Hércules Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈerkules]) is a Spanish football team based in Alicante, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1922, it currently plays in the Spanish second division, and holds home games at the Estadio José Rico Pérez, which seats 30,000 spectators.
After first appearing in La Liga in 1935–36, Hércules would play sporadically in the category for the next forty years, playing mainly in the second division but going as low as Tercera División. From 1961–69, neighbours Alicante CF acted as its feeder club.
After a ten-year spell in the top flight, encompassing 12 seasons in the 1970s/80s, the club only returned again in 1996–97; though eventually relegated, it managed two remarkable comeback wins over FC Barcelona, which ultimately handed the league title to Real Madrid.
In 2004–05, after five years in the third division, Hércules finished second, being subsequently promoted to the second level. After posting three consecutive solid seasons, the club would narrowly miss out on a return to the top division in 2008–09, finishing fourth, three points behind last-promotee CD Tenerife.
Hércules celebrate in Alicante, after returning to La Liga in 2010
2009–10 saw Hércules promoted back into the top flight after 13 years, in dramatic fashion: losing 1–0 at half time to Rayo Vallecano, the team fought back to win 2–1 in the penultimate game of the season and leap frog Real Betis into third place. In the last round, a 2–0 win at relegation-threatened Real Unión guaranteed promotion, with the 4–0 win of Betis against Levante UD eventually counting for nothing (all three teams – Levante, Hércules and Betis – ended with the same number of points).
In 2010–11, one year, three months and 19 days after FC Barcelona's last home defeat in the league, Hércules recorded a shock 2–0 win at the Camp Nou, thanks to a brace from ParaguayanNelson Valdez.[1]Barça had won their last 11 home matches, scored at least three times in each of their last six league fixtures and were protecting a 17-game unbeaten streak. Amazingly, however, this was the Alicante outfit's third successive win over the Catalan side, having won both meetings in their previous top flight campaign 14 years previously.[2] After a solid first round of 19 matches, the team slumped in the table, eventually ranking in 19th position for an immediate relegation back.
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