Albacete Balompié

Albacete Balompié is a Spanish football team based in Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Founded on 1 June 1939, 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

File:Albacete Balompié league performance 1929-present.svg

Chart of Albacete Balompié league performance 1929–present

File:DeportivoAlbacete.jpg

Deportivo de La Coruña vs. Albacete Balompié.

After years of amateur and regional development of football, it would not appear formally until the end of the Spanish Civil War, due to the merger of 'Club Deportivo Nacional' and 'Albacete Foot-Ball Club'. The club was founded in 1939 under the name Sociedad Deportiva Albacete Foot-ball Association, being later changed due to the forced castellanization of all football names imposed by Francoist Spain in 1941. Albacete debuted in Segunda División in 1949, being relegated due to economic problems, but returning ten years later.

In 1989, Benito Floro consecutively promoted the club from the third division to La Liga, 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 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 – 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 in the 21st position. The club again returned to the Segunda División in the 2016–17 season after winning against Valencia Mestalla 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 were relegated to the third division. Thus ending their four-years stay in the second division.

Albacete were promoted to Segunda in the 2021–22 Primera RFEF season playoffs, after defeating Deportivo de La Coruña at the Estadio Riazor. The team came back from a 1–0 deficit, winning 2-1 with a goal in extra time.

On 14 January 2026, Albacete reached the Copa del Rey quarter-finals for the first time since they reached the semi-finals in the 1994–95 season; they won 3–2 against La Liga club Real Madrid (who were runners-up in 2024–25) in the 2025–26 round of 16.

Seasons

File:Entrada Ciudad Deportiva "Andrés Iniesta" del Albacete Balompié S.A.D.jpg

Albacete Balompié "Andrés Iniesta" sports city.

File:Trofeo 001.jpg

Ciudad de Albacete trophy 1994.

Season to season

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1940–41 4 1ª Reg. 3rd 1941–42 3 1ª Reg. 4th 1942–43 3 1ª Reg. 2nd 1943–44 3 3ª 2nd 1944–45 3 3ª 3rd 1945–46 3 3ª 1st 1946–47 3 3ª 1st 1947–48 3 3ª 3rd 1948–49 3 3ª 1st 1949–50 2 2ª 7th 1950–51 2 2ª 15th 1951–52 DNP 1952–53 3 3ª 3rd 1953–54 3 3ª 13th 1954–55 3 3ª 7th 1955–56 3 3ª 9th 1956–57 3 3ª 5th 1957–58 3 3ª 5th 1958–59 3 3ª 1st 1959–60 3 3ª 4th

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1960–61 3 3ª 1st 1961–62 2 2ª 13th 1962–63 3 3ª 4th 1963–64 3 3ª 1st 1964–65 3 3ª 1st 1965–66 3 3ª 3rd 1966–67 3 3ª 2nd 1967–68 3 3ª 4th 1968–69 3 3ª 8th 1969–70 3 3ª 14th 1970–71 4 1ª Reg. 7th 1971–72 4 Reg. Pref. 6th 1972–73 4 Reg. Pref. 14th 1973–74 4 Reg. Pref. 7th 1974–75 4 Reg. Pref. 1st 1975–76 3 3ª 17th First round 1976–77 4 Reg. Pref. 2nd 1977–78 4 3ª 2nd First round 1978–79 4 3ª 2nd Second round 1979–80 4 3ª 2nd Second round

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1980–81 4 3ª 2nd Second round 1981–82 4 3ª 1st First round 1982–83 3 2ª B 3rd First round 1983–84 3 2ª B 5th Second round 1984–85 3 2ª B 2nd Second round 1985–86 2 2ª 17th Second round 1986–87 3 2ª B 17th Fourth round 1987–88 3 2ª B 3rd Third round 1988–89 3 2ª B 12th First round 1989–90 3 2ª B 1st 1990–91 2 2ª 1st Third round 1991–92 1 1ª 7th Third round 1992–93 1 1ª 17th Round of 16 1993–94 1 1ª 13th Fourth round 1994–95 1 1ª 17th Semi-finals 1995–96 1 1ª 20th First round 1996–97 2 2ª 4th Second round 1997–98 2 2ª 14th Second round 1998–99 2 2ª 15th Second round 1999–2000 2 2ª 10th Second round

