Эльче: История испанского футбольного клуба

Spanish professional football club

Elche Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community, Spain. Founded in 1923, the club competes in LaLiga Hypermotion, holding home matches at Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, with a capacity of 33,732 seats. Founded in 1923 as the result of a merger between all of the town's clubs, Elche entered the league system in 1929, reaching Segunda División in 1934 and La Liga in 1959, finishing fifth in the latter tournament in 1963–64. The club were runners up in the Copa del Rey in 1969. Elche became the first and only club in the history of La Liga to be relegated due to unpaid tax debts in the 2014–15 season. Elche returned to La Liga in 2020–21 after being promoted to the Segunda División and then La Liga in only three seasons.

Elche Club de Fútbol was founded in the winter of 1923, after the merger of all of the town's football teams. The club's first ever game was against Monóvar, where they beat the home team 4–0, and its first official match was a 2–0 win over Crevillente. In its first years Elche, like many teams of the time, played in an all white uniform. The team played its first league season in 1929–30, in the Tercera División, achieving promotion to the Segunda División in 1934. However, Elche suffered relegation for the first time six years later, but were promoted back the following season. In the late 1950s, Elche achieved two consecutive promotions from the third level to La Liga, securing the club's first promotion to the latter competition with a 3–0 success against Tenerife in 1959.

Elche opened its first season in the top level with a 1–1 draw against Real Oviedo, the first goal being scored by Vicente Pahuet. The club finished tenth out of 16 sides, nine points ahead of relegated Osasuna – the campaign included a 2–1 comeback home victory over Barcelona, but also a 2–11 loss at Real Madrid. The following season saw the team having to compete in the relegation/promotion play off, where it overcame a 0–1 loss in the away leg against Atlético Ceuta with a 4–0 home victory. Elche achieved their best ever league finish in 1963–64, ranking in fifth position. The season also saw the club's reserve team, Elche Ilicitano, promote to Segunda División. In 1969 the club reached their first and only Copa del Rey final, following victories over Pontevedra, Valencia and Real Sociedad. The semi final against the latter was won 2–0 in a replay in neutral Madrid, as the tie had finished 4–4 on aggregate; the final, played on 15 June at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the same city, brought a 0–1 loss to Athletic Bilbao. After twelve seasons Elche were relegated to division two in 1971, having finished second from bottom. Two years later the team returned to the main category, as champions. Its second spell in the top flight lasted five seasons, often immerse in relegation fights as the best campaign (1974–75) ended with the club in eighth position; at the end of 1977–78 the side returned to the second division after finishing 17th out of 18 clubs, the last game being a 4–4 draw with Atlético Madrid, which was led 2–4 with five minutes remaining.

After the relegation Elche suffered in 1978, they never managed to gain promotion to the top flight – in fact, in the first five years since their return to the second level, they were fourth on three occasions and fifth on two (and on a further two, even on points with the third placed team but with a worse goal difference), often losing the chance of promotion on the last matchday. Especially traumatic was the finish of the 1980–81 season: with one game remaining, they were second two points ahead of Rayo Vallecano and Racing de Santander, only needing a draw against Cádiz at the Martínez Valero; the game ended however in a loss, and Elche finished with 45 points alongside Castellón, Cádiz, Racing and Rayo. A promotion finally occurred at the end of 1983–84, even though Elche only finished fifth in the regular season – the first two positions were occupied by Real Madrid Castilla and Athletic Bilbao B, who could not promote as reserve sides. The whole of the top division campaign was spent in the relegation zone, and relegation consequently befell as 17th. In 1988 they were promoted again for another cameo appearance, as the side went on to finish dead last with eighteen points, dropping down a category alongside Real Murcia, who they trailed by nine points; the last match for years in the category was a 1–3 away loss against Real Zaragoza, the goal coming courtesy of Alfonso Fernández. After the relegation in 1989, Elche started to suffer heavily in the financial department, and relegated to Segunda División B – the new third level created in 1977 – at the end of 1990–91. During the better part of the 1990s the club reached the second division promotion playoffs, only to consecutively fall short. In 1997 Elche finally managed to return to the second category, being immediately relegated back but gaining another promotion subsequently.

In 2010–11, again in the "silver category", the team finished fourth and thus qualified for the play offs: after disposing of Real Valladolid in the first round (3–2 on aggregate) the dream of top flight promotion ended at the hands of Granada, on the away goals rule. On 18 May 2013, following Barcelona B and Alcorcón's 1–1 draw, Elche was automatically promoted to the top level, returning to the competition after 24 years. In the meantime the team coached by Fran Escribá had broken a number of Segunda División records, being the only team to date able to lead the competition from the first until the last match of the season, setting in the process a new record of both matches won and points scored to date as well as the best first round in the history of Segunda's championship. During the 2013–14 season, the team managed to keep in the top competition, with an average attendance to home matches estimated at 25,104 people. In the 2014–15 season, despite managing once again to keep in the top flight (the team was already safe from relegation four dates before the end of the competition) Elche became the first team ever in the history of the Spanish Primera División being relegated to Segunda following new regulations by the Spanish football league limiting excess debt and economic mismanagement. In the 2019–20 season, Elche were promoted to La Liga by beating Girona in the promotion play off final 1–0 on aggregate. They were promoted back to La Liga after five years in the second and third divisions. In the 2022–23 season, Elche was relegated to second division after three years stay in professional league.

Elche's reserve team, Elche Ilicitano, was founded in 1932. It managed to spend two seasons in the second division, when the main squad was in the top flight.

Elche CF and Hércules CF have been fierce rivals for a long time. Their rivalry, known as the Derbi de la provincia de Alicante, began way back in the 1925/26 season when Elche CF joined the official regional league. Since then, these teams have clashed over a hundred times. The rivalry between Elche CF and Real Murcia CF is a historical one. Their first official match was during the 1928 29 season. Their frequent meetings, known as the Derbi del Sureste (Southeast Derby), make this fixture the most played in the history of the Segunda División. Another of the most notable rivalries is with Levante UD. These teams have a long history of intense regional competition across various divisions, including Primera, Segunda, and Segunda B, creating a fierce atmosphere both on the pitch and in the stands. Elche CF's rivalries with Hércules and Real Murcia stem from regional proximity, while their rivalry with Levante developed over numerous competitive clashes. The rivalry with Granada CF ignited during the tense 2010 11 Segunda División season, culminating in the Play off final.