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Elche, Villareal and Almeria won the jackpot, promotion to Liga BBVA.

Elche was the champion of the category after a wonderful season in which it obtained 82 points, five more than the second team: Villareal. Elche returns to Liga BBVA 24 years later and three rounds before the end of the regular competition and after 14 consecutive seasons in Liga Adelante.

Elche's promotion was a real triumph. It dominated the category, with Fran Escriba on the reins. Not many people could anticipate the excellent results he would have managing the Elche team and taking it for its fifth time to Liga BBVA.

Villareal won the right to direct promotion in an exciting last match against Almeria, which also managed to be promoted. It was a difficult season in which they suffered the loss, just like we all did, of Manolo Preciado just one day before he was going to be presented as coach of the team. He was replaced by Julio Velazquez, but the team was veering off its course until Marcelino Garcia Toral managed to make it return to Liga BBVA just one year after relegation.

Promotion, once again intense

Villareal forced Almeria to have to play the play-offs for promotion, also played by Alcorcon, Girona and Las Palmas. However, the team from Andalusia did not miss this opportunity. First, it got rid of the team from the Canary Islands and then, before its own audience, it made the Catalans give in, after they had managed to force Alcorcon out of the final.

The case of Alcorcon is worth mentioning. It has one of the lowest budgets of its category and, despite losing important players the previous year, it managed to be once again among the best and to fight for promotion for the second season running.

Ponferradina had no chance for promotion after drawing (2-2) against Lugo at Anxo Carro in the last round of matches. The team from El Bierzo can be proud of its sensational season after having just been promoted to this category.

Relegation positions

The relegation positions for the Second Division B had from the beginning the presence of Xerez which, after a season full of problems, is still debating between institutional "life or death".

Murcia, Racing and Huesca accompanied the team from Andalusia in those fateful positions. The order, which is always important, means that Murcia may be able to play in Liga Adelante (because it ended in a better position) if Deportivo Guadalajara is abruptly relegated for administrative reasons due to a non-compliance of the requirements regarding the club's conversion into a sporting public limited company (SAD).

Classic clubs at Liga Adelante

On the other side of the scale we find that professional football cubs Alaves, Tenerife, Eibar and Jaen are returning to professional football.

Alaves and Tenerife managed to be promoted to Liga Adelante after beating Real Jaen and L'Hospitalet at the champions' play-offs. The team from the Basque Country recovered its position in the competition four years later, while the one from the Canary Islands put an end to a two-year adventure outside professional football.

Jaen made the most of its second opportunity for promotion in the second round of play-offs, eliminating Huracan and returning to Liga Adelante after eleven years away. However, l'Hospitalet could not do the same and gave in before an experienced Eibar that returns to "its" category four seasons later.

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