Santi Cazorla shines at 40 to help Oviedo get back to La Liga after 24 years
Real Oviedo sealed their return to La Liga after 24 years with a 3–2 aggregate victory over Mirandes in Saturday's promotion play-off.
Oviedo triumphed 3-1 at home, overturning a first-leg deficit with goals from Santi Cazorla, Ilyas Chaira and Francisco Portillo. A packed Estadio Carlos Tartiere erupted as fans stormed the pitch at the final whistle.
The club from the Principality of Asturias, in the northwest of Spain, will now join Levante and Elche in next season's top tier, replacing relegated Leganes, Las Palmas and Valladolid.
'There's no way to describe what this means to us. These players are heroes, every single one of them. They deserve great recognition,' Oviedo coach Veljko Paunovic told LaLiga TV.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
3 hours ago
- News18
Fairytale Comes True! Santi Cazorla Guides His Boyhood Club to La Liga After 24 Years
Santi Cazorla led Real Oviedo to a 3-1 win in the La Liga 2 play-off final, securing their return to the Spanish top flight after 24 years. Former Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla kick-started a dramatic comeback as Real Oviedo won the La Liga 2 play-off final to return to the Spanish top flight after a 24-year absence. Oviedo triumphed 3-1 at home, overturning a first-leg deficit with goals from Santi Cazorla, Ilyas Chaira, and Francisco Portillo. A packed Estadio Carlos Tartiere erupted as fans stormed the pitch at the final whistle. The club from the Principality of Asturias, in the northwest of Spain, will now join Levante and Elche in next season's top tier, replacing relegated Leganes, Las Palmas, and Valladolid. 'There's no way to describe what this means to us. These players are heroes, every single one of them. They deserve great recognition," Oviedo coach Veljko Paunovic told LaLiga TV. Fairytale For Cazorla 40-year-old Cazorla – who returned to his boyhood club in 2023 – converted a penalty late in the first half of Saturday's second leg with his side 2-0 down on aggregate to CD Mirandes. Oviedo levelled the tie in the second half through Ilyas Chaira before Francisco Portillo scored a stunning winner in extra time to secure promotion. Cazorla claimed the decisive goal in the play-off semi-final tie against Almeria, coming off the bench to convert a free-kick and secure a 3-2 aggregate victory. Cazorla was a product of Oviedo's academy, but was forced to leave the club in 2003 when financial issues decimated the club's youth system and saw the first team re-enter the third tier. top videos View All When Oviedo faced another crisis a decade later, Cazorla was one of thousands of fans and former players who purchased shares in the club to keep it alive. (with agency inputs) About the Author Siddarth Sriram First Published: June 22, 2025, 13:15 IST
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- The Hindu
Santi Cazorla shines at 40 to help Oviedo get back to La Liga after 24 years
Real Oviedo sealed their return to La Liga after 24 years with a 3–2 aggregate victory over Mirandes in Saturday's promotion play-off. Oviedo triumphed 3-1 at home, overturning a first-leg deficit with goals from Santi Cazorla, Ilyas Chaira and Francisco Portillo. A packed Estadio Carlos Tartiere erupted as fans stormed the pitch at the final whistle. The club from the Principality of Asturias, in the northwest of Spain, will now join Levante and Elche in next season's top tier, replacing relegated Leganes, Las Palmas and Valladolid. 'There's no way to describe what this means to us. These players are heroes, every single one of them. They deserve great recognition,' Oviedo coach Veljko Paunovic told LaLiga TV.
Hindustan Times
8 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Lionel Messi breaks silence on Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry in honest remark: ‘We're not friends…'
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are considered to be the greatest players in 21st century football history. The pair have won countless team trophies and individual honours. They also spent nine seasons in the prime of their careers facing off regularly against each other, while representing rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have won 79 official trophies in total.(AP) The pair also share a mutual respect for each other, as revealed in interviews. Ronaldo has also revealed in the past that their rivalry motivated him to get better. Recently, Messi broke his silence on his relationship with the Portugal international. Speaking to D Sports at the sidelines of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, he said, 'I hold a deep respect and admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo and everything he has achieved in his career, and continues to achieve, as he's still performing at an elite level.' 'Our rivalry was purely on the pitch, driven by our desire to give everything for our respective teams. Off the field, we're just ordinary people. While we're not friends in the traditional sense, as we don't socialize, there has always been mutual respect between us,' he added. Messi and Ronaldo have 79 trophies in total (Messi has bagged 45 and Ronaldo 34) during their senior careers so far, and have also consistently broken the 50-goal barrier in a single season. Also, according to IFFHS, they are the only two players to score over 800 goals each in their careers for club and country. Ronaldo also holds the record for most official goals in a career. Their rivalry has also been compared to other rivalries like Ali-Frazier, Prost-Senna, Djokovic-Nadal and Federer-Nadal. Messi is La Liga's all-time top goal-scorer, and also has the most assists in the competition's history. Meanwhile, Ronaldo is second for goals scored and is fourth for assists provided, and is also the Champions League all-tme top appearance maker, goalscorer and second-highest in assists after Ryan Giggs. Messi is third in appearances and assits provided and in second for goals scored in the competition's history. Ronaldo also has the records for most international caps and most international goals, with Messi ranked eleventh in appearances and third for goals scored.
