Head north-west from Alicante, high into the Sierra del Cid and close to the Murcian border you’ll find the town of Elda. The local team, Club Deportivo Eldense was formed in 1921 and to date, it has graced La Segunda on three occasions. However for the majority of its 100 years, the club played its football in the Tercera.
Eldense’s first home was the Campo del Progreso, but in 1923 they moved to the Campo del Parque, which would remain their home for the next 41 years. The club’s first full league campaign, the 1928-29 season, saw the club claim the title in the Murciana Segunda Regional, heading a division that contained Albacete FC, Hércules & Alicante. Promotion proved to be a step too far, for the club lost all six matches against Real Murcia, Cartagena FC & Elche CF, conceding 30 goals and scoring just once. Back in the Segunda Regional, Eldense earned two more titles, but lost out in the playoffs, before finally earning a place back in the Murciana Primera with a fourth title in 1936. The Civil War delayed their return, but upon resumption, Eldense grew in strength, winning the Primera title in 1941-42, but finishing fourth in the playoff group. The following season saw the club claim the Primera title again, and despite failing to win promotion via the play-off group, the expansion of the national Tercera Divisón saw the club elevated.
Whilst the first season in the Tercera saw a promising third placed finish, performances gradually tailed-off, and by the 1950-51 season, the club was in disarray, finishing 16th in the league and declining to play a relegation playoff match with Mallorcan club, CD Manacor. Whilst Eldense remained a member of the regional federation, it went into hibernation for the 1951-53 seasons, before reemerging in the Tercera at the start of the 53-54 campaign. The following season, saw Eldense finish second in the league, but lose out in the playoffs. The following season saw the club win a first Tercera title. This led to a tortuous playoff round of 14 matches which culminated in an aggregate play-off win over Plus Ultra by 6 goals to three. Eldense joined the Segunda División (Grupo Sur) for the 1956-57 season, finishing 16th where they had to endure more playoffs, this time to avoid relegation. Here they faced Calvo Sotelo and all seemed lost after a 4-1 defeat in Puertollano. However, in the second leg, Eldense racked up seven goals without reply and retained their position in the second division. The following season saw the club finish eighth, with home form key to their improvement, winning 13 of their 17 matches at the Campo del Parque. A year later and their home was no longer a fortress, as Eldense won only 8 matches all season, finishing bottom of the Segunda División (Grupo Sur) and returning to the Tercera.
A second spell in the second tier followed in 1962-63 and the club recorded it best finish of seventh place, with 12 of its 13 victories coming at the Campo del Parque. Their frailties were exposed a year later, when Eldense finished rock bottom once again. As you can see, when Eldense did well at the Campo del Parque, it was central to their success. The ground was located on the current Calle Juan de la Cierva and was a basic enclosure with four open terraces. Changing facilities were located in the north western corner of the ground, whilst the largest terrace was located on the northern side. Work had started on the new stadium, around 250 metres south-east of the Campo del Parque, when the club was fighting a losing battle against relegation from La Segunda. Eldense played its final match at the Campo del Parque on 7 April 1964, beating CD Tenerife 2-1.
The new Estadio Municipal staged its first match on 26 April 1964, when Eldense entertained Hércules CF in the final league game of the season. Whilst they didn’t know it at the time, this was to be the only Segunda match that Eldense would stage at the stadium. Over the next 60 years, the club would spend 47 seasons in the Tercera. They did reach Segunda B on 5 occasions, clocking up a total of 11 seasons at that level. Their home was renamed the Estadio Municipal Pepico Amat in 1994, following the death of the former Eldense goalkeeper and manager. It is a rather deceptive enclosure and looks as though it could hold more than its 8,000 capacity. The dominant feature is the single tiered stand with a shallow cantilevered roof and bright bands of red and blue concrete bleachers. The roof was added in 1988, but everything else looks pretty much as it did back in 1964. Six steps of terracing run around the rest of the ground until you reach the South East corner. Here you’ll find a wedge of more substantial terracing which seems to have been inserted, almost as an afterthought or cut price homage to bigger, more famous spion kops. Everything was given a lick of paint when Eldense was promoted to Segunda B for the 2006-07 season, but they returned to the Tercera after one campaign.
Eldense’s days original Pepico Amat were however numbered. The municipality wanted the land and that of the adjacent annex for a new shopping & leisure complex. Work started in early 2011 on a 4,000 all-seated stadium just 200 metres to the south of the existing ground. The €4.5m cost would be partly funded by the Valencian Government. Progress was slow, but finally, Eldense played their last game at the Pepico Amat on 26 August 2012 when they drew 0-0 with Orihuela. After much delay, and a home match played a few miles to the south west at the Municipal de Monòver, Eldense finally got to inaugurate the Estadio Nuevo Pepico Amat on 30 September 2012. The home side got off to a winning start with a 1-0 victory over CF Borriol in front of 2,000 fans.
The new stadium features a raised stand on the west side, which is covered by a cantilevered barrel-vaulted roof. Three open banks of red & blue seats complete the enclosure which featured an artificial pitch. The municipally-owned stadium also houses training facilities for mixed martial arts and gymnastics. Eldense won promotion back to Segunda B on 21 June 2014 with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Formentera in the play-offs. Following promotion to Segunda B, the stadium had its first sell-out crowd when Hercules CF paid a visit on 24 August 2014. Eldense’s stay in Segunda B ended after three seasons, and included a 12-0 defeat away to Barcelona B. The coach and four players were investigated for match fixing, but no charges were ever brought to book. As for the old Pepico Amat, well that’s still standing. The shopping & leisure complex was never built and the old stadium lays idle for much of the time.
Following promotion to the Segunda RFEF in the summer of 2021, Eldense was purchased by local telecommunications businessman, Pascual Pérez. As sole shareholder, Pérez invested heavily in the squad and drew up ambitious plans for a new stadium. Results on the pitch were immediate, with successive promotions to Primera RFEF, and after an absence of 59 years, La Segunda. The return to La Segunda led to the artificial surface being replaced with natural turf and a temporary stand erected behind the open east side, raising the capacity to 5,776.
CD Eldense Official Website : http://www.cdeldense.es/
La Futbolteca club history : http://lafutbolteca.com/tag/cd-eldense/
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