Hércules CF

Hércules

Full name	Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D.[1]
Nickname(s)	Los Herculanos / Els Herculans (The Herculeans) Los Griegos / Els Grecs (The Greeks) Los Blanquiazules / Els Blanc-i-blaus (The White and Blues)
Founded	1919; 102 years ago (1919) as Hércules Foot-ball Club
Ground	José Rico Pérez, Alacant, Valencia, Spain
Capacity	29,500
Owner	Enrique Ortiz Selva
President	Carlos Parodi García-Pertusa
Head coach	Manolo Díaz
League	2ª B – Group 3
2020–21	2ª B – Group 3 (B), 4th of 10 2ª B – Group 3 (D), 3rd of 7
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ([ˈeɾkules]) is a Spanish football team in Alicante, in the autonomous community of Valencian Community. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 5 and plays its home games at the 29,500-capacity Estadio José Rico Pérez.^[2][3]

History[]

Hercules C.F. has been documented since 1914 although not officially registered until 26 September 1922, alongside Mercantil de Cartagena, Federación Levantina and others. Its founder was Vicente Pastor Alfosea dubbed "El Chepa".^[4] In its early days, the club played in various locations, the foothills of la montañosa, the lands of l'Hort del tio Ron, the campo de Benalúa or the facilities of the Alicante Recreation Club.

Hércules FC first team in the 1920s with Vicente Pastor Alfosea, the founder of the club, in the background.

Hércules CF squad in 1936.

Hercules joined a youth league, becoming champion in 1918. The first official match was in 1919 against , Hercules winning 2–1. At first the team played in white and red striped shirts and black pants.

After first appearing in La Liga in the 1935–36 season, Hércules would play sporadically in the category for the next 40 years, playing mainly in the second division but going as low as the third. From 1961 to 1969, neighbours Alicante acted as its feeder club.

After a ten-year spell in the top flight, encompassing 12 seasons in the 1970s and '80s, the club only returned again in the 1996–97 campaign. Though eventually relegated, it managed two remarkable comeback wins over Barcelona, which ultimately handed the Liga title to Real Madrid.

In 2004–05, after five years in the third level, Hércules finished second, being subsequently promoted to the "silver category". After posting three consecutive solid seasons, the club narrowly missed out on a return to the top division in 2009, finishing fourth, three points behind last-promotee Tenerife.

The 2009–10 campaign saw Hércules promoted back into the top flight after 14 years in dramatic fashion: losing 0–1 at half-time at Rayo Vallecano, the team fought back to win 2–1 in the penultimate game of the season and leap frogged Real Betis into third place.^[5] In the last round, a 2–0 away win against relegation-threatened Real Unión guaranteed promotion, with the 4–0 win of Betis over Levante eventually counting for nothing (all three teams – Levante, Hércules and Betis – ended equal on points).

Early into the 2010–11 season, one year, three months and 19 days after Barcelona's last home defeat in the league, Hércules recorded a shock 2–0 win at the Camp Nou thanks to a brace from Nelson Valdez^[6] – Barcelona had won their last 11 home matches, scored at least three times in each of their last six league fixtures and were protecting a 17-game unbeaten streak. This was the Alicante outfit's third successive win over the Barcelona, having won both meetings in their previous top flight campaign 14 years before.^[7]

In the 2013–14 campaign, they were relegated to the Segunda División B after finishing in last place in the Segunda División.

In the 2016-17 Copa del Rey, the team drew 1–1 with Barcelona. In the second match at the Camp Nou (Barcelona's home), Hércules was defeated by the Catalonian side 7–0.

Season to season[]

Hércules celebrate in Alicante, after returning to La Liga in 2010

• 20 seasons in La Liga
• 43 seasons in Segunda División
• 19 seasons in Segunda División RFEF
• 7 seasons in Tercera División

Players[]

Current squad[]

First starting lineup of the season 2010–11, its last in La Liga, against Athletic Bilbao.

As of 18 February 2021^[8]

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 Ismael Falcón (captain) 2 DF  ESP Raúl Ruiz 3 DF  ESP 4 DF  ESP Moisés García 5 DF  ESP 6 MF  ESP Jon Erice 7 FW  ESP Borja Martínez 8 MF  ESP Diego Benito 9 FW  ESP Sergio Buenacasa 10 MF  ESP 11 FW  ESP Jesús Alfaro 12 FW  ESP Manu Garrido (on loan from Leganés) 13 GK  ESP (on loan from Espanyol B) 14 MF  ESP David Sánchez Mallo 15 MF  ESP Pedro (on loan from Albacete) 16 MF  EQG Rubén Belima

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 DF  DOM Tano Bonnín 18 MF  ESP (on loan from Real Murcia) 19 DF  ESP Álex Martínez 20 DF  ESP 21 FW  ESP Benja 22 FW  PAR Javier Acuña 23 MF  EQG Federico Bikoro (on loan from Zaragoza) 24 DF  POR Romain Correia (on loan from V. Guimarães B) 25 GK  ESP 26 MF  FRA Kévin Appin 27 MF  ESP 28 FW  MAR 29 FW  ESP 30 MF  NED Darren Sidoel (on loan from Córdoba CF) 31 MF  ESP 32 FW  ESP

Former coaches[]

Rayo Vallecano vs. Hércules

Relationships with other teams[]

• Iraklis – Since 2003, fans of both teams formed a friendship through the Internet, because "Iraklis" is a Greek name for "Hercules", the Roman name for Heracles, the Greek god of strength. There is even a Hércules supporters club that bears the name Iraklis, in honor of their friendship.^[9]

See also[]

• Hércules CF B
• Ciudad de Alicante Trophy

References[]

External links[]

• Official website (in Spanish)
• Futbolme team profile (in Spanish)
• BDFutbol team profile
• Macho Hércules, fansite (in Spanish)
• Club & Stadium History at Estadios de España (in English)