The promotion to LaLiga Smartbank of Deportivo Eldense confirms the return to the elite of the oldest club in the province of Alicante after being founded in 1921, before Elche or Hércules, the Alicante clubs with the greatest number of seasons in the First Division.
The Eldense return to a category in which they have not played since the 1963-64 season, almost sixty years ago. Since then, the Barça team has gone through divisions such as the First RFEF, Second B, Second RFEF and Third division.
With Pascual Pérez as president, Eldense has also chained three consecutive promotions. In the 2020-2021 season he managed to get out of the Third Division in the midst of a pandemic. A year ago they were also promoted to First RFEF after beating Real Sociedad C and Sestao River in promotion.
And on June 15, 2023, he arrives in professional football after a great campaign in which he was the leader for many days and in which he has managed to rise, after beating Celta B and Real Madrid Castilla in promotion.
Curiously, the Alicante team's first promotion to the Second Division was achieved after beating the Real Madrid subsidiary, then called Plus Ultra, in 1956.
In that promotion promotion, the first leg was also played in Madrid and the second leg in Elda. In the first match, played at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, Plus Ultra and Eldense tied (3-3) in a fast-paced clash.
The decisive second leg, which was played on May 20, 1956, was decided in favor of Eldense, who beat the Madrid subsidiary with a resounding 3-0, thus achieving their first promotion to the second category of Spanish football.
Sixty-seven years later, Eldense has achieved its last promotion to Segunda after again beating Real Madrid's subsidiary, currently called Castilla, in the promotion final.
The Barça team has played in the Second Division in five seasons (56-57, 57-58, 58-59, 62-63 and 63-64) so that Eldense has not played in this category for six decades, being their best classification a seventh place in the 62-63 campaign.
