Promoted Elche appoint Almiron following Pacheta´s shock exit

Elche have appointed Jorge Almiron as head coach for their return to LaLiga following the surprising exit of Pacheta, the man responsible for their promotion.

The club confirmed Pacheta’s departure on Tuesday in a significant blow to supporters, who had urged Elche to extend the popular coach’s contract.

Pacheta took charge in February 2018 when they were in the third tier of Spanish football.

In 2019-20 he masterminded Elche’s promotion via the play-offs despite having the fifth-smallest budget in the division, as they first saw off Real Zaragoza 1-0 on aggregate, before then beating Girona by the same scoreline with a dramatic winner in the final’s second leg on Sunday.

It secured Elche’s return to the top flight for the first time since their historic demotion from LaLiga for financial difficulties in 2015.

Almiron, 49, arrives having most recently worked at Al-Shabab in Saudi Arabia last year, though most of his career has been spent in Argentina and Mexico, with the likes of San Lorenzo, Lanus, Independiente, Xolos de Tijuana and Defensa y Justicia, among others.