The first football club inAlmería was founded in 1909: el Almería Foot-Ball Club.[5] Since then, several Almería football clubs appeared and disappeared. One of them wasAD Almería, a team that played inLa Liga between 1979 and 1981, but disappeared in 1982, and was arguably UD Almería's predecessor.
In 1989, a club namedAlmería Club de Fútbol was born, but in 2001 was renamedUnión Deportiva Almería. On 19 January 2001 the mayor ofAlmería Santiago Martínez Cabrejas announced in the city council that the new club UD Almería had been formed after the merger of two city teams - Polideportivo Almería and Almería CF.[6] But UD Almería was not official until 28 June 2001, when Almería CF approved at the General Meeting of Shareholders the renaming.[6] After playing one season in thesecond division, it was relegated to thethird and thefourth divisions.
After spending several seasons in the second level, Almería side was first promoted to the top flight after finishing runner-up in the2006–07 season. After some outstanding performances, as the away win againstDeportivo de La Coruña 3–0 in the firstLa Liga match, the team achieved a final 8th league place in2007–08.[6] At the club's helm was coachUnai Emery, asstrikerÁlvaro Negredo finished team topscorer with 13 goals.
In2010–11, Almeríareached the semifinals of theCopa del Rey for the first time ever.[6] In the league, however, the club was finally relegated after a four-year spell in the top flight; in November 2010, coachJuan Manuel Lillo was fired after a 0–8 home loss againstFC Barcelona (precisely the team that ousted the Andalusians in the domestic cup's last-four, with the same score, but on aggregate),[9][10] and his successorJosé Luis Oltra met the same fate,[11] in April 2011.[12] He was replaced byRoberto Olabe.[13]
Chart of UD Almería league performance 1929-present
After two seasons in the second level, Almería returned to the main category of Spanish football on 22 June 2013, after defeatingGirona FC in theplay-offs. After the departure of managerJavi Gracia, the club appointed their former player and manager ofthe reserves at the timeFrancisco Javier Rodríguez Vílchez;[14] the team eventually managed to survive in2013–14, finishing 16th.[15][16]
Francisco was sacked in December 2014, after only managing two points out of 24,[17] and was later replaced byJuan Ignacio Martínez.[18] "JIM" also only lasted until April of the following year,[19] and even with new managerSergi Barjuán,[20] the club was relegated after finishing 19th.[21][22]
In the 2018–19 season, Almería finally escaped the tough fight for the permanence in Segunda División until the last matches as during 3 previous seasons. This time they were closer to the promotion play-offs to La Liga, and finished 10th from 22 teams participated.[23]
In August 2021, UD Almería (Mohamed El Assy) and theAyuntamiento de Almería [es] (Ramón Fernández-Pacheco Monterreal [es]) agreed to a lease on the operation of the municipally ownedEstadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos for a 25-year period.[31] In June 2022, the club achieved promotion to the first division by sealing a 1st position in the table, respectively, on the very last match day of the season, after spending seven years in the second tier.
In the 2023–24 season, UD Almería started the season with record of 28 league games without a win between 11 August 2023 to 11 March 2024. At last, the club secured a victory againstLas Palmas οn 17 March 2024. However, they were relegated to second division after a 1–3 loss toGetafe on 27 April 2024, ending their two-year stay in top tier.[32]
In May 2025, UD Almería underwent a significant ownership change, with Saudi investment consortium SMC Group, led by Mohammed Al-Khereiji, acquiring the club from Turki Al-Sheikh.[33]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
