 2018–19 season in 4th position of the Segunda División, but then lost to RCD Mallorca in the La Liga play-offs and remained in Segunda División for the 2019–20 season. On next season, Albacete finished last in second division and we're relegated to the third division. Thus ending their four-years stay in the second division. Albacete promoted to Segunda in the 2021–22 Primera RFEF season playoffs, by defeating Deportivo de La Coruña in their home turf. The team came back from a 1–0 deficit, winning 1–2 with an overtime goal.

Seasons

Season to season

---- *7 seasons in

*25 seasons in Segunda División *1 season in Primera División RFEF *11 seasons in

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Fo ...

*29 seasons in

Tercera División Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segunda División'', and the semi-professional ''Segunda Di ...

*9 seasons in Categorías Regionales

Current squad

''The numbers are established according to the official website

an
www.lfp.es
'

Reserve team

Out on loan

Current technical staff

Honours

* Segunda División: (1) 1990–91 *

: (2) 1989–90, 2013–14, 2016–17 *

: (8) 1945–46, 1946–47, 1948–49, 1958–59, 1960–61, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1981–82 *

promotion: (2) 1990–91, 2002–03 * Segunda División promotion: (2) 1984–85, 1989–90

Stadium

The club plays its home matches at the Estadio Carlos Belmonte, which has an all-seated capacity of 17,524. Originally built in 1960, the stadium underwent two major redevelopments, the last being in 1998.

International players

Óscar Dertycia Oscar Alberto Dertycia Álvarez (born 3 March 1965) is an Argentine retired footballer who played as a striker, who later worked as a manager. Club career Born in Córdoba, Córdoba Province, Dertycia started playing professionally with homet ...

Carlos Roa Carlos Ángel Roa (born 15 August 1969) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He is the current goalkeeper coach of Super League Greece, Greek Super Lea ...

Andy Bernal Andrew Bernal (born Andrés Bernal; 16 May 1966 in Canberra, Australia) is a former professional football defender, and later football agent and personal manager for David Beckham. In 2021 he wrote and released his autobiography Riding Shotgun � ...

* Vali Gasimov * Ronny Gaspercic * Marco Etcheverry * Zago *

Ivaylo Andonov Ivaylo Viktorov Andonov ( bg, Ивайло Викторов Андонов; born 14 August 1967) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Football career After beginning professionally with hometown's PFC Pirin Bl ...

* Albert Meyong * Mark González * Danny Carvajal *

Luis Conejo Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...

* Keylor Navas * Nenad Bjelica * Ivan Jurić *

Trésor Kandol Trésor Osmar Kandol (born 30 August 1981) is a Congolese international footballer who plays as a striker for Crawley Wanderers FC. He previously played for Isthmian League Premier Division side Hampton & Richmond Borough, as well as for Barn ...

* Javier Balboa *

Rachid Rokki Rachid Rokki ( ar, رشيد روكي) (born 8 November 1974) is a former Moroccan footballer. Career During his career he played for clubs such as Spanish side Sevilla and Albacete Balompié Albacete Balompié is a Spanish football team ...

* Moussa Yahaya *

Abass Lawal Abass Muyiwa Lawal (born 13 September 1980) is a Nigerian footballer who played mainly as a right winger. He spent nearly one full decade in Spain, amassing league totals of 127 games and 14 goals for six clubs (only six matches in La Liga). He ...

* Rommel Fernández *

Nelson Cuevas Nelson Rafael Cuevas Amarilla (; born 10 January 1980) is a Paraguayan former footballer and current singer. He represented the Paraguay national football team at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups and the 1999 and 2007 Copa América tourna ...

* Andrés Iniesta * Fernando Morientes *

Cătălin Munteanu Cătălin Munteanu (born 26 January 1979) is a Romanian former professional association football, footballer who played as a central midfielder. Club career Cătălin Munteanu, nicknamed "Cap de Zmeu" ''(Head of Zmeu)'' was born on 26 January 1 ...

Roman Zozulya Roman Vyacheslavovych Zozulya ( uk, Роман В'ячеславович Зозуля, born 17 November 1989) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Spanish club Rayo Majadahonda. He played in the Ukrainian Premier ...

Joe Bizera Joe Émerson Bizera Bastos (born 17 May 1980 in Artigas, Uruguay, Artigas) is a Uruguayan former football player, who last played for Liverpool F.C. (Montevideo), Liverpool Montevideo. Bizera played for Cagliari Calcio, Cagliari in Italy. In Janu ...

