On may 2026 · SuperDeporte
Opinion by Miguel Monera
Some people doubted. I did too, because doubt is human, especially when you face a start to the season in which you win just one of your first 11 matches. But there was a group of people who never doubted that things were being done properly, and they knew how to make the necessary adjustments at the right time.
I have had the immense pleasure of commentating on a large part of Elche Ilicitano's matches for the club's YouTube channel, and the team's evolution has been undeniable — mentally, physically and in sporting terms (everything is connected). The real protagonists are the players, many of them new arrivals who have taken a huge step forward and fought for the badge they represented, rising above the criticism that, unfortunately, followed them right up until the final day.
Players such as Umaru Konare, who had to leave on loan in January last year, have fought for every ball as if it were the only one that mattered. Piri, relatively unknown at the time, continues to run tirelessly around the Diego Quiles, competing for seemingly impossible balls. And centre-back Pablo Felipe, who has spent years developing within the Franjiverde academy, has had to lead the defence of a Segunda Federación side. They have all shown that at Elche, nothing is impossible, and that players who come through the club leave their mark.
Then there are others who have played important roles in the reserve team's plans but, because of their age, perhaps should not even have been here, such as Álex Herráiz and Álvaro Miralles. Names like Owen Bosch, David Hernández and Álvaro Padilla, players from the local area, have sent a message to those coming through the ranks below them, showing through their appearances that progression can also come from within. The first two have even been involved in call-ups with the first team and with Spain's youth national teams. Nothing less.
The conductor who has orchestrated it all has been Carlos Cuéllar. He is one of those people in football who are known as a “football man.” He arrived at a new club, with players he did not know and structures he had to get used to. And he managed to do so without abandoning his own footballing model — the very model that convinced the senior figures in the academy, whose own work also deserves recognition, to bring him in.
The coach found a place for everyone, moving players into different positions and adapting to the injuries and absences he encountered along the way.
This is simply a space to highlight the collective effort of a reserve team that knew how to suffer, adapt to difficult circumstances and believe in an idea right until the end. I would have liked to mention everyone who played a part.
But they have all shown that miracles do exist — especially in football — but they don't happen without hard work.
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