“YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH HELL TO ENJOY THE SUNSHINE AND IT’S ALWAYS BETTER IF YOU DO IT TOGETHER.”
It’s unfair to say that Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña are sleeping giants that awoke in the past few days with the promotion to the second tier of Spanish football. In fact, they were never asleep. During the four-year absence from professional football, which was their longest spell in the third tier, they faced financial ruin and disappointment.
As one of Spain’s strongest forces at the beginning of the 21st century – former La Liga Champions – the fall from the elite to the third division was hard to digest.
Now they are on their way back. During the last four years, they never gave up and knew that the day was coming. Lucas Pérez, born in Coruña and raised in Monelos, near the Riazor, left Cádiz and the first division to play for Deportivo in the third tier.
He paid around half a million euros out of his pocket to return to his boyhood club. This season he scored 13 goals in 33 games. One of those goals secured the promotion to the second division. Lucas Pérez secured the promotion with a beautiful goal scored in front of more than 31.000 Deportivistas. Football has its ways, right?
The storm finally passed and the nightmare is over. Deportivo is back to professional football and maybe on its way back to the first division. After all, they were always too big for the third tier. Too spectacular, too vibrant, too passionate.
They are celebrating in style and have been doing it for days. It doesn’t pay off all the suffering of the last few years, but it helps to strengthen the bonds. And now there is hope. The secret lies in never giving up.
They learned that you can’t turn your back to your roots. You have to go through hell to enjoy the sunshine and it’s always better if you do it together.
All of our thanks to the legend that is Hugo Marcelo.
All words and images by Hugo.
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