He lost his place. It doesn’t count. It makes little sense. Rubén Torrecilla finds himself sidelined, ignored in searches. He logged 14 minutes across the first 16 rounds, yet his fate remains unclear. The salary burden has been the heaviest on the squad, but no formal plan to address it was put on the table. In another club, a player in this position would be marked as disposable, a fixture on the sick leave list. The top candidate who left the blue and white SAD before January has expired, and yet the situation begs questions.
However, the Valencia-born player can still shape his own destiny. If he neither wishes to depart nor signals a clear intent to do so, no one at any level can force him out of the club.
The Valencian midfielder holds the power to determine the final arc of his career. He has a contract and the respect of the owner, who personally sought him out when he left Tenerife the hard way. He left professional football to assist Hércules in the fourth tier. The connection remains intact. No negotiations were launched in the summer to reach an amicable departure for Rubén Torrecilla, already clear that he preferred other profiles.
The evils of the good captain
Pedro Rojas
Michael wants to honor his contract. He understands that he will be the last one at this level, and deep down, everyone respects him. The player who lost real support in the locker room, though he was never counted as a regular, continues to contribute. Raul Ruiz remains committed to his role, not even a starter for the coach, yet he does not derail the team. He stays active in the locker room, participating in the club’s social activities and supporting teammates.
14 MINUTES
The footballer appeared in 16 league matches.
He has featured in only four matches this season (one in the Copa del Rey, the only match where he started), has not been in the squad since matchday five, and is already 35 years old.
There is no reason to doubt that Míchel Herrero is needed for purely sporting reasons; therefore, it is hard to unilaterally decide to end the captain’s tenure in Alicante, a leader who has learned to guide the group from within. His on-field heroics have not faded. The role of this player, relegated in his second year at Alicante, should not surprise anyone. After a first season marked by shadows in blue and white, his performances were often distant from the heights he achieved earlier with Hércules.
But now is not the moment for nostalgia or gestures. improvisation or theatrics. It is time to look ahead, to plan life after retirement. Míchel will not leave on offer, so the best route is to secure what remains to be claimed. At Alicante, only one player departed halfway through the season with a bag full of uncertainties: Ander Vitoria. The Basque striker’s situation was tense because his presence in the locker room affected the group; he did not share this with Michel, maintaining an attachment to the squad that felt natural, productive, and almost paternal.
Míchel Herrero: An oasis in the Hercules squad
David Marine
The Valencia midfielder ends a holiday with his family, leaving without indicating a clear desire to leave during the winter market and without a formal notice from the organization to offer a termination agreement. The planned exit last summer did not happen, and the promise proved stronger than any immediate need. A conversation is likely, but today Míchel is closer to staying than leaving the city.
SUNDAY
Sarkodie Dapaah—and two more movements
Hercules approaches January with three steady moves and the possibility of another depending on Primera RFEF changes. The first target is left winger Sarkodie Dapaah, with whom the club holds an absolute verbal agreement awaiting only the player’s signature. The 22-year-old needs a clearance letter from Cerdanyola to travel to Alicante for a free move. The blue and whites also plan to strengthen with a midfielder and a versatile defender who can cover the team’s definitive departure. David Lopez-Guerrero is a likely addition, and Hugo Sanz from Real Murcia is a potential destination where he can secure minutes. For the midfielder, Javi Moreno, linked with Atlético Baleares, is being considered, though the option remains in an early stage.