* Darío Delgado *

Nicolás Olivera Andrés Nicolás "Nico" Olivera Olivera (born 30 May 1978) is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as a forward. He started and finished his 20-year professional career with Defensor, going on to collect 500 league appearances mainly in t ...

* Antonio Pacheco *

Horacio Peralta Walter Horacio Peralta Saracho (born 3 June 1982) is a Uruguayan football striker currently playing for Deportivo Maldonado in Uruguay. Career After beginning his professional football career with local side Danubio F.C., Peralta has had a jou ...

José Luis Zalazar José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

Famous coaches

* Dagoberto Moll (1960–61) * Enrique Orizaola (1976–78) * Máximo Hernández (1979–80) * Ignacio Bergara (1981–84) * Julián Rubio (1984–85) * Pachín (1985–86) *

Pepe Carcelén José Ródenas Carcelén (born 29 April 1955) is a Spanish retired goalkeeper who later worked as a manager. As a player, he represented his hometown club, Albacete Balompié, and later began his managerial career with them in 1988. He spent two ...

(1988–89) * Julián Rubio (1989) * Benito Floro (1989–92) * Julián Rubio (1992) * Ginés Meléndez ''(interim)'' (1992) *

Víctor Espárrago Víctor Rodolfo Espárrago Videla (born 6 October 1944 in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan football coach and former midfielder. International career He was capped 67 times for the national team between 1966 and 1974. His playing career highlig ...

(1992–94) * Luis Suárez (1994) * Ginés Meléndez ''(interim)'' (1994) * Benito Floro (1994–96) *

Iñaki Sáez José Ignacio "Iñaki" Sáez Ruiz (born 23 April 1943) is a Spanish former football player and manager. A defender, he spent the vast majority of his professional career with Athletic Bilbao, which he later also coached in various levels, ap ...

(1996) * Manolo Jiménez (1996) * Mariano García Remón (1996–97) *

Luis Sánchez Duque Luis Sánchez Duque (born 13 November 1956) is a Spanish football manager. Manager career Born in Getafe, Madrid, Sánchez Duque began his managerial career with Getafe CF in 1993, after already representing the club's predecessor as a player ...

(1997) * Ginés Meléndez (1998) * Luigi Maifredi (1998–99) * Julián Rubio (1999–01) *

Paco Herrera Francisco "Paco" Herrera Lorenzo (born 2 December 1953) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder, and is a manager. His managerial career of over a quarter of a century was spent mostly in Segunda División, where he led ...

(2001–02) *

César Ferrando César Ferrando Jiménez (born 25 July 1959) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a midfielder, currently a manager. Playing career Born in Tavernes de la Valldigna, Valencian Community, Ferrando started his professional career with loc ...

(2002–04) * José González (2004–05) *

(2005–07) * Quique Hernández (2007–08) * Máximo Hernández (2008) *

Juan Ignacio Martínez Juan Ignacio Martínez Jiménez (; born 23 June 1964), is a Spanish football coach and former player, who played as a left back, and is a current head coach. Playing career Martínez was born in Alicante. After playing youth football for both ...

(2008–09) * Máximo Hernández (2009) * José Murcia (2009) * Julián Rubio (2009–10) * David Vidal (2010) *

(2010–11) * David Vidal (2011) * Mario Simón (2011) * Antonio Gómez (2011–13) * Luis César (2013–16) *

(2016) *

José Manuel Aira José Manuel Aira Lindoso (born 14 March 1976) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a centre-back, currently manager of Deportivo Alavés B. Having made two La Liga appearances for Deportivo de La Coruña, he spent most of his play ...

(2016–17) * Enrique Martín Monreal (2017–18) * Luis Miguel Ramis (2018–20) *

Lucas Alcaraz Luis Lucas Alcaraz González (born 21 June 1966) is a Spanish retired footballer, currently manager of UD Ibiza. In a managerial career of over two decades, he competed in ten La Liga seasons at the helm of Recreativo, Racing de Santander, ...

(2020) * Aritz López Garai (2020–)

References

External links

Official website

Futbolme team profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albacete Football clubs in Castilla–La Mancha Association football clubs established in 1940 1940 establishments in Spain Segunda División clubs Railway association football teams La Liga clubs Primera Federación clubs Sport in Albacete Football clubs in Spain