Super Dépor - The dramatic rise and fall of Deportivo La Coruña.
A brief history of how Deportivo La Coruña built a lasting legacy on La Liga and in Europe but are now on the brink of failure.
#PausaHistoria [THREAD]
A brief history of how Deportivo La Coruña built a lasting legacy on La Liga and in Europe but are now on the brink of failure.
#PausaHistoria [THREAD]
Just days ago, Deportivo La Coruña were due to face Fuenlabrada but a number of covid +ve cases from the Madrid side meant that the match had to be postponed. The Federation allowed the other games to go ahead & wins for both Albacete and Lugo sent Deportivo down to the 3rd div.
While the Dépor fans today are pained by what’s going on at the club right now, a lot of that pain has been built up over years of contemplating “what could have been”. Because for some time, Dépor were not just any team but THE TEAM in Spain.
In the late 80s, Dépor were competing in Spain’s 2nd division. Buoyed by ambitious club chairman Augusto Lendoiro, Dépor found success off the pitch with members as well as local fans increasing at a high rate. Soon after in the 1990/91 season Dépor won promotion to La Liga.
Dépor didn’t hit the ground running in La Liga. They struggled throughout their return to the top flight and were also involved in a relegation play off but they held on and survived.
But Dépor now had genuine stars in their team with Fran unearthed from their own academy and Bebeto and Mauro Silva bought in from Brazilian clubs. Bebeto also won the Pichichi in 1992 & their keeper Paco Liaño won the Zamora.
Led by manager Arsenio Iglesias and their new stars, Dépor nearly won the title in 1993/94, needing a win against Valencia but painfully faltering after a missed penalty cost them. Paco Liaño won his 2nd Zamora though after conceding just 18 goals in 38 games.
Dépor now had a chance to exact revenge against Valencia in the 1995 Copa Del Rey final. The game ended 1-1 as play was suspended due to rain. In the replay Santaelena who was brought off the bench scored a dramatic winner in a 2-1 victory, banishing demons from a year ago.
Arsenio Iglesias left the club and La Liga and Copa del Rey winner John Toshack took over. He inherited a team in transition and had to phase out veterans and rebuild the squad. But Toshack didn’t get along well with Lendoiro or the fans. Results were not great and he resigned.
During Toshack’s reign, the club signed future all-time great Rivaldo. Dépor didn’t do too well but he was fantastic, scoring 21 goals. Barca deposited the release clause for him & he departed. And so, 97/98 season was a disappointment for Dépor with poor results all round.
In 1999, Dépor invested heavily. New manager Javier Irureta now had talented players like Naybet, Tristán, Djalminha & Roy Makaay at his disposal alongside existing stars in Fran & Mauro Silva. By December that year, Dépor were on top of the table leading by 8 points!
Dépor with their penchant for drama did not let their fans rest easy. They struggled in their next 4 games winning just 1 point. They then lost to Barca with ex-player Rivaldo scoring the winner. Post that they steadied the ship somewhat only to lose to Rayo & Celta.
With 3 games to go, Barcelona picked up just 1 point. Super Dépor had finally done it! It had not come easy. There were years of pain in between but they were champions.
In 2002, Dépor beat Real Madrid on Real Madrid’s 100th anniversary to win the Copa del Rey for the second time.
In the coming seasons Dépor did quite well with a flurry of wins against big teams in Europe like PSG, Man Utd and Milan. They even made it to the 2003/04 UCL semis, losing to Mourinho’s Porto who also won the title that season.
Dépor however had huge debts building up. They had to sell key players and never quite recovered and Super Dépor’s glorious era had come to an end.
Today, Dépor face an uncertain future. There’s no guarantee that the appeals to replay the entire matchday will be granted.
Dépor’s rivals Celta de Vigo play in La Liga, nearly escaping relegation themselves. And in a twisted way Dépor will quite possibly play the Galacian Derby against Celta’s B team in the Segunda B.
With the 3rd division looming in the club’s near future, the club will now look to its glory days for strength and in hope that they can make it back to the top.
