UD Almería

Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. (Spanish pronunciation: [uˈnjon depoɾˈtiβ(a) almeˈɾi.a]) is a Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as Almería Club de Fútbol until 2001, when it was renamed Unión Deportiva Almería.[2] The club currently plays in the Spanish Primera División after winning the Segunda División title in 2022, and plays their home games at the 15,274-seat capacity Power Horse Stadium.[3][4]

Almería
Full nameUnión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D.
Nickname(s)Rojiblancos
La Unión
Almeriensistas
UDA
Indálicos
Founded26 July 1989 (1989-07-26) as Almería Club de Fútbol
GroundPower Horse Stadium
Capacity15,274[1]
OwnerTurki Al-Sheikh
PresidentTurki Al-Sheikh
Head coachRubi
LeagueLa Liga
2021–22Segunda División, 1st of 22 (promoted)
WebsiteClub website
Away colours
Third colours

History

The first football club in Almería was founded in 1909: el Almería Foot-Ball Club.[5] Since then, several Almería football clubs appeared and disappeared. One of them was AD Almería, a team that played in La Liga between 1979–81, but disappeared in 1982, and was arguably UD Almería's predecessor.

In 1989, a club named Almería Club de Fútbol was born, but in 2001 was renamed Unión Deportiva Almería. On 19 January 2001 the mayor of Almería Santiago Martínez Cabrejas announced in the city council that the new club UD Almería had been formed after the merger of two city teams - Polideportivo Almería and Almería CF.[6] But UD Almería was not official until June 28, 2001, when Almería CF approved at the General Meeting of Shareholders the renaming.[6] After playing one season in the second division, it was relegated to the third and the fourth divisions.

After spending several seasons in the second level, Almería side was first promoted to the top flight after finishing runner-up in the 2006–07 season. After some outstanding performances, as the away win against Deportivo de La Coruña 3–0 in the first La Liga match, the team achieved a final 8th league place in 2007–08.[6] At the club's helm was coach Unai Emery, as striker Álvaro Negredo finished team topscorer with 13 goals.

UD Almería players facing Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo in 2011

After Emery left for Valencia CF, Gonzalo Arconada stepped in,[7] but was sacked on 21 December 2008, after a string of poor results, albeit without ever reaching the last three.[8] Mexican Hugo Sánchez took the job, and fared slightly better, for a final mid-table position.

In 2010–11, Almería reached the semifinals of the Copa del Rey for the first time ever.[6] In the league, however, the club was finally relegated after a four-year spell in the top flight; in November 2010, coach Juan Manuel Lillo was fired after a 0–8 home loss against FC Barcelona (precisely the team that ousted the Andalusians in the domestic cup's last-four, with the same score, but on aggregate),[9][10] and his successor José Luis Oltra met the same fate,[11] in April 2011.[12] He was replaced by Roberto Olabe.[13]

After two seasons in the second level, Almería returned to the main category of Spanish football on 22 June 2013, after defeating Girona FC in the play-offs. After the departure of manager Javi Gracia, the club appointed their former player and manager of the reserves at the time Francisco Javier Rodríguez Vílchez;[14] the team eventually managed to survive in 2013–14, finishing 16th.[15][16]

Francisco was sacked in December 2014, after only managing two points out of 24,[17] and was later replaced by Juan Ignacio Martínez.[18] "JIM" also only lasted until April of the following year,[19] and even with new manager Sergi Barjuán,[20] the club was relegated after finishing 19th.[21][22]

In the 2018–19 season, Almería finally escaped the tough fight for the permanence in Segunda División until the last matches as during 3 previous seasons. This time they were closer to the promotion play-offs to La Liga, and finished 10th from 22 teams participated.[23]

Turki Al-Sheikh during a press conference in 2019

On 2 August 2019, Turki Al-Sheikh became the owner of the club, replacing Alfonso García Gabarrón.[24] He appointed Mohamed El Assy as general director,[25] Dario Drudi as sporting director, who replaced Miguel Ángel Corona,[26] and manager Óscar Fernández was replaced by Pedro Emanuel.[27] On 5 November 2019, it was announced Guti replaced Emanuel.[28] On 26 June 2020, he was ceased and replaced by Mario Silva,[29][30] who was himself replaced by José Gomes on 27 July.

In August 2021, UD Almería (Mohamed El Assy) and the Ayuntamiento de Almería (Ramón Fernández-Pacheco Monterreal) agreed on the leisure of the operation of the municipally-owned Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos for a 25-year period.[31] In June 2022, the club achieved promoted to first division by sealing a 1st position in the table, respectively, on the very last match day of the season, after spending seven years in second tier.

