COLUMN: Seeping giant stirs in Spain’s Segunda with witchcraft in the air

Something special is brewing in the North-West of Spain. The promotion of Real Oviedo at the end of last season left many wondering whether any other iconic sides from Spanish football folklore could join them at the end of this one. There are several prime historical candidates who play their trade in the Liga Hypermotion, such as Racing Santander or Real Zaragoza, but this season seems to be, so far, all about Deportivo la Coruna. Could we be witnessing one of the most memorable comebacks of all time? 

Two years ago, Deportivo were kicking a ball at the third tier. Now they lead the second division table after a month of fixtures. It’s early, way too early to draw any sort of conclusions on how this might go, but the Riazor has never felt as optimistic as it does now. And they have good reason to. Depor are not just winning. They are playing spectacularly well, scoring goals for fun and giving their local community what they haven’t had for two decades now: something to be proud of.

Currently the only La Liga champions to ply their trade away from the top tier, Real Zaragoza have a better story and trophy cabinet, Racing were there for the inaugural league edition, while Sporting Gijon and Las Palmas were title contenders back in the day, but the thing is, they never actually won it. Depor did. In the 1999-2000 season, the side from A Coruna side made ammends with their own past.

The SuperDepor of 1993/94 is still regarded as the most beloved of their sides, even if they ended up losing out on the league on the final day, missing a penalty, in the dying seconds, of the last game. It was the most painful of defeats but brought a sense of pride to a town that had enjoyed a good spell in the first-tier during the 1940s and 1950s – where they once challenged for the league while nurturing talents as the likes of Luis Suarez and Amancio Amaro, two of Spain’s greatest ever players – but had since dropped in form and dwindled in the second and third tier. With the guidance of Augusto Cesar Lendoiro and the silent leadership of Arsenio Iglesias, the “Bruxo” from Arteixo, they climbed back to the top and became title contenders in a matter of months. A year later, they won their first national trophy, the Copa del Rey, in a match that had to be postponed when a deluge watered down the Santiago Bernabeu. They won the cup against Valencia, the same side that had prevented them from winning the league.

In Galicia, they would say the Meigas, local witches, had worked their magic. In 2000, Deportivo finally claimed the league title, at the time one of the most feared sides in Europe. Then came Jose Mourinho’s Porto, that painful Champions League semi-final defeat, and the club plunged into an asphyxiating financial crisis that almost destroyed them. Demoted to the third tier in 2020, many believed it was the end.

Abanca, the biggest Galician banking institution, bought the club on the brink and started to reinvest, slowly and steadily. When former club idol Lucas Perez returned, paying from his own pocket, all the ingredients were set for a return to professional football but in classic Depor style, only managed to do it on the very last day of the season. Courtesy of a Perez goal, of course. Still, one thing was to climb back to the second tier, and another was to be competitive there. Perez had a row with the board and left midseason last year, and Deportivo flirted with the relegation battle until the end of the campaign. Few could have imagined that only months later they would be top of the table after six matches played.    

Three things are immediately striking in this unexpected start. One is the clear support from the local crowds. The Riazor is packed full, week in week out, with numbers even surpassing those of the league-winning season. People are enjoying watching the club back at a professional level, and their commitment is undeniable, win or lose. Localism is starting to develop, even if slowly, in Spanish football, and Deportivo might as well be one of the best examples of how newer generations have finally decided to fully embrace their local club instead of big first-tier sides.

Secondly, the work carried out at the club’s youth academy system over the last five years is now bearing fruit. Depor’s early success features many academy graduates, players not just filling out the squad, but becoming stars. During the summer, the club rejected offers for some of them, mainly David Mella and Yeremay Hernandez, the two names that are expected to lift the club to new heights. Yeremay, particularly, has been brilliant, and he’s clearly the leader of the pack, although Mella, younger and perhaps even more talented, is starting to prove his worth.

Finally, it’s the way they play. Manager Antonio Hidalgo has set a template of a fast-tempo attacking football that fits perfectly with the players’ abilities, and also allows Depor to be commanding with and without the ball. A former Barcelona graduate who played alongside Xavi Hernandez in the Blaugrana youth setup, Hidalgo had already proven his worth with Huesca last season, but at the Riazor, he seems to have stepped up his game. There is no resemblance to anything that Oscar Gilsanz, the former club manager, did last season and watching Deportivo play nowadays is like following a flawed yet exciting Premier League side.

Las tres equipaciones del Depor para la temporada 2025/2026.Cuál es la que más os gusta? pic.twitter.com/jS1LwdxPhB

— Ju@n🍍 (@JuanIBS98) July 25, 2025

Sporting some of the best shirts in Spanish football – the home kit is a nod to that SuperDepor 1994 kit, while the third is a beautiful tribute to Galician identity – the loan signings of Jose Graguera and Stoichkov have also strengthened the side, offering a much-needed experience for a second-tier squad. Funnily enough, the original Hristo Stoichkov scored for Barcelona the day they missed the penalty against Valencia.

The goals from forward Zakaria Eddahchouri, compared to Karim Benzema earlier this year in an interview with the Dutchman, and the leadership provided by Mario Soriano have also been key developments. Everyone should be keeping an eye on the young Dani Barcia, who commands the defensive line alongside the veteran Ximo Navarro. Thirteen years separate the two, but on the pitch they seem to understand one another quite well. With a squad full of potential but with not that many alternatives, a source of intrigue is how much injuries and suspensions take a toll on their performances, even if, for now, that is something nobody at the Riazor will be contemplating. Nor should they. Enjoying the brilliance of the moment is more than merited for a fanbase that has suffered a great deal over the past decade.

Seasons don’t wrap up in September, and it’s too soon to draw conclusions, particularly in one of the world´s most competitive leagues, but Deportivo have shown they have what it takes to be considered as promotion candidates even if things go sideways for one reason or another. If they manage to hold to their best talent and get behind Hidalgo’s game plan, however, it’s more likely that the Riazor will be one of the best places to watch football this year. And who knows, perhaps they even get a chance to celebrate football’s summer solstice a few weeks earlier than expected at the beach, as they did twenty-five years ago.