Welcome to…Alcoyano

No team has more morale than this one

Valencia. Villarreal. Levante. Elche. Hércules. Castellón. These are considered the six biggest Valencian clubs. However, there’s one more team from Valencia that has reached the Primera División. Sadly, this club has fallen into the depths of Spanish semiprofessional football, playing against lesser-known clubs from Valencia and its surroundings. Welcome to…Alcoyano.

Alcoi

The city of Alcoi can be found in the province of Alacant’s inland, of which it is one of the most populous places. Due to its position along many rivers, Alcoi has always been an important city, most notably for its industry during the fortune years of the secondary sector.

Alcoi is primarily known for Moors and Christians, a famous festival recreating the historical battle between the Muslims and the Christians in Alcoi. This festival forms part of the historical recreational festivals and is a source of pride for many Alcoians, who even dedicated a museum to this tradition. Interestingly, there are more Moors and Christians celebrations in the Valencian Community, but the Alcoian festival is the origin of all of these.

Alcoian football

The first football club in Alcoi was founded in 1911 and was called Pardalot, after the bat often present in Valencian coats of arms. However, the first representative club of Alcoi would be Club Deportivo Alcoyano, founded in 1928 after uniting all football clubs in the Valencian city. Its first feat would be reaching the Segunda División in 1942, a memorable achievement.

It would be the first highlight, but definitely not the last one. Just three years later, Alcoyano was crowned champion of the Segunda and achieved promotion to the Primera División. The alcoians were the fourth Valencian squad to reach Spain’s elite division and competed very well. Between 1945 and 1951, Alcoyano played four seasons in the top tier, and the only season staying up was 1947-48.

In the following decades, the blanquiblaus would play some more seasons in the Segunda División, even though the third tier became their new home. After the introduction of the Segunda División B in 1977, this would be the league in which Alcoyano would compete most often.

Alcoyano’s last surprising season would be 2011-12, as they managed to climb up to the Segunda again. However, it was clear that Alcoyano was unable to recover its quality of the 1940s and 1950s. Ever since, the Valencians are usually present in the third tier and have even been close to returning to professional football on some occasions.

The giant killers

Apart from impressive league achievements, Alcoyano has shocked the entire world after its results in the Copa del Rey. After being proclaimed champions of the Tercera in 2020, the Valencians qualified for the elite tournament after some years of absence. After beating Laredo in the first round, Alcoyano managed to win against Huesca, a team from the Primera División, making the national newspapers.

The draw of the Round of 32 paired Alcoyano with Real Madrid, which celebrated much in Alcoi. As a matter of fact, the visit of one of the biggest national teams is an honor for a smaller team like Alcoyano and means that all around the world, people will watch a match in El Collao.

But what no one expected, Alcoyano drew 1-1 after regular playing time, forcing Real Madrid to keep on pushing in extra time. But it wasn’t Real Madrid who scored the 2-1: it was Alcoyano. Thanks to a heroic shot of Juanan Casanova and many saves of José Juan Figueiras, Alcoyano knocked Real Madrid out of the cup tournament and wrote history. The supporters of Alcoyano hadn’t been so proud of their team in a long time.

Unfortunately, Alcoyano lost in the next round against Athletic, ending all title hopes for the optimistic Valencian supporters. Curiously, Alcoyano was paired with Real Madrid again one year later, but this match was won by the capital side 1-3. A second embarrassment was avoided.

The team with morale

Not many third-tier football clubs can say that a widespread saying is based on them, but Alcoyano can. ‘Tener más moral que el Alcoyano‘ means ‘To have more morale than Alcoyano’ and can be applied to persons who show much morale or perseverance. It’s not clear what the origin of this expression is, as historians point out different matches in which Alcoyano has shown impressive morale or faith to win a game in seemingly impossible circumstances. The club, however, prefers to refer to Alcoyano’s fighting spirit in general.

The future

In summary, Alcoyano is a team with an interesting past, but it also has an interesting future. In a very tough group of the Primera Federación, the alcoians are determined to demonstrate their quality and morale, hoping to maybe even surprise. Moreover, the coach of the victory against Real Madrid, Vicente Parras, remains the leader of the white-blue side, an important source of stability in the team. This was…Alcoyano.

Sources

• http://lafutbolteca.com/club-deportivo-alcoyano-s-a-d/
• https://cdalcoyano.net/historia-cda/
• https://aquimediosdecomunicacion.com/2023/02/15/el-origen-de-la-popular-frase-tienes-mas-moral-que-el-alcoyano/
• Borchers, L. (2021). GOLAZO. Self-published.
• Borchers, L. (2022). CARA O CRUZ. Self-published.