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 2000–01 2 2ª 5th Round of 64 2001–02 2 2ª 10th Round of 32 2002–03 2 2ª 3rd Round of 64 2003–04 1 1ª 14th Round of 64 2004–05 1 1ª 20th Round of 32 2005–06 2 2ª 13th Third round 2006–07 2 2ª 6th Second round 2007–08 2 2ª 12th Third round 2008–09 2 2ª 15th Third round 2009–10 2 2ª 15th Second round 2010–11 2 2ª 22nd Second round 2011–12 3 2ª B 4th Round of 16 2012–13 3 2ª B 3rd Second round 2013–14 3 2ª B 1st Second round 2014–15 2 2ª 14th Round of 32 2015–16 2 2ª 21st Second round 2016–17 3 2ª B 1st Third round 2017–18 2 2ª 17th Second round 2018–19 2 2ª 4th Second round 2019–20 2 2ª 17th Second round

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 2020–21 2 2ª 22nd First round 2021–22 3 1ª RFEF 3rd Second round 2022–23 2 2ª 6th Second round 2023–24 2 2ª 13th First round 2024–25 2 2ª 10th First round 2025–26 2 2ª 12th Quarter-finals 2026–27 2 2ª TBD

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• 7 seasons in La Liga
• 29 seasons in Segunda División
• 1 season in Primera División RFEF
• 11 seasons in Segunda División B
• 29 seasons in Tercera División
• 9 seasons in Categorías Regionales

Current squad

Reserve team

Main article: Atlético Albacete

Honours

• Segunda División: (1) 1990–91
• Segunda División B: (2) 1989–90, 2013–14, 2016–17
• Tercera División: (8) 1945–46, 1946–47, 1948–49, 1958–59, 1960–61, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1981–82
• La Liga promotion: (2) 1990–91, 2002–03
• Segunda División promotion: (2) 1984–85, 1989–90
• Copa de la Liga winners: (2) 1982–83 Segunda División B – Group II, 1984–85 Segunda División B – Group II

Stadium

File:Carlos Belmonte.jpg

Estadio Carlos Belmonte

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

See also: Category:Albacete Balompié footballers

• Óscar Dertycia
• Carlos Roa
• Andy Bernal
• Vali Gasimov
• Ronny Gaspercic
• Marco Etcheverry
• Zago
• Ivaylo Andonov
• Albert Meyong
• Christian Kofane
• Mark González
• Danny Carvajal
• Luis Conejo
• Keylor Navas
• Nenad Bjelica
• Ivan Jurić
• Trésor Kandol
• Javier Balboa
• Rachid Rokki
• Moussa Yahaya
• Abass Lawal
• Rommel Fernández
• Nelson Cuevas
• Andrés Iniesta
• Fernando Morientes
• Cătălin Munteanu
• Roman Zozulya
• Joe Bizera
• Darío Delgado
• Nicolás Olivera
• Antonio Pacheco
• Horacio Peralta
• José Luis Zalazar

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 (1988–89)
• Julián Rubio (1989)
• Benito Floro (1989–92)
• Julián Rubio (1992)
• Ginés Meléndez (interim) (1992)
• Víctor Espárrago (1992–94)
• Luis Suárez (1994)
• Ginés Meléndez (interim) (1994)
• Benito Floro (1994–96)
• Iñaki Sáez (1996)
• Manolo Jiménez (1996)
• Mariano García Remón (1996–97)
• Luis Sánchez Duque (1997)
• Ginés Meléndez (1998)
• Luigi Maifredi (1998–99)
• Julián Rubio (1999–01)
• Paco Herrera (2001–02)
• César Ferrando (2002–04)
• José González (2004–05)
• César Ferrando (2005–07)
• Quique Hernández (2007–08)
• Máximo Hernández (2008)
• Juan Ignacio Martínez (2008–09)
• Máximo Hernández (2009)
• José Murcia (2009)
• Julián Rubio (2009–10)
• David Vidal (2010)
• Antonio Calderón (2010–11)
• David Vidal (2011)
• Mario Simón (2011)
• Antonio Gómez (2011–13)
• Luis César (2013–16)
• César Ferrando (2016)
• José Manuel Aira (2016–17)
• Enrique Martín Monreal (2017–18)
• Luis Miguel Ramis (2018–20)
• Lucas Alcaraz (2020)
• Aritz López Garai (2020–)

See also

• Atlético Albacete, Albacete Balompié's reserve team
• Fundación Albacete, Albacete Balompié's women's team.
• Albacete FS, a futsal club from the same city.

External links

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