Real Oviedo's 24-Year Climb: La Liga Return Confirmed, Crushing Mirandés’ Small Town Dream
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Real Oviedo's 24-Year Climb: La Liga Return Confirmed, Crushing Mirandés’ Small Town Dream

Real Oviedo's 24-Year Climb: La Liga Return Confirmed, Crushing Mirandés’ Small Town Dream

The final whistle blew on the last day of the La Liga 2 season, and a measly four points separated the top four. East Coast clubs Levante and Elche received automatic promotion to the top flight - a relatively swift return for both sides. CD Mirandes and Real Oviedo, on the other hand, were left to face the playoffs, conjoined on the same points total; however, the possibility of a La Liga return had been a long time coming for both.

After dismissing Racing Santander and UD Almeria in the semi-finals, the pair faced off in a two-legged final tie. Last night, a fierce contest that saw three red cards handed out and four goals scored meant that Oviedo had come from behind to beat Mirandes 3-2 on aggregate. Los Azules were triumphant in battle on the day, but the stories and journeys that led the duo to this point are truly special.

CD Mirandés' Fairytale Journey to the Brink of Top-Flight History

Miranda de Ebro is a town in northern Spain, close to the Basque Country border. A tiny population of 37,138 would’ve made the municipality the second smallest settlement ever to have a La Liga club based within it.

It wasn’t meant to be yesterday, but CD Mirandes is a club on the rise. Just five years ago, Los Rojillos reached the Copa del Rey semi-final, beating Villareal, Celta Vigo, and Sevilla on the way. The club have a knack for finding talented young players to loan in, which has been proven again this season. Jon Gorrotxategi, Urko Izeta, Hugo Rincon, Joaquín Panichelli, Joel Roca, and Victor Parada all made 39+ appearances on loan from top-flight teams. Helping the small town club, who once had Nicolas Jackson on the books and Andoni Iraola at the helm, to fly closer than ever to their La Liga dreams, in what was a historic season.

CD Mirandes has a history dating back 98 years, and they would’ve become the 63rd team to participate in La Liga. Their stadium, Estadio Municipal de Anduva, was the second-smallest ground in La Liga 2 this season, and has a capacity of 5,759, enough to fit over 15% of Miranda de Ebro’s population. As the ball hit the back of the net in the 103rd minute on Saturday, the Jabatos' hopes of top-flight action were all but over, but their smart recruiting in the loan market means that Mirandes will be back before we know it - their small stature seemingly not an issue at all.

Santi Cazorla Inspires Sleeping Giants

In opposing fashion, Real Oviedo are sleeping giants, with over 1,000 games in La Liga, the Northwestern club were top-flight regulars for a large part of the 20th century. However, in 2001 the club were relegated for a final time, unaware it would be a quarter of a century before Oviedo fans would witness La Liga football again.

Twelve seasons in the third and fourth tiers awaited, and a 10-year slump in the second division followed as Oviedo struggled to finish higher than 6th place. All whilst playing in the 30,500 capacity Estadio Carlos Tartiere, Spain’s 17th-largest stadium. Many associated with the club will tell you that the ground was nothing but a curse, as its opening in 2000 coincided with Oviedo’s dramatic decline. Carbayones have drawn in crowds of 13,000+ for the last 11 years, aside from the seasons affected by COVID, and saw almost 30,000 at the match that secured their promotion.

Santi Cazorla is one of the club’s proudest youth graduates. The midfielder has described last night's game as one of the biggest of his career, and is local to the area, but in 2003 left Oviedo at 17 years of age when the club were relegated to the fourth tier. Cazorla had a full-circle moment last night, scoring the opening goal that inspired his boyhood club's comeback. The maestro endured Real Oviedo’s unfortunate downfall, so it was fitting that he was there to witness their rise, playing under the lowest wage possible for a second-tier player.

The La Liga playoff final all but concludes the 2024/25 footballing season as one of the last fixtures in the schedule. Real Oviedo will now take on the tough challenge of the Spanish top tier. Leganes and Valladolid weren’t up to La Liga standards last year, dropping straight back down to the Segunda. However, for the fans, a return to where they believe they belong, facing the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona, is everything they deserve.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
James McLeish

Writer

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