Season to season
Season Level Division Place Copa del Rey
1989–90 5 Reg. Pref. 1st
1990–91 5 Reg. Pref. 3rd
1991–92 5 Reg. Pref. 2nd
1992–93 4 3ª 2nd
1993–94 3 2ª B 11th Fourth round
1994–95 3 2ª B 2nd Second round
1995–96 2 2ª 16th Second round
1996–97 2 2ª 17th Second round
1997–98 3 2ª B 7th First round
1998–99 3 2ª B 18th
1999–2000 4 3ª 4th
2000–01 3 2ª B 11th
2001–02 3 2ª B 3rd
2002–03 2 2ª 18th Round of 32
2003–04 2 2ª 13th Round of 32
2004–05 2 2ª 14th Second round
2005–06 2 2ª 6th First round
2006–07 2 2ª 2nd Third round
2007–08 1 1ª 8th Round of 32
2008–09 1 1ª 11th Round of 16
Season Level Division Place Copa del Rey
2009–10 1 1ª 13th Round of 32
2010–11 1 1ª 20th Semi-finals
2011–12 2 2ª 7th Round of 32
2012–13 2 2ª 3rd Round of 32
2013–14 1 1ª 17th Round of 16
2014–15 1 1ª 19th Round of 16
2015–16 2 2ª 18th Round of 32
2016–17 2 2ª 15th Second round
2017–18 2 2ª 18th Second round
2018–19 2 2ª 10th Round of 32
2019–20 2 2ª 4th First round
2020–21 2 2ª 4th Quarter-finals
2021–22 2 2ª 1st Round of 32
2022–23 1 1ª

Current squad
As of 1 September 2022.[32]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  ESP Fernando Pacheco
2 DF  BRA Kaiky
3 MF  ESP Gonzalo Melero
4 MF  ESP Íñigo Eguaras
5 MF  ARG Lucas Robertone
6 MF  ESP César de la Hoz (captain)
7 MF  BEL Largie Ramazani
8 MF  ESP Francisco Portillo
9 FW  MLI El Bilal Touré
10 MF  ESP Adri Embarba
11 FW  POR Dyego Sousa
12 FW  BRA Léo Baptistão
13 GK  ESP Fernando Martínez
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF  BRA Lázaro
15 DF  ESP Sergio Akieme
16 FW  SRB Marko Milovanović
17 MF  ESP Alejandro Pozo
18 MF  ESP Arnau Puigmal
19 DF  BRA Rodrigo Ely
20 DF  ESP Álex Centelles
21 DF  ESP Chumi
22 DF  SRB Srđan Babić (vice-captain)
23 MF  POR Samú Costa
24 DF  GNB Houboulang Mendes
25 GK  ESP Diego Fuoli

Reserve team

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
26 MF  SVK Martin Šviderský
28 MF  POR Gui Guedes
No. Pos. Nation Player
33 FW  ESP Carlos Rojas

Other players under contract

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF  ESP Iván Martos
— DF  ESP Juanjo Nieto

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF  SRB Nikola Maraš (at Alavés until 30 June 2023)
— DF  ESP Arnau Solà (at Murcia until 30 June 2023)
— MF  ESP Dani Albiar (at Cartagena B until 30 June 2023)
— MF  ESP Javi Robles (at Fuenlabrada until 30 June 2023)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW  ENG Arvin Appiah (at Tenerife until 30 June 2023)
— FW  URU Cristian Olivera (at Boston River until 30 June 2023)
— FW  ESP Jordi Escobar (at Betis Deportivo until 30 June 2023)
— FW  URU Juan Manuel Gutiérrez (at Nacional until 30 June 2023)

Technical staff
Position Staff
Head coach Rubi
Assistant coach Jaume Torras
Fitness coach Xabi Gil
Víctor Fortes
Goalkeeping coach Diego Tuero
Ricardo Molina
Analyst Manel González
Doctor Diego Portugal
Jesús Dueñas
Nutritionist José González
Physiotherapist Cid Andrade
Pedro Serrano
Pepe Álvarez
Edu Antequera
Rehab fitness coach Álvaro Cano
Team Manager Mohamed Adel Seddik
Delegate Jorge Díaz
Kit man Bernardo Hernández
Juan Ventaja
Mateo Ruiz
Kit woman Mari César

Last updated: September 2022
Source: UD Almería

Notable players

Note: this list includes players that have appeared in at least 100 league games and/or have reached international status.

  • Sofiane Feghouli
  • Hernán Bernardello
  • Pablo Piatti
  • Óscar Ustari
  • Diego Valeri
  • Diego Alves
  • Paulo Jamelli
  • Felipe Melo
  • Michel Macedo
  • Jonathan Zongo
  • Modeste M'bami
  • Hans Martínez
  • Lorenzo Reyes
  • Fabián Vargas
  • Thievy Bifouma
  • Mate Bilić
  • Michael Jakobsen
  • Sena
  • Ferenc Horváth
  • Tomer Hemed
  • Sander Westerveld
  • Ramon Azeez
  • Kalu Uche
  • Diego Barreto
  • Peque Benítez
  • Santiago Acasiete
  • Miguel Rebosio
  • Hélder Barbosa
  • Nélson Marcos
  • Constantin Gâlcă
  • Veljko Paunović
  • Bruno
  • Álvaro Cervera
  • Juan Cervián
  • Corona
  • Albert Crusat
  • Esteban
  • Esteban Navarro
  • Francisco
  • Carlos García
  • Julio
  • López Rekarte
  • Luna
  • Mané
  • Álvaro Negredo
  • José Ortiz
  • Juanma Ortiz
  • Juan Portillo
  • Raúl Sánchez
  • Fernando Soriano
  • Ángel Trujillo
  • Verza
  • Aleix Vidal
  • Henok Goitom
  • Teerasil Dangda
  • Julio Álvarez
  • Ivica Barbarić

