“Levante and Joan Francesc Ferrer Sicilia ‘Rubi’ reached an agreement last night for him to be the new coach of Levante until the end of the season and with the option of two more seasons,” read a statement on the club website.
The 45-year-old has developed a reputation as a talented coach in the lower leagues and he also gained experience as part of the late Tito Vilanova's coaching staff at Barcelona.
Rubi takes over at Levante from Alcaraz who was dismissed after Sunday’s 4-0 hammering by Real Sociedad, which left them bottom of the table, level on points with Las Palmas and Granada, who all have six from nine games.
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Considering their limited resources, Levante have punched above their weight in recent seasons with a solid, counter-attacking style of play, and qualified for the Europa League in 2012 after finishing sixth.
However, the continual sale of their main assets, including goalkeeper Keylor Navas to Real Madrid in 2014, means that they now face an uphill struggle to survive in La Liga.
(Reporting by Tim Hanlon in Barcelona, editing by Neville Dalton)
