First Team
10 years since UD Almería's penultimate promotion to top flight
22nd June 2013 is an unforgettable date for the Rojiblancos. The team and Almería city ended that season in a blaze of glory as they were back in the big time
It has been 10 years since UD Almería were back in the big time after two seasons in the Segunda Division. They beat Girona FC in the promotion play-off final with a brilliant 4-0 aggregate win. The entire city of Almería took to the streets to celebrate and congratulate the players, who rode through the streets on open-top bus to celebrate the return of the Rojiblancos to the Spanish top flight just two years after being relegated.
It was certainly a campaign in which, from the get go, the team demonstrated enormous potential to be able to fight until the end for promotion. The Indálicos always remained in the top positions of the table and, although they had ups and downs over the 42 Matchdays, they showed themselves in all the games as clear candidates to move up a tier.
When that campaign was coming to an end, UD Almería made their presence known because before reaching the last match, they recorded their five previous games as triumphs in order to get to Matchday 42 with their fate in their own hands in a bid to earn promotion to the first division. Their rivals Villareal CF went into the game in a better situation than the Indálicos. A victory or draw would fire the Submarino Amarillo, who were playing on home turf in front of their fans, to the top tier and they did not fail.
The Indálicos played to their strengths for promotion in the play-offs. Their first rivals to be drawn were UD Las Palmas, a very tough-looking tie, which finally ended with UD Almería making it to the final and beating Girona FC, who in both games, remained scoreless, with a 4-0 aggregate win.
22nd June 2013 is a date that will live forever in the UD Almería history books thanks to those Rojiblancos, especially former head coach Javi Gracia and team top scorer Charles.