The Rise of Wigan Athletic

20 years ago, a small club from the north of England made a leap that many had only dared to dream about. A team that had only entered the Football League 27 years earlier, achieved what seemed impossible. A town that had once only ever seen its team play in the lower tiers of the English pyramid now found itself rubbing shoulders with the elite.

In 2005, Wigan Athletic defied all odds and made the leap to the Premier League for the first time in the club's 73-year history, but that's not where the fairytale ends for the Latics. Their promotion to the top flight marked the beginning of an incredible eight-year stay at the pinnacle of English football which fittingly reached its dramatic peak in their final Premier League season when they defied the odds once again and lifted the FA Cup in one of the biggest upsets in football history.

But how did they do it?

10 years ago today, Wigan defied all the odds and beat Man City to win their first ever FA Cup 🏆🤩 pic.twitter.com/sFKByYvnnz
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) May 11, 2023

The Honduran Breakthrough

Like most newly promoted clubs, Wigan knew staying there was the real challenge. Without the financial muscle of the league’s heavyweights, they had to find another way to compete - or risk being sent straight back down. For newly promoted teams, survival is tough. For a club experiencing top-flight football for the first time, it’s even tougher. Going head-to-head with England’s biggest clubs was a daunting task, and Wigan needed to be smarter. They couldn’t outspend the giants, so they had to outthink them.

Backed by Dave Whelan’s dream, Wigan looked where few others dared to: beyond Europe and toward South and Central America, a market that many of the bigger clubs seemed to ignore.

After an impressive 10th-place finish in their debut Premier League season, Wigan barely avoided relegation the following year, surviving on goal difference. That was when the Latics made their first move into the South and Central American market. Enter Wilson Palacios. After a brief loan spell at Birmingham through being recommended by Arsene Wenger, Wigan took a chance on Palacios, signing him from Honduran club CD Olimpia for around £1 million which turned out to be one of the best signings in the club’s history.

2526. Wilson PALACIOS

Midfielder - 29.07.84 - HON (97/5)

Prem Debut:
22/09/2007 (Liverpool vs. BIRMINGHAM CITY, D 0-0)

Prem Clubs:
Birmingham City (07-08), Wigan Athletic (08-09), Tottenham Hotspur (09-11), Stoke City (11-15)

Prem Apps: 147
Prem Goals: 1 pic.twitter.com/lMP3uLtX5d
— Premier League Players (@premlgeplayers) March 24, 2024

Although he spent just a year at Wigan, playing 41 times, before being snapped up by Harry Redknapp’s Spurs, Palacios left his mark on the club. Not only did they sell the Honduran for a club record fee of around £14 million, Palacios paved the way for a wave of South and Central American talent to make its mark in the northwest of England.

Beyond football, Palacios’ story was even more remarkable. While he was making a name for himself in England, his family endured a nightmare back home - his younger brother, Edwin, had been kidnapped in Honduras. This really did show to the world the sort of market the Wigan were working with.

Just like their promotion to the Premier League, Wigan did not stop there, this time with Honduras.

The Roberto Martínez Era & The Honduran Pipeline

By 2009, Wigan’s South and Central American experiment was underway, but it was missing something - a Spanish-speaking manager who truly understood the market. Enter Roberto Martínez. His arrival brought a deep knowledge of Latin American football and, of course, a fluency in Spanish. But who did he recruit?

One of the standout players for Wigan during this era was left-back Maynor Figueroa, who, like Palacios, joined initially on loan from CD Olimpia in January 2008 before making the move permanent later that year. Over his time at the club, Figueroa made 182 appearances and scored four goals, one of which came against Stoke City, where he scored a stunning goal from inside his own half.

Only real ones remember when Maynor Figueroa scored a free-kick from his own half 🤯 pic.twitter.com/nBPIX5uqie
— Former Footballers (@FinishedPlayers) December 13, 2023

CD Olimpia were raided once again, this time for another talented midfielder, Hendry Thomas who spent three years at the club, making 55 Premier League appearances. By this point, Wigan had pretty much exhausted their options in Honduras, so they turned their attention further south, into South America, for their next batch of recruits.

Beyond Honduras: The South American Talent Hunt

One player who was already at the club was the legendary Antonio Valencia - he joined Wigan in 2006 for under £2 million after a loan spell, and much like Palacios, he made an immediate impact. After just 89 appearances for the Latics, Valencia caught the eye of the big clubs and earned a move to Manchester United in 2009 where he went on to make 339 appearances and became a key figure for them. Wigan pocketed over £15 million in profit for the tranfer, pushing them past their previous transfer record.

Then there was Hugo Rodallega, another standout South American talent who arguably made the biggest mark on Wigan. Signed for just under £5 million in January 2009 from Mexican club Necaxa, Rodallega became the club’s all-time Premier League top scorer, netting 24 goals during his time at Wigan. He was instrumental in keeping the club in the division for so many years.

2688. Hugo RODALLEGA

Forward - 25.07.85 - COL (43/8)

Prem Debut:
28/01/2009 (WIGAN ATHLETIC vs. Liverpool, D 1-1 - sub 77 mins)

Prem Clubs:
Wigan Athletic (09-12), Fulham (12-14)

Prem Apps: 154
Prem Goals: 29 pic.twitter.com/vggjrvfmBc
— Premier League Players (@premlgeplayers) May 19, 2024

There was also Jean Beausejour, the Chilean winger who, like Rodallega, arrived in 2012 for just under £5 million. Over three seasons, he made 97 appearances and scored three goals, mainly from his role as a left wing-back. Beausejour’s performances were especially important during Wigan's FA Cup run. While he was suspended for the final itself, his contributions throughout the tournament were vital in helping the Tics reach that point.

It felt like everything was building towards something special, and in 2013, that moment finally arrived. Speaking of the FA Cup, the unthinkable happened for many Wigan fans.

The Greatest Moment: FA Cup Glory

A tournament they had only reached the quarter-finals of once before, Wigan suddenly found themselves on England's biggest stage, up against one of the country's biggest club. It was the pinnacle of their time in the Premier League. And with Wigan sitting third from bottom in the league at the time, the FA Cup offered them a much-needed distraction, something positive to focus on.

The final itself was a tense affair, with neither team able to break the deadlock for 90 minutes and when the fourth official held up the board for injury time, it seemed like Wigan might just take Manchester City to extra time in the FA Cup final. But then, with just minutes left on the clock, Shaun Maloney stepped up to take a corner.

Maloney's delivery found the head of Ben Watson, who had missed most of the season with a broken leg, who rose above the City defenders and headed the ball past Joe Hart into the net to send the Wigan faithful into pure joy securing Wigan's first-ever FA Cup trophy in 81 years.

However, football can be incredibly cruel. Just days after their unforgettable FA Cup triumph, Wigan’s eight-year stay in the Premier League came to a heart-wrenching end as they were relegated. Sadly, Wigan wouldn’t return to the Premier League again, and as of now, the club finds itself in League One. But despite the fall from grace, that FA Cup victory in 2013 will forever be in the hearts of those in Blue and White.