Rubi, 'the legend' returns to UD Almería
The Vilassar de Mar native head coach inspired the Rojiblancos to finish Segunda Division champions in the past 2021/22 season and in the following to stay up in the Primera Division of Spanish football
Joan Francesc Ferrer Sicilia is the new UD Almería head coach as he begins his second stage at the helm of the Rojiblancos team after a first stage marked by promotion and top-tier league safety. Club's CEO Mohamed El Assy defined 'Rubi' as a 'UD Almería legend after winning the first title in history -Segunda Division champions in 2021/22 - plus securing Primera Division safety in the driving seat of the team. So 'the legend' returns to once again lead an ambitious and exciting project with which the aim is to fight to reconquer the top flight of Spanish football.
The Club and the Vilassar de Mar native head coach have agreed on a three-season deal with a termination clause of €10 million. A very marked methodology is part of Rubi's sporting DNA, in addition to a balanced style on the pitch, where organisation coexists with association, the new Rojiblanco gaffer imbues his players with certain guidelines and behavioral patterns that manage to increase the strength of the group as a differentiating element. In other words, Rubi firmly believes in the word team and cultivates it day by day before, during and after training.
Joan Francesc Ferrer Sicilia arrived at UD Almería in the final stretch of the 2020/21 campaign - Matchday 37 - where he recorded only one defeat and ended up competing in the play-offs for promotion to the top tier. The following term, Rubi not only achieved the desired long-awaited promotion to the Primera Division but also went down in UD Almería history lifting the Cup that accredited him as Segunda Division champion. This is the first and only title in the Rojiblancos' history. Then, in the 2022/23 season, his contract came to an end after fulfilling the objective of league survival - and he bid an emotional farewell to the devoted fans, management and the city.
Football unites paths once again. The last dugout on which Rubi sat will be the same one he will occupy again after a season without coaching any other team, despite the numerous and important options he has had to do so. UD Almería and Rubi join forces again to work in tandem. Now it's officially official: the 2024/25 season in the second tier has just started.