For younger people, Deportivo La Coruna probably doesn't mean much. For those whose gulfs are starting to deepen and the first white hairs are showing the tip of their noses, the Galician club surely evokes very good footballing memories. Among the best clubs in Spain and even the continent at the end of the 90s and the beginning of the 2000s, the Super Depor monopolized the first places in La Liga and in the various cups in which he participated, including this famous Copa del Rey won at the Bernabéu against Real Madrid in the centenary year of the Spanish capital club (2002). Under the blue and white tunic, we could see big names in football shine, such as Rivaldo, Bebeto, Djalminha, Fran Gonzalez, Diego Tristan, Juan Carlos Valeron, Nourredine Naybet, Pedro Miguel Pauleta or Roy Makaay to name just a few. However, what followed was much less glorious…
Within a few years, the club experienced a drastic decline. In the second part of the 2000s, the Galician team went through a terrible financial crisis, paying dearly for the overly greedy transfer policy of President Augusto CĂ©sar Lendoiro during the golden era of the club. Like many Spanish clubs which lived beyond their means during this period – we can also cite Valencia or Betis – Deportivo began to collapse under debt. Economic difficulties which logically translated into difficulties on the field, and the 2010s were particularly gray for the club. Between legal recovery, somewhat troubled relations with Jorge Mendes and permanent institutional crisis, the club went so far as to sink into the third division in 2020. Clearly, if Depor did not have such a fan base and such weight in its region, it would probably have disappeared…
Depor experienced purgatory
But like a phoenix, the club managed to rise from its ashes. The local bank Abanca, until then sponsor, took control of the club in 2020. This did not please many fans, who were not enthusiastic at the idea of ​​seeing a bank run their favorite club. But it is clear that with much more professional management than what had been done until now and with significant financial strength, Abanca has put Deportivo back on the right path institutionally and financially. On paper, the results are stunning. Deportivo thus erased its entire debt in September 2024, which amounted to 160 million euros ten years previously.
On the pitch, it was a little more complicated, since the club still struggled to escape the hell of the Spanish third division. Despite an interesting recruitment policy and funds much higher than those of their rivals in their category at their disposal, it was necessary to wait until the summer of 2024 to return to professional football with this rise to the second division. Four years in D3, with a stadium very often full it must be noted, and a first season in the second division last year during which the club still struggled a bit to maintain itself, finishing sixteenth in the ranking. This season, however, Deportivo supporters can have reason for hope since the club is fourth in the standings after ten days.
A bright future?
Under the orders of Antonio Hidalgo, Deportivo has had a great start to the season, with many interesting players to follow. The whimsical winger Yeremay (22 years old) serves as the star of the project, he who is coveted by big European clubs and who will be the subject of a very big sale this summer. Defender Dani Barcia (22 years old), midfielders Mario Soriano (23 years old) and José Gragera (25 years old), wingers Luismi Cruz (25 years old) and David Mella (20 years old) and Dutch striker Zakaria Eddahchouri are also players to watch. But above all, beyond what happens on the field, it is behind the scenes that the club is working to consolidate its bases and avoid, in the more or less near future, a new descent into hell. With the young Italian Massimo Bennassi (34) at the helm in the role of general manager, Deportivo wants to make up for the delay accumulated in recent years and develop seriously.
The club has just announced an investment of 40 million euros for a state-of-the-art training center, like a Valdebebas, which will accommodate the first team, women's and youth teams. The objective is also to boost the training of the club, a little behind in this respect compared to most Spanish clubs, especially if we compare with neighbors Celta de Vigo for example. The Riazor stadium will also be expanded and renovated, with the aim of hosting matches for the 2030 World Cup and making the stadium a real source of income, as is fashionable in Spain today. On the paseo maritimo from Orzan beach, we know that we are still very far from finding the Super Depor of the 2000s. But the most tragic and difficult years to live through now seem far behind, and the long-awaited return to La Liga may not have to wait long…
