Mérida AD

Mérida
Full nameAsociación Deportiva Mérida, S.A.D.
Nickname(s)Romanos
Pecholatas
Founded19 February 2013; 11 years ago (19 February 2013)
as Mérida Asociación Deportiva
GroundEstadio Romano, Mérida,
Extremadura, Spain
Capacity14,600[1]
OwnerMark Heffernan
PresidentMark Heffernan
Head coachSergi Guilló
LeaguePrimera Federación – Group 2
2023–24Primera Federación – Group 2, 12th of 20
Websitehttp://admerida.es/

Asociación Deportiva Mérida, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Mérida, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 2013 it is a successor club of CP Mérida, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 1.

History

The club was founded on 19 February 2013 and six days later, it was registered in General Registry of Sports Entities of Extremadura.[2] Mérida UD was dissolved later in 2013 and Mérida AD bought their place in Tercera División.[3]

On 30 May 2015, the club was promoted to Segunda División B after defeating CD Laredo 2–1 on aggregate in the playoffs.[4] On 27 August that year, the team competed in the Copa del Rey for the first time, losing 0–3 at home to Peña Sport FC in the opening round.[5]

In 2017–18, the club were given a bye to the second round of the cup, where they lost 2–0 at CF Fuenlabrada.[6] The season ended with relegation back to the fourth tier after a 2–2 aggregate defeat (away goals) to Coruxo FC in the relegation play-offs,[7] but the club bounced back a year later with a penalty shootout win against UD Socuéllamos.[8]

After a league restructuring in 2021, Mérida was placed in the new fourth-tier Segunda División RFEF. That season, they came runners-up in their group to Córdoba CF and achieved promotion via the play-offs with a 2–0 extra-time win over CD Teruel.[9]

Season to season

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
2013–14 4 3ª 2nd
2014–15 4 3ª 1st
2015–16 3 2ª B 8th First round
2016–17 3 2ª B 5th
2017–18 3 2ª B 16th Second round
2018–19 4 3ª 1st
2019–20 3 2ª B 19th Second round
2020–21 3 2ª B 6th / 4th
2021–22 4 2ª Fed. 2nd
2022–23 3 1ª Fed. 8th Second round
2023–24 3 1ª Fed. 12th
2024–25 3 1ª Fed.

Current squad

As of 30 August 2024.[10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Spain ESP Juanpa Palomares
3 DF Spain ESP Sergio Segura
4 DF Spain ESP Manuel Bonaque
5 DF Spain ESP Luis Pareja
6 MF Spain ESP Miki Muñoz
7 FW Spain ESP Álvaro Juan
8 FW Spain ESP Javi Eslava
9 FW Morocco MAR Mohamed Mizzian
10 MF Spain ESP Juanjo Sánchez
11 FW Spain ESP Carlos Doncel
12 MF United States USA Jack Beer
13 GK Spain ESP Dani Vicente
14 FW Spain ESP Liberto Beltrán
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF Argentina ARG Mateo Prevedini
16 FW Spain ESP Pablo García
17 MF Equatorial Guinea EQG Pablo Ganet
18 DF Spain ESP Eliseo Falcón
19 DF Spain ESP Pipe
20 DF Dominican Republic DOM Charbel Wehbe (on loan from Real Oviedo)
21 MF Spain ESP Raúl Beneit
22 DF Spain ESP Mario Climent
23 MF Spain ESP Busi
26 GK Spain ESP Iker Maciá
28 MF Spain ESP Saúl del Cerro (on loan from Burgos)
— DF Argentina ARG Tomás Bourdal

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Spain ESP José Andrés Oliveira (at Villanovense until 30 June 2025)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW Senegal SEN Yacouba Dabo (at Juventud Torremolinos until 30 June 2025)

Stadium

Mérida plays its home games at Estadio Romano, with a capacity of 14,600 spectators.[11]

Managerial history

References

  1. ^ "Estadio Romano". www.admerida.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Asociación Deportiva Mérida, S.A.D" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  3. ^ Gallego, Fernando (11 May 2013). "La AD Mérida sustituirá al Mérida UD en Tercera" [AD Mérida will replace Mérida UD in Tercera]. Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  4. ^ Gallego, Fernando (31 May 2015). "Redímete, Mérida" [Redeem yourself, Mérida] (in Spanish). Hoy. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  5. ^ "Frustración en el Romano" [Frustration in the Romano]. Hoy (in Spanish). 28 August 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Fuenlabrada rompe el sueño copero" [Fuenlabrada break the cup dream]. Hoy (in Spanish). 7 September 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Fin de ciclo para el Mérida en Coruxo" [End of the cycle for Mérida in Coruxo]. Hoy (in Spanish). 26 May 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  8. ^ "El Mérida vuelve a ser de bronce" [Mérida returns to the third tier]. Hoy (in Spanish). 3 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  9. ^ "El CD Teruel cae contra el Mérida y no logra el ascenso a Primera RFEF" [CD Teruel fall against Mérida and do not achieve promotion to Primera RFEF]. Diario de Teruel (in Spanish). 29 May 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  10. ^ "PRIMER EQUIPO". AD Mérida (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Estadio Romano | Mérida AD". www.admerida.es. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  12. ^ "Mehdi Nafti, nuevo entrenador del Mérida" [Mehdi Nafti, Mérida's new manager]. Marca (in Spanish). 27 June 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  13. ^ F.G. (21 December 2017). "El adiós elegante de Nafti" [Nafti's elegant farewell]. Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  14. ^ Fernández, Menchu (12 March 2018). "Mehdi Nafti vuelve al Mérida tras ser despedido en diciembre" [Mehdi Nafti returns to Mérida after being dismissed in December]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  15. ^ E.P.E. (28 May 2018). "El Mérida vuelve a kilómetro 0" [Mérida back to square one]. El Periódico Extremadura (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 December 2018.