Deportivo La Coruna have completed their return to La Liga, with president Juan Carlos Escotet declaring that the Galician club will target European qualification.
The club has spent 26 million euros on summer reinforcements to prepare for Spain's top division, including 6 million euros on 19-year-old Polish defender Bright Ede.
Only Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid have spent more in Spain during the current transfer window. Deportivo invested 15.5 million euros of their total budget in young players intended for future development, alongside experienced arrivals such as Angeliño and 37-year-old former Marseille striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The team is led by 47-year-old Catalan manager Antonio Hidalgo, who guided Deportivo back to Primera Division. A former Barcelona youth player who trained at La Masia alongside Xavi, Carles Puyol, Mikel Arteta, Pepe Reina, and Thiago Motta, Hidalgo later played for Tenerife, Malaga, Zaragoza, Osasuna, Albacete, and Sabadell.
Hidalgo expressed a philosophical outlook on management, stating that life cannot exist without suffering and that suffering is the essential core of a coach's work. He explained that he tries to convince his players that every goal comes at a price that must be paid, adding that while he speaks frequently about suffering, it remains the only path to achieving happiness. In management, he noted that happiness brings peace when a team wins, whereas defeats bring fear and a continuous cycle of searching for solutions.
Financial Crisis and Bank Investment
Just two years ago, Deportivo was trapped in the third division of Spanish football with debts reaching 160 million euros. The club, based in the Galician city of 250,000 residents, was saved from economic collapse by an investment from Abanca bank, led by Venezuelan-Spanish billionaire Juan Carlos Escotet.
Escotet initially managed the club's financial recovery from behind the scenes after investing in January 2020, when he publicly stated that football was their business. In 2024, Escotet formally assumed the club presidency, taking over a seat that former president Augusto Cesar Lendoiro once described as an electric chair. Lendoiro had led Deportivo for a quarter of a century until his golden era ended in 2014.
Escotet has informed supporters that the club is not returning to Primera Division merely to survive, but to compete for places in European competition. Club management confirmed that the transfer campaign remains active, with additional signings still required across the defense, midfield, and forward lines.
Third Tier Journey and Fan Loyalty
Supporters endured four seasons in the third tier following years of financial turmoil. A supporter described to the newspaper El Pais how a group of six friends traveled between 1,000 and 1,200 kilometers by train from La Coruna to San Fernando, a city near Cadiz in Andalusia, only to watch local club CD San Fernando score an equalizer in the 95th minute on January 29, 2023.
Waiting at the San Fernando train station for a train that was delayed by an hour, one supporter told his companions that they would laugh about the experience once Deportivo returned to Primera Division, prompting ironic laughter from his friends. Fans later suffered further humiliation when Deportivo was beaten on home soil by the third-tier reserve side of local rivals Celta Vigo.
Celta Vigo and Deportivo maintain a long and intense regional rivalry in Galicia, though Celta has never won a Spanish league title. Deportivo won the Primera Division championship in the 1999-2000 season under manager Javier Irureta, finishing five points clear of Barcelona with a squad featuring Noureddine Naybet, Djalminha, Fran, Roy Makaay, and Mauro Silva.
Only one club in Spain from a smaller city than La Coruna has ever won the national league title. Real Sociedad, based in the Basque city of San Sebastian with 190,000 residents, achieved the feat, whereas La Coruna has a population of 245,000.
Golden Era and Champions League Success
Deportivo enjoyed a period of major success on the national and European stage, highlighted by winning the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid in March 2002. Playing at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Deportivo defeated the host team 2-1 on the exact day Real Madrid had prepared to celebrate the 100th anniversary of their founding.
During the 2003-2004 Champions League campaign, Deportivo suffered a 4-1 defeat against AC Milan in the first leg of the quarter-finals at the San Siro, but overturned the deficit with a 4-0 victory in the return leg at Riazor to eliminate the defending champions. Their run ended in the semi-finals with a 1-0 aggregate loss to Jose Mourinho's FC Porto.
A long decline followed, leading to relegation from La Liga in 2011. In 2015, a scandal emerged over alleged match-fixing involving Levante and Zaragoza players during the final round of fixtures, which contributed to Deportivo's predicament. Legal proceedings surrounding the case continued in court until December 2020, when the case was dismissed.
During their peak years between the 1992-1993 and 2010-2011 seasons, Deportivo went 18 consecutive home matches unbeaten against Real Madrid at Riazor, a record run unmatched by any other Spanish club. However, Deportivo suffered an 8-2 home defeat to Real Madrid in the 2014-2015 season, suffered another relegation in 2018 following a loss to Barcelona, and narrowly avoided falling to Spain's fourth tier by a single point during a league reorganization in 2020.
Promotion Record and Stadium Security
Deportivo finally secured promotion from the third division to the second tier at the end of the 2023-2024 season by defeating Barcelona's reserve team on the final matchday. The decisive fixture drew 31,883 spectators to the Riazor stadium, establishing an all-time attendance record for a third-tier football match in Spain.
Managing the club's fan base has also presented financial and security challenges despite a membership base of 30,000 socios. Club authorities recently paid 200,000 euros in fines due to incidents involving their ultras group, the Riazor Blues. To comply with La Liga regulations, Deportivo introduced mandatory identity checks for all members of the ultras group entering the stadium.
The ultras group called for a fan boycott of the recent Teresa Herrera trophy match against Real Madrid in protest against the security measures, labeling them an infringement on their freedom. Despite the boycott call, nearly 29,000 supporters attended the fixture at Riazor, where Real Madrid secured a 1-0 victory courtesy of a goal from Brahim Diaz following an assist by goalkeeper Andriy Lunin.
With summer preparations underway and competitive fixtures resuming in La Liga, Deportivo enters the new season seeking to re-establish itself among Spain's elite clubs and fulfill the European ambitions set out by ownership.
