Albelda, the miracle man

EI Atzeneta UE has been the sensation of the weekend in the promotion phase to Second B after going up defeating Alzira and Alcoyano. The exceptional nature of the promotion comes from two reasons: the first, the population of the locality where the club resides, 1,165 inhabitants; the second, that his coach is David Albelda.

The eternal captain of Valencia, at 42, This year has completed the meteoric rise of a club that has always played in the regional category and that, in just three years, has placed itself at the gates of professional football. Albelda, who renewed before the promotion phase was even played, will lead the next season for the orange team in Segunda B, where transatlantic sailors of the category such as Hercules, Nàstic, Barça B or Andorra de Piqué will visit El Regit , a stadium with a capacity for 1,500 spectators, renovated in 2017.

Albelda's arrival at Atzeneta, now just a year ago, put the small club of Vall d'Albaida (Valencia) in the map. Out of affinity with the club's board of directors and confidence in the project they presented to him, the former midfielder of Valencia and the National Team decided to start his coaching career. The beginnings were difficult and the results cost in arriving. But after Christmas the team took a run and reached the confinement at its best, with three wins and two draws, in his last five games. “Confinement has hurt us,” Albelda said in March.

The team returned to the competition in the same way and, after getting the promotion surprisingly last weekend in La Nucía, the management is already planning the next season in the bronze category of Spanish football. In theory, Atzeneta should be one of the Cinderellas in the category, Although with the presence of Albelda and the support of the Ubesol group, a more powerful company in the hygiene sector in the Valencian Community and with headquarters in the town, the dream could continue.

Draft

What is certain is that Atzeneta will not remain in the anecdote of the modest club that achieves a promotion in a heroic way. The project of the current directive has convinced Albelda that this is the best bench to continue growing in his career as a coach. And next year It has a great showcase to show that you are ready for bigger heights.

However, at Atzeneta Albelda he is more than a coach, as he acknowledged on Saturday after promotion. “When you work with enthusiasm and feel that you can progress, here you have an implication beyond what it is to be a coach. It is not an economic or category issue,” Albelda assured.