UD Almería has suffered a painful defeat in the playoff against Málaga, which means that Rubi's team is left at the gates of La Liga. The elimination of UD Almería by Málaga once again puts the focus on an issue that has been accompanying the club since 2020. The rojiblancos have built teams capable of competing to go up, have repeatedly reached the decisive phases and have accumulated enough arguments to achieve the objective. However, when the season is reduced to the games that make a difference, the result always ends up being the same. The defeat at La Rosaleda prolongs a sequence that is starting to become a burden for an entity that is once again left at the gates of La Liga. Rubi's team scored in 37 of the 42 regular season games and in three of the four playoff games, led long streaks of positive results and even fought for direct promotion positions. Over time, the defensive fragility, reflected in the 63 goals conceded in the league tournament – five in the four games of the promotion phase – and the inability to definitively close the eliminators in the key moments ended up weighing too much. Almería has demonstrated during two consecutive courses that it has the level to compete to return to La Liga, but also that it has not yet found the necessary balance to take the last step. The promotion of ascent becomes an insurmountable barrier for UDA again. The defeat against Málaga in the final, with a approach that may not have been the most suitable – the behavior did not match what Rubi expressed in the previous press conference to go for the game – not only prevents the return to La Liga, but also prolongs a sequence that starts to acquire touches of curse for the rojiblancos. Since 2019/20, the Almerians have played four promotion playoffs and all four have ended in the same way, with the dream broken and the obligation to start again from Segunda División. The image of the players defeated on the UDA Stadium pitch after falling to the Málaga team perfectly summarizes the feeling that a season marked by illusion, regularity and conviction that promotion was within reach leaves. So, recent history explains much of the current frustration. The rojiblanco team managed to return to La Liga in the 2021/22 season under Rubi's direction, conquering direct promotion after a outstanding season in which like the present one everything was praise for their game, although in the final stretch it cost them to close their objective, which they were about to miss. The disappointment is even greater because the season offered arguments to believe. Rubi's team has shown that it can compete with the best, but it still hasn't found the formula to overcome the playoff barrier. But, the question is, what will happen next year? Will Almería finally be able to promote to La Liga? Only time will tell. UD Almería has to get up and move on, with the illusion that next year will be different. With 81 points in the 2021/22 season, the rojiblanco team demonstrated that it has the level to compete in La Liga. Now, it has to find a way to overcome the playoff barrier and achieve its goal.