The Albacete Balompié season has been remarkable in many ways. A historic Copa del Rey run that saw them eliminate Celta de Vigo and Real Madrid, a comfortable survival in LaLiga Hypermotion with over a month left in the competition, and the confirmation of players who had been stuck in their development. Impressive on all fronts, but outstanding in terms of the performance of young academy talents.
The 2025-2026 campaign will be remembered in Albacete for the leap to the first team of homegrown players like Hugo Martínez ‘Capi’ – recently renewed until 2029 and scorer against Cultural Leonesa – Dani Bernabéu (also renewed until 2029), Mario Ramos, Toni Velilla, and Alberto Morientes, nephew of former Albacete and Real Madrid striker Fernando Morientes. These five players have trained consistently with the senior squad for much of the season and have proven that hard work pays off. Head coach Alberto González gave them the importance they deserve: golden minutes in the Copa del Rey against Spain’s best teams and the opportunity to train daily with established professionals.
As the season winds down for the first team, Ramos, Velilla, Morientes, Capi, and Bernabéu still have an ambitious goal for the current campaign: to help Atlético Albacete earn promotion to Segunda RFEF. These five players, joined by a dressing room full of talent, have qualified for the promotion playoffs to the next tier of Spanish football. Their first-round opponent is CD Toledo. The first leg will take place this Sunday at 12:00 PM in the Alba Redondo stadium in Albacete, despite some fans calling to move the playoff tie to the Carlos Belmonte. The reserve team has played all season at the Ciudad Deportiva Andrés Iniesta and will not change its approach for a promotion playoff match.
Albacete and Toledo have always shared an intense sporting rivalry, so the Alba Redondo is expected to see a large turnout on Sunday morning. The first team plays on Friday away against Córdoba, so minutes will be managed, and even the call-up for the game will be adjusted to ensure that key players are available for the reserve team’s playoff push on Sunday.
Capi scored the winner against Cultural and Deportiva Leonesa, assisted by Dani Bernabéu. “I’m very happy for Dani too; he gave his first assist in professional football. Fran put in a great ball and luckily I was there to put it away,” said Hugo Martínez, who explained his back-and-forth role this season: “I’m a club worker. I’ll play wherever I’m needed, whether for the first team or helping the reserve team achieve its goal.”
