Deportivo La Coruna return to top tier in Spain after eight years

Madrid, May 25: Former champion Deportivo La Coruna has made it back to the top tier of the Spanish league after an eight-year absence.
Deportivo won 2-0 at Valladolid on Sunday to secure one of the top two spots that guarantee promotion from the second division. Cameroonian forward Bil Nsongo scored both goals.
Deportivo won the league in 2000.
The victory against Valladolid in the penultimate round allowed Deportivo to open a six-point gap to third-place Almeria, which lost 3-1 at Sporting Gijon. Racing Santander, which has also secured a return to the top flight, was two points ahead of Deportivo.
The final spot for the first division will be decided in a playoff involving the four teams placed third through sixth in the standings. Currently they are Almeria, Malaga, Las Palmas and Castellon. Burgo and Eibar can still make the playoffs.
Deportivo had spent 20 straight years in the top division before being relegated in 2010-11. It was also relegated in 2013 and 2018. It dropped to the third tier in 2020, making it back to the second division in 2024.
Villarreal 3rd in top tier
Villarreal secured third place with a 5-1 rout of fourth-place Atletico Madrid at home in the final match of the season in the top tier.
The game marked the farewell of Atletico forward Antoine Griezmann before he joins Orlando City in Major League Soccer.
It was also the farewell for Villarreal coach Marcelino Garcia Toral and Villarreal players Dani Parejo and Alfonso Pedraza.
Both teams had entered the match tied on 69 points.
Barcelona had already won its second straight league title. It finished with 94 points, eight ahead of second-place Real Madrid.
Mallorca, Girona and Oviedo were relegated.
For Deportivo La Coruna, promotion back to La Liga is far more than just a sporting achievement — it feels like the closing of a painful chapter in one of Spanish football’s most dramatic modern declines.
Once regarded as one of Spain’s most admired clubs during the late 1990s and early 2000s, Deportivo had become a symbol of how quickly fortunes can collapse in football. From lifting the league title in 2000 and competing regularly in Europe to suffering relegations, financial struggles and even a fall into the third tier, the Galician club endured years of instability that deeply hurt a fanbase accustomed to watching elite football at the Riazor. Their return to the top flight after eight long years now represents resilience, rebuilding and the restoration of identity for a historic institution of Spanish football. It also revives memories of the famous “Super Depor” era, when Deportivo challenged the traditional dominance of giants like Real Madrid and FC Barcelona with fearless football and unforgettable European nights. For supporters who stood by the club through relegations and uncertainty, this promotion will feel like an emotional reward for years of patience and loyalty.
And as Deportivo prepares for life back among Spain’s elite once again, the challenge will now be not only to survive in La Liga, but to gradually rebuild the stature, ambition and competitive spirit that once made the club one of the most respected names in Spanish football.For Deportivo, the journey