History repeats in football lore as Hercules looks to a familiar face for help. Josip Visnjic, a former Hercules player and a longtime figure in the club’s blue and white narrative, returns in a moment of need. The veteran coach is stepping in to guide the reserve squad for the remainder of the season as the team navigates the lower half of the Tercera RFEF VI subgroup following the formal dismissal of Arei Souto and Luis Avellà, who were leading the group before the changes.
The Balkan manager has a storied past with Hercules, having overseen a range of club projects and twice served at the helm of the first team during the 2003-04 and 2017-18 seasons. His return marks a continuation of his ongoing relationship with a club he has repeatedly helped shape, with the aim of stabilizing a challenging period in the club’s long journey.
Visnjic: This is taking time, I hope I’ll be back soon and it won’t take another 15 years
Visnjic also left a lasting imprint as a player, contributing to the ascent to the First and Second Division titles in the 1995-96 season. He finished his playing career with 126 appearances for Hercules, a tally that still resonates with the club’s supporters. He is regarded as one of the Serbs who helped define the club’s centennial era, having managed the bench in Las Palmas, Alcalá, Toledo, Fuenlabrada, Granada, and Villanovense, among others. His current objective with the club is to revive the blue and white reserve side and reestablish a pathway for young talents to progress toward the principal squad, especially during a phase where three points separate the team from the safety threshold with ten rounds still to play.
Better late than never, Josip
Visnjic takes over a block left by Arei Souto and Luis Avellà, a period that left Alicante at the bottom of the table after twenty matchdays, with a record of four wins, five draws, and eleven losses. In the most recent ten matches, Hercules B has managed only one victory, a league clash against Acero on January 7. Since then, the team has collected three points from a possible fifteen, and the day after that setback the under-23 side of the first team faced Castellón subsidiary Manu Navarro in the starting lineup, finishing in a goalless stalemate.
In the summer of 2018 Visnjic pursued a coaching stint abroad, taking charge of training duties at Al Gharafa in Doha, Qatar, under the leadership of Slavisa Jokanovic, another former Hercules figure who contributed to shaping the club on the sidelines. This latest return underscores a commitment to rebuilding a strong development spine within the Hercules organization as it journeys toward a more competitive future. [Citation: Hercules football club historical leadership and player alumni]