Uniform
Almería's uniform in the 2020–21 season.
Period Kit Manufacturer Sponsors
2001–07 Cejudo Obrascampo
2007–08 UDA
2008–10 None1
2010–12 Rasán Urcisol
2012–19 Nike
2019–20 Adidas Arabian Centres
2020–22 Puma
2022– Castore Khaled Juffali Co.

1 The shirt contained messages such as Isla del Fraile or Corredor de Vida.

Honours

See also
  • UD Almería B – Almería's B team
  • AD Almería
  • List of managers
  • List of statistics

References
  1. "Estadio Juegos del Mediterráneo". UD Almería (in Spanish).
  2. "Un club joven con un gran futuro". UD Almeria SAD (in Spanish). 2007. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  3. "Estadio Juegos del Mediterráneo". UDA Almeria SAD (in Spanish). Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  4. "Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos". Ideal (in Spanish). Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  5. "1909: el año en el que nace el primer club de fútbol almeriense". Ideal. 28 May 2017.
  6. "La historia del Club | Almería - Web Oficial". La historia del Club | Almería - Web Oficial (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  7. Europa Press (1 July 2008). "Gonzalo Arconada firma como nuevo entrenador del Almería para las dos próximas temporadas". Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  8. EFE (21 December 2008). "Gonzalo Arconada, destituido como entrenador del Almería". Diario de Almería (in Spanish). Grupo Joly. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  9. EFE (20 November 2010). "Juan Manuel Lillo es destituido como entrenador del Almería". 20 Minutos (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  10. Europa Press (23 November 2010). "Lillo se despide, junto a sus ayudantes, de la plantilla del Almería". Marca (in Spanish). Unidad Editorial. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  11. "El Almería se encomienda a Oltra". ABC (in Spanish). Vocento. 25 November 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  12. EFE (5 April 2011). "La UD Almería destituye a José Luis Oltra para salvarse en ocho jornadas". Cadena SER (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  13. EFE (5 April 2011). "Roberto Olabe sustituye a José Luis Oltra como técnico de la UD Almería". El Confidencial (in Spanish). Titania Compañía Editorial, S.L. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  14. "Francisco Javier Rodríguez, nuevo entrenador del Almería". El Economista (in Spanish). Editorial Ecoprensa, S.A. EcoDiario. 29 June 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  15. "2013/14 Spanish Liga BBVA Table / Table". ESPN FC. 2013–2014. Archived from the original on 11 April 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  16. "Clasificación Liga BBVA - Temporada 2013/2014.Jornada 7". Liga de Fútbol Profesional. Liga BBVA. 2013–2014. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  17. Espino, Rafa (9 December 2014). "El Almería destituye a Francisco". AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  18. Europa Press (11 December 2014). "Juan Ignacio Martínez, nuevo entrenador del Almería hasta final de temporada". 20 Minutos (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  19. Europa Press (5 April 2015). "El Almería destituye a Juan Ignacio Martínez". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  20. EFE (6 April 2015). "Sergi Barjuán, nuevo entrenador del Almería". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). Grupo La Información. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  21. "Clasificación Liga BBVA". Liga BBVA (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 January 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  22. "El Almería retira el recurso y acaba la Liga con 29 puntos". Super Deporte (in Spanish). Prensa Ibérica. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  23. "2018-2019 La Liga 2 Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  24. Góngora, Rafa; Miralles, Carlos (2 August 2019). "Turki Al-Sheikh ya es el dueño del Almería". La Voz de Almería (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  25. "Su excelencia Turki Al-Sheikh, nuevo propietario de la UD Almería". Unión Deportiva Almería (in Spanish). 2 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  26. "Pedro Emanuel, Darío Drudi, Mohamed El Assy, los hombres fuertes del proyecto de Al-Sheihk". Diario de Almería (in Spanish). Joly Digital. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  27. Góngora, Rafa (2 August 2019). "Pedro Emanuel sería el nuevo entrenador del Almería". La Voz de Almería (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  28. de Rivas, Eduardo (5 November 2019). "Guti, nuevo entrenador del Almería". ABC (in Spanish). Vocento. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  29. "Guti, cesado como entrenador del Almería". Sport.es. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  30. Aguilera, Juanjo (26 June 2020). "Mario Silva dirige la primera sesión de trabajo post-'Guti'". Ideal (in Spanish). Vocento. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  31. "La UD Almería da el primer paso para la construcción de su estadio "Champions"". Cadena COPE. 9 August 2021.
  32. "Plantilla Unión Deportiva Almería SAD". UD Almería (in Spanish). Urcisol. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
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