Alavés and Valencia: Clubs with strong defenses that will try to surprise Liga F

Spanish women football league Liga F will welcome two familiar names in the upcoming season. After advancing from a lower division, Alavés and Valencia are returning to the top flight, taking the spots of relegated teams Alhama and Levante. Before the battle for the first league points kicks off in full force in August, it’s worth taking a moment to recall what these two teams are all about and how they earned their return to the elite.

Alavés: Hard work has paid off 

The promotion of Gloriosas, who were relegated from Liga F in the 2022/23 season, didn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone. The Basque club, whose women’s team was founded in 2017, came close to advancing last season, but ultimately missed out on direct promotion and, after failing in the playoffs, had to settle for another season in the Segunda Federación.

This time, however, the Basques left nothing to chance. They dominated from the start of the season, conceded the fewest goals in the entire competition, and finished the season in second place overall. Since first-place Barcelona B was ineligible for promotion, the Gloriosas advanced directly to Liga F without having to play in the playoffs after defeating CE Europa 4–0 two rounds before the end of the season.

“Consistency. I think that’s what defines us the most. We’re a very competitive team, from start to finish in every game and from start to finish throughout the season,” commented young coach Andrea Esteban on the team’s progress for Las Futbolistas. She turned to coaching after being forced to end her playing career at just 23 years old due to medical reasons.

The 2025/26 season’s achievement is particularly valuable considering that this year’s Segunda Federación was exceptionally competitive. Almost until the very end of the season, the vast majority of teams had a realistic chance of making the playoffs.

In Liga F, Alavés doesn’t want to be a punching bag, but a competitive team that will rely primarily on its excellent defense: “I think these three years have taught us a lot. We’ve learned from our mistakes. We’re more disciplined, we’ve learned from our failures, we’ve matured... Above all, I’d say we’ve become more balanced and relaxed in how we approach every situation and the decisions we make. Let’s hope that this, along with what we learned back then, even though this is a different league, will help us achieve better results,” said Dafne Triviño, sports director of Alavés Gloriosas, in an interview with Naiz.eus.

Valencia: The tremendous mental strength of the brand-new team 

After a year, Valencia is also returning to spanish women top tier league Liga F, even though not many people had much faith in the team before the start of the season. Following its relegation, as is often the case, the club had to deal with a mass exodus of key players and rebuild the team almost from scratch with the help of thirteen new signings and several young players from the club’s academy. 

However, not everyone left after the relegation season. Pauleta Sancho, Marina Marti, Yasmin Katie Mrabet, and Sára Tamarit decided to remain loyal to Valencia and help the team return to the top. It was precisely these dedicated players who became the cornerstones of the new team, which ultimately enjoyed a very successful season and showed from the start that it was ready to return to the top flight. In twenty-six regular season matches, Valencia suffered just four losses and boasted the second-best defense in the league (conceding only eighteen goals).

Valencia entered the promotion playoffs, which are composed of the second through fifth-place teams in the league (excluding B teams), as the highest-ranked team. It was precisely this position in the standings that ultimately played a significant role in the battle for Liga F. In the semifinals, Valencia defeated Albacete, and in the two-leg final, they faced Villarreal. The first match ended scoreless, leaving everything to be decided in the second leg. Villarreal took the lead in the twenty-first minute, and hopes seemed dim. Valencia was ultimately saved in the ninety-ninth minute by a header from Leyre Monente Aicua, who entered the club’s history books as the savior.

Since the additional thirty minutes of extra time did not produce another goal, Valencia celebrated advancing thanks to their higher position in the standings: “It was a goal we’d set ourselves. We’ve been fighting for it all season and, honestly, we’ve always believed in our chances. It’s a new team that has grown as the season has gone on, and I think we’ve always felt capable of achieving it,” said captain Sancho after the team secured their place in Liga F.

Yet the success of coach Mikel Crespo’s team is not the only one the club is celebrating this year. Valencia’s entire women’s section has had an extraordinary season. In fact, the women’s B, C, and D teams have all moved up a division this year! As it seems, the future of women’s football in Valencia is in good hands.