UD Almería

Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. (Spanish pronunciation: [uˈnjon depoɾˈtiβ(a) almeˈɾi.a]) is a Spanish football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 26 July 1989 and known as Almería Club de Fútbol until 2001,[2] the club plays in Segunda División, and plays their homes games at Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos,[3] with a 15,200-seat capacity.[4]

Almería

Full name	Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D.
Nickname(s)	Rojiblancos, La Unión, Almeriensistas, UDA, Indálicos
Founded	26 July 1989 (1989-07-26)
Ground	Juegos Mediterráneos, Almería, Andalusia, Spain
Capacity	15,200 [1]
Owner	Turki Al-Sheikh
President	Turki Al-Sheikh
Head coach	José Gomes
League	Segunda División
2019–20	Segunda División, 4th of 22
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours

History

AD Almería is 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 January 19, 2001 the mayor of Almeria Santiago Martínez Cabrejas announced in the City Council that the new club UD Almería was born after the merge of two city's teams - Polideportivo Almería and Almería CF.[5] But UD Almería was not official until June 28, 2001, when Almeria CF approved at the General Meeting of Shareholders the renaming.[5] 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.[5] At the club's helm was coach Unai Emery, as striker Álvaro Negredo finished team topscorer with 13 goals.

After Emery left for Valencia CF, Gonzalo Arconada stepped in,[6] but was sacked on 21 December 2008, after a string of poor results, albeit without ever reaching the last three.[7] 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.[5] 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),[8][9] and his successor José Luis Oltra met the same fate,[10] in April 2011.[11] He was replaced by Roberto Olabe.[12]

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;[13] the team eventually managed to survive in 2013–14, finishing 16th.[14][15]

Francisco was sacked in December 2014, after only managing two points out of 24,[16] and was later replaced by Juan Ignacio Martínez.[17] "JIM" also only lasted until April of the following year,[18] and even with new manager Sergi Barjuán,[19] the club was relegated after finishing 19th.[20][21]

In the 2018-2019 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.[22]

On 2 August 2019 Turki Al-Sheikh became the owner of the club, replacing Alfonso García Gabarrón.[23] He named Mohamed El Assy as general director,[24] Dario Drudi as sporting director, who replaced Miguel Ángel Corona,[25] and manager Óscar Fernández was replaced by Pedro Emanuel.[26] On 5 November 2019 at 0:47 (UTC) it was announced Guti replaced Emanuel.[27] On 26 June 2020 he was ceased and replaced by Mario Silva,[28][29] who was himself replaced by José Gomes on 27 July.

Season to season

See also: List of UD Almería seasons

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 2ªB 11th Fourth round 1994–95 3 2ªB 2nd Second round 1995–96 2 2ª 16th Second round 1996–97 2 2ª 17th Second round 1997–98 3 2ªB 7th First round 1998–99 3 2ªB 18th 1999–00 4 3ª 4th 2000–01 3 2ªB 11th 2001–02 3 2ªB 3rd 2002–03 2 2ª 18th Round of 32 2003–04 2 2ª 13th Round of 32 2004–05 2 2ª 16th 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 Semifinals 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

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• 6 seasons in La Liga
• 14 seasons in Segunda División
• 6 seasons in Segunda División B
• 2 seasons in Tercera División
• 3 seasons in Categorías Regionales

Current squad

As of 1 February 2020[30]

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 Antonio Sivera (on loan from Alavés) 2 DF  ESP Francis Guerrero (on loan from Real Betis) 3 DF  ESP Iván Martos 4 DF  ESP José Romera 5 MF  ESP Sergio Aguza 6 MF  ESP César de la Hoz 7 MF  FRA Enzo Fernández (on loan from Aves) 8 MF  SRB Radosav Petrović 10 MF  ESP Fran Villalba (on loan from Birmingham) 11 FW  ESP Juan Muñoz (on loan from Leganés) 12 DF  BRA Jonathan 13 GK  ESP Fernando (captain) 14 MF  CMR Wilfrid Kaptoum (on loan from Real Betis)

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 DF  ESP Juan Ibiza 16 MF  ESP José Carlos Lazo 17 MF  ESP José Corpas 18 DF  SRB Nikola Maraš (on loan from Chaves) 19 MF  CRO Ante Ćorić (on loan from Roma) 20 DF  ALB Iván Balliu 21 FW  URU Darwin Núñez 22 DF  NGA Valentine Ozornwafor (on loan from Galatasaray) 23 MF  ARG Valentín Vada 24 DF  ESP David Costas (on loan from Celta) 31 FW  ENG Arvin Appiah 36 FW  ESP Iván Barbero (on loan from Osasuna)

Reserve team

Main article: UD Almería B

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  ESP Francisco Callejón 27 FW  ESP Dani Albiar 30 GK  ESP Jero Lario 32 FW  ESP Nacho Díaz

No. Pos. Nation Player 34 FW  ESP Rubén Enri 43 FW  ESP Nano 49 DF  ESP Fermín Ruiz 50 DF  ESP Fran Vertiz

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 — GK  SRB Dragan Rosić (at Celta B until 30 June 2020) — GK  ESP René (at Ponferradina until 30 June 2020) — DF  FRA Mathieu Peybernes (at Lugo until 30 June 2020)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ESP Chema Núñez (at Albacete until 30 June 2020) — MF  ESP Mario Abenza (at Sanluqueño until 30 June 2020) — MF  ALG Yanis Rahmani (at Lugo until 30 June 2020)

Technical staff

Position	Staff
Head coach	José Gomes
Assistant manager	Jorge Mendonça
Assistant manager	André Bikey
Fitness coach	Víctor Fortes
Fitness coach	Jaime Milheiro
Goalkeeping coach	Ricardo Molina
Goalkeeping coach	Jorge Baptista
Analyst	João Penedo
Analyst	Cláudio Lopes

Last updated: June 2020
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 2011–12 season.

Period	Kit Manufacturer	Sponsors
2001–07	Cejudo	Obrascampo
2007–08	UDA
2008–10		None^1
2010–12	Rasán	Urcisol
2012–2019	Nike
2019–	Adidas	Arabian Centres

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

See also

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

References

1. http://www.udalmeriasad.com/club/datosdelclub/estadio-juegos-del-mediterraneo
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. "La historia del Club | Almería - Web Oficial". La historia del Club | Almería - Web Oficial (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-10-16.
6. 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.
7. EFE (21 December 2008). "Gonzalo Arconada, destituido como entrenador del Almería". Diario de Almería (in Spanish). Grupo Joly. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
8. EFE (20 November 2010). "Juan Manuel Lillo es destituido como entrenador del Almería". 20 Minutos (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2020.
9. 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.
10. "El Almería se encomienda a Oltra". ABC (in Spanish). Vocento. 25 November 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. "Francisco Javier Rodríguez, nuevo entrenador del Almería". El Economista (in Spanish). Editorial Ecoprensa, S.A. EcoDiario. 29 June 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
14. "2013/14 Spanish Liga BBVA Table / Table". ESPN FC. 2013–2014. Archived from the original on 11 April 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
15. "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.
16. Espino, Rafa (9 December 2014). "El Almería destituye a Francisco". AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 August 2019.
17. Europa Press (11 December 2014). "Juan Ignacio Martínez, nuevo entrenador del Almería hasta final de temporada". 20 Minutos (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 August 2019.
18. Europa Press (5 April 2015). "El Almería destituye a Juan Ignacio Martínez". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 August 2019.
19. EFE (6 April 2015). "Sergi Barjuán, nuevo entrenador del Almería". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). Grupo La Información. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
20. "Clasificación Liga BBVA". Liga BBVA (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 January 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
21. "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.
22. "2018-2019 La Liga 2 Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
23. 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.
24. "Su excelencia Turki Al-Sheikh, nuevo propietario de la UD Almería". Unión Deportiva Almería (in Spanish). 2 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
25. "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.
26. Góngora, Rafa (2 August 2019). "Pedro Emanuel sería el nuevo entrenador del Almería". La Voz de Almería (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 August 2019.
27. de Rivas, Eduardo (5 November 2019). "Guti, nuevo entrenador del Almería". ABC (in Spanish). Vocento. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
28. "Guti, cesado como entrenador del Almería". Sport.es. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
29. Aguilera, Juanjo (26 June 2020). "Mario Silva dirige la primera sesión de trabajo post-'Guti'". Ideal (in Spanish). Vocento. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
30. "Plantilla Unión Deportiva Almería SAD". UD Almería (in Spanish). Urcisol. Retrieved February 1, 2018.

External links

• Official website (in Spanish)
• Futbolme team profile (in Spanish)
• BDFutbol team profile