Hércules CF

History

Hércules CF has been documented since 1914, though not officially registered until 26 September 1922. Founder Vicente Pastor Alfosea, nicknamed 'El Chepa', named the club after the Greek hero Hercules, wanting his team to be strong and invincible. Early matches were played at various locations including the foothills of la montañosa and the campo de Benalúa, with the team wearing white and red striped shirts and black pants. The club won a children's tournament in 1918, formed a senior squad in 1919, and played its first official match on 22 June 1919 against Athletic Club Benaluense in the Copa Excelsior, winning 2–1 and eventually taking the tournament.

Hércules became the subsidiary of Club Natación Alicante, then the city's most important football team. After Natación dissolved, Hércules adopted its current blue and white colours and absorbed Natación's players, youth academy, directors, and fanbase. On 1 June 1930, the club reached the Spanish Amateur Championship final, losing 3–2 to Club Gijón. Estadio Bardín was inaugurated on 18 September 1932, with the mayor of Alicante cutting the ribbon and a friendly against Real Madrid as the opening match.

In the mid-1930s, Hércules won back-to-back Tercera División titles, earned promotion to Segunda División in 1934, and won that division in 1934–35, securing a third league title in four years and promotion to La Liga for the first time. The debut top-flight season ended in sixth place, highlighted by a 1–0 home victory over eventual champions Athletic Bilbao. After a ten-year top-flight spell spanning the 1970s and '80s, the club returned to La Liga in 1996–97, managing two remarkable comeback wins over Barcelona that handed the Liga title to Real Madrid.

In 2004–05, after five years in the third tier, Hércules finished second and earned promotion to Segunda División. The 2009–10 campaign saw dramatic promotion back to the top flight: trailing 0–1 at half-time at Rayo Vallecano, the team won 2–1 in the penultimate game, leapfrogging Real Betis into third place, then secured promotion with a 2–0 away win against Real Unión on the final day. Early in the 2010–11 season, Hércules recorded a shock 2–0 win at Camp Nou against Barcelona, who had won their last 11 home matches and were protecting a 17-game unbeaten streak; Nelson Valdez scored both goals.

The club was relegated to Segunda División B after finishing last in Segunda División in 2013–14. In the 2016–17 Copa del Rey, Hércules drew 1–1 with Barcelona at home but lost 7–0 at Camp Nou. After the 2016–17 season, Basque businessman Juan Carlos Ramírez became president, negotiating with tax authorities to settle the club's debts. Gustavo Siviero was hired for 2017–18 but dismissed after nine matchdays; Claudio Barragán and then Josip Višnjić followed, with the team finishing 10th.

In 2018–19 under Lluís Planagumà, Hércules finished second in the league, eliminated Barakaldo and Logroñés in the promotion play-offs, but lost the final to Ponferradina (1–3 at home, 1–0 away). The 2020–21 season saw the club finish third in the second phase, resulting in relegation to the new fourth-tier Segunda RFEF for 2021–22. That season ended with a fifth-place finish in Group V; Hércules qualified for promotion play-offs but lost to Unión Adarve after a 1–1 draw, remaining in the fourth tier during their centenary year.

After finishing 7th in 2022–23, the 2023–24 season under Rubén Torrecilla saw Hércules win their first three games and lead the table at mid-season. Despite a six-game winless run dropping them to fifth, the team recovered with consecutive wins and secured promotion to Primera Federación on 5 May 2024 by defeating Lleida 2–1, finishing first in Group 3 with 65 points.