Veteran football icons from several eras of Hercules, including Félix Palomares, Francisco Escudero ‘Paquito’, Francisco Joaquín Pérez ‘Rufete’, Javier Portillo, Teo Rastrojo, Paco Peña, and Moisés García León, will join the veterans’ squad for a special match. The event takes place on Thursday at 20:00 to honor Alicante’s centennial and celebrate the club’s enduring presence in the city’s football history.
The Herculaneum team will feature 36 former players and will be led by managers Manolo Jiménez and Quique Hernández. Jiménez has experience in both the First and Second Division, while Hernández is renowned for directing the greatest number of matches on the Herculaneum bench and for achieving promotion to the First Division in the past.
According to the Centennial Commission and the coaching staff, all players with ties to the club have been contacted. Some notable former stars were unable to participate due to health, personal, or business commitments.
The roster is listed below and includes a total of 36 players:
goalkeepers
- Valerius
- Tony Martinez
- Unai Alba
- Miguel Mari
- Quique Salt
defenses
- Alexander Varela
- clamp
- Stubble
- zunzunegui
- to come
- Benito Sanchez
- Tower
- pamarot
- Gonzalo Bonastre
- Mirror
- baroja
- Mourning
- Vicente Verdejo
- Daniel Barroso
midfielder
- Manolo Martinez
- Camera
- visnjic
- louis name
- palomino
- bouquets
- Fernando Bejar
- paquito
- rufette
strikers
- Raul Ivars
- Israel
- Sigüenza
- passage
- Moses
- Felix Palomares
- July
- Borge
Fernando Giner, president of the Spanish International Football Association, will join for a brief appearance. He previously played for Alicante for a season, adding a historic touch to the reunion crowd.
Several former players who were invited declined, including Alfaro, Antón, Tote, Sergio Fernández, Falagán, Kempes, Eduardo Rodríguez, David de la Hera, Samuel, and Calatayud. The reasons cited were business or personal obligations, not a lack of interest in the event. The day carried a sense of warmth and nostalgia for those on the sidelines and in the stands.
The coaching staff expressed a mix of happiness and nerves. Manolo Jiménez, who has not coached at the Pérez Pérez stadium in years, prepared for the challenge with José Rico Pérez in mind. The hosting club expressed gratitude to those players who could participate and to those who hoped to join but could not. The event, described as a celebration of a club banner that has endured nearly a hundred years, featured both coaches sharing the field at times. Stephen Vigo, known for guiding a team to a First Division promotion, confirmed his presence for the Thursday shootout, marking another chapter in the club’s storied history.