Julio Ivorra and his staff commit to another season at CD Jávea

Thursday 8th June 2023
Mike Smith

CD Jávea head coach Julio Ivorra and his coaching staff have renewed their contracts to remain at the club for another year after successfully guiding the side from the bottom of the league to a place in next year’s inaugural Lliga Comunitat, an effective promotion.

A club statement read: “They arrived in December with the team in the table second from last in the table. Work, enthusiasm, love for a club and a lot of football made it possible for our club to obtain that place among a select group of teams that will play next year in the Lliga Comunitat. And most importantly: return the enthusiasm for football to our town”.

Ivorra was handed the difficult job of lifting a side that had won just three times in 16 games under coach Juan Carlos Signes and found itself languishing in the bottom three and just four points off the bottom of the league. Although there was to be no relegation at the end of the season, it was a huge disappointment to the club and the fans who had built their hopes of claiming a top 8 spot and a place in the newly-formed Lliga Comunitat, the top tier of amateur football in the Comunidad Valenciana.

Although he kicked off his tenure with a 0-2 reverse at runaway league leaders Ontinyent 1931 CF, his confident coaching style, encouragement and sheer belief in the team lifted the side, made them play football again to the delight of the fans, and the rojiblancos began climbing back up the league table.

On the final day of the season, it seemed a little poetic that it would be champions Ontinyent 1931 CF would be the visitors, the side against which the ‘Ivorra Revolution’ began. In front of over 1,500 fans, the rojiblancos ran out 2-1 winners to secure 8th spot and “promotion” to the Lliga Comunitat. The party lasted long into the night!

Golsmedia called it “one of the sensations of the second round of the Regional Preferente” and it has heaped plenty of praise on a coach that began his connection with CD Jávea when he was just seven years old as a youth academy player and he went on to represent the club at senior level for eleven years.

Speaking to Comarcal TV at the beginning of May, Ivorra admitted that the club was in a very difficult position when he agreed to take on the challenge but that he was “very confident” that he could turn things around. “I have wanted to train the first team for years because I saw myself as qualified for it … but I did not expect it to be so difficult. [However] I was very confident in my work and above all in the players I had.” But he added that the fans had played their part: “they have been impressive, the stands are filling up and they head to away games and express their support in the team”.

At the time of writing, the promotion play-offs are being contested with the top three teams having mixed success, the shock of the first leg of the semi-finals being the 0-3 defeat of champions Ontinyent 1931 CF at CF Recambios Colon, who finished third in Group II. UD Castellonense drew 1-1 at home to Group I champions CD Soneja whilst CF L’Olleria drew 0-0 at home with Group I runners-up CD Burriana.

Click here for more information about the 2022-2023 season.