Derby County will go into their Good Friday clash against Blackpool keeping their fingers crossed that another win in League One is forthcoming, even after falling to a crushing 1-0 defeat to Northampton Town last time out.
Sam Hoskins ruined the Rams' day out to Sixfields with an instinctive first-half strike, putting a dampener on proceedings after Paul Warne's men were full of confidence after overcoming automatic promotion rivals Bolton Wanderers in the game prior.
The likes of Curtis Nelson and Sonny Bradley didn't cover themselves in the glory in the narrow defeat to the Cobblers, with the latter of the two centre-backs receiving a late red card to add insult to injury from a Derby point of view.
Yet, Warne and Co wouldn't trade either of those underperforming faces in for this Rams flop in return who is now a forgotten figure at Pride Park after once being viewed as a statement purchase.
Raul Albentosa's time at Derby
Derby couldn't quite believe they managed to land Raul Albentosa's services in 2015, with a number of clubs interested in the Spanish defender after starring in his native country for SD Eibar before making the move to England.
Showing a "real desire" to join the ranks in Derbyshire according to then Rams manager Steve McClaren, it was a move that had plenty of intrigue and hype attached to it.
Albentosa would boast a reputation as being an imposing and goalscoring defender from his time with Eibar, bagging four goals over 50 games for the Spanish side alongside helping himself to an additional three assists.
That was never quite translated into his time donning a Rams shirt, however, with the move – which cost what now looks like an excessive £450k – undoubtedly going down as a major flop.
Only making nine appearances in total for his new English employers before jetting back off to sunnier surroundings in Spain once more, the former Derby number 36 would never really acclimatise to the demands or the cut and thrust of EFL football.
1. GK – Kelle Roos
2. RB – Cyrus Christie
3. CB – Raul Albentosa
4. CB – Jake Buxton
5. CB – Richard Keogh
6. LB – Craig Forsyth
7. CM – Will Hughes
8. CM – Omar Mascarell
9. CM – Jeff Hendrick
10. ST – Darren Bent
11. ST – Chris Martin
As can be seen above, Albentosa's full debut for the Rams wouldn't actually come about until December of his debut season owing to recurring hamstring issues plaguing the start of his doomed Derby stint.
Even when he was fully fit to face off against Chesterfield in the FA Cup, he would only be afforded a 45-minute run-out before being hauled off by McClaren who certainly must have felt the Rams weren't getting their money's worth whatsoever out of the ex-Eibar dud.
It would result in Derby offloading Albentosa to Malaga on loan just one season into his two-and-a-half-year contract at Pride Park, with the 6 foot 5 centre-back then leaving for Deportivo de La Coruña permanently after this loan was up.
In the list of all-time Rams' flops, Albentosa's name must be near the top of the pile with so much talk surrounding his capture focusing in on how many high-profile clubs Derby had beaten to get him into the building.
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Now, the one-time Rams man finds himself playing in Europe's 15th-ranked nation, 14 places below England – according to the UEFA coefficients – and he has managed to mend his broken career somewhat after the scathing experience of playing in England must have left some wounds on his ego.
Raul Albentosa's career after Derby
Albentosa has become a well-travelled individual after calling time on his unmemorable Derby stay, moving to far-away Romania and Bulgaria before finding a settled home recently in Denmark with Vejle Boldklub.
The now 35-year-old is captain of the Superliga club, amassing 69 appearances in total since joining in 2022 and firing in goals from the back to recapture his Eibar best even as his career gradually grinds to a halt.
Albentosa has managed to score eight goals for Vejle to prove his worth to his Danish employers, playing as a leader for the Scandinavian side after shirking away from the spotlight time after time at Pride Park.
The revitalised Vejle number six was crucial to his team beating Silkeborg in mid-February, making seven clearances and completing five interceptions to shut out their Superliga opponents whilst scoring late on to ensure his team would win 2-0 on the day.
It's been a great turnaround for a man lost to the Rams' history books, with many Derby fans just focusing on watching their current crop of heroes battle it out for promotion back up to the Championship than ever remembering names such as Albentosa's when recollecting on the past.
Derby will just be raring to go again when Blackpool come to town on Good Friday, with all those associated with the League One giants wanting to return to the Championship and fast.
Whilst the current camp at Derby could etch themselves into the hall-of-fame at Pride Park by finally breaking back through to the second tier, there'll be no bad blood now on the end of the Rams towards Albentosa and his wretched time in Derbyshire nearly ten years on.
Warne will just have to pray that if his Derby side do return to the division above, they don't get caught out with expensive blunders like Albentosa in the here and now.