In the past year, documentary photographer Alex Amorós has been working on a project that focuses on football stadiums and their surroundings.
Now living in north London. Amorós was born in Alicante, Spain, and like the rest of family, is a lifelong fan of Hércules CF.
Returning to his home city to focus on supporters of the club to mark Hércules’ centenary year (founded in 1922), Amorós found his beloved club in a total state of disrepair.
“I don’t know who is responsible. But Alicante and Hércules fans don’t deserve this. This is something close to my heart and they should respect a club with 100 years of history.”
Alex Amorós
Things have been bad on the pitch… In recent years, Hércules have slipped down into the fourth tier of Spanish football, Group III of the Segunda Federación, a system which contains 90 teams divided into five groups.
But off it… even worse. The Estadio José Rico Pérez, which once hosted matches during the 1982 World Cup, the late great Maradona himself gracing the turf, has been left to rot – garbage and graffiti taking over the stadium and the streets that surround it.
Like all football clubs – this one means means so much to it’s supporters and the people of Alicante. In his own words, Amorós puts the current situation into perspective.
“Hércules Club de Fútbol is the team where my relationship with football began… I saw the first football game of my life in this stadium.
“My personal relationship with this stadium and its surroundings is totally different from all the others I have been photographing as part of my ongoing project. In this stadium we have grown, I have spent moments with my grandparents, with my parents, with my brother and with my friends.
“The Estadio José Rico Pérez stadium was inaugurated in 1974 in a match played against Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona. The 70s were the golden age of Hércules with a team that came close to qualifying for Europe, finishing fifth in the Spanish League. During World Cup in 1982 Maradona’s Argentina played in the stadium and international matches have been played against various national teams, including England and Scotland.
“Great players like World Cup winners Mario Kempes and David Trezeguet have played for HCF. But unfortunately, during the last 10 years we are going through one of the darkest moments in our history, last season for the first time in history we found ourselves in the fourth division during our centenary season.
“Going to the stadium where Maradona’s Argentina played in the 1982 World Cup and where international matches have been held and finding these conditions is embarrassing to me.“
Alex Amorós
“The club is kept alive by its fans who will never abandon it, despite being in the worst moment in its history. It is the club of our grandparents and our parents, a club that carried the name of Alicante around Spain and that right now is in a very difficult situation.
“Seeing our biggest rivals Elche in the First Division doesn’t help at all. There was a time when them and Valencia were our biggest rivals now we’re not even the first team in our city.
“Many of my friends are HCF fans, one of them, Quique Tébar, until recently was the president of the club’s supporters’ association. Antonio Martinez (pictured above) is another friend who lives in Paris and wherever he goes he wears his HCF shirt. Talking to them among others, they don’t see a way out or a solution because the owner doesn’t want to sell, he doesn’t have offers or we don’t know exactly what is happening, the only value of HCF is their supporters.
“I went to the stadium to include it in my series of photos related to the stadiums and their surroundings and seeing the unsafe and unhealthy current situation, I decided to share them on social media, the photos went viral and many fans shared them.
“They should respect our history, our fans and the people of Alicante. After going viral, many fans went to file complain about the current situation of the stadium in the Spanish health system and some politicians were concerned about what it was happening and it seems that they found it a solution so that Rico Pérez is at least clean and safe… fingers crossed.
“The Rico Pérez stadium was as also the last place where I saw a football game with my brother – Spain against Scotland on the 11th of October 2011. It was a qualifying match for Euro 2012 that Spain won 3-1. We must respect the memories we have together with many family and friends and respect the legacy of a centenary club and not stain the crest anymore.
“During this year I have been taking some photos of the fans in Alicante and London to celebrate the 100 years of the club. It’s an ongoing project that I will finish it at the end of the year.”
Watch below Maradona score a brace as Argentina beat Hungary 4-1 during the 1982 World Cup at the Estadio José Rico Pérez.
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