Santi Cazorla (40) has been promoted to La Liga with his youth team Real Oviedo. The club from Asturias won the play-off against CD Mirandés and returns to the highest level in Spain after 24 years.
Cazorla went through the youth academy of Real Oviedo, before making a name for himself at Villarreal, Málaga, Arsenal and the Spanish national team. In 2023, he returned to his old club and made his debut for Real Oviedo.
In his debut season, Cazorla immediately reached the play-off final for promotion with ‘Los Carbayones’, but that match against Espanyol was lost. A year later, there was a second chance against Mirandés.
The first game, without Cazorla, resulted in a home win for Mirandés. Captain Alberto Reina headed in the 1-0 after three minutes. That remained the only goal, as Santiago Colombatto missed a penalty for Real Oviedo.
In the return game, Mirandés took an early lead again. Joaquín Panichelli scored with a header for the 0-1.
Real Oviedo turns 0-2 deficit and promotes
The home team needed to score at least twice and did so for the first time before half-time. Reina got the ball against his arm and Real Oviedo was allowed to take a penalty in their own home. This time Cazorla was allowed to take it, successfully: 1-1.
Early in the second half, the 2-1 also fell for Real Oviedo. The ball came to the feet of Ilyas Chaira, who equalized the score over two games.
It remained at a total score of 2-2, which meant that an extension had to be made in the Estadio Carlos Tartiere. Francisco Portillo put an end to all uncertainty and signed with a shot in the top corner for the 3-1. After that there was a big party in Oviedo: overjoyed fans stormed the field.
Without that goal from Portillo, Real Oviedo would also have been promoted. In the event of a tie after the extension, there would be no penalty series, but a promotion for the club that finished highest in the regular competition. Real Oviedo finished one place above Mirandés (third to fourth).
Mirandés is still waiting for its debut in La Liga, Real Oviedo may play at the highest level for the first time since 2001. Whether Cazorla will still be there remains to be seen. The contract of the 81-time Spanish international expires at the end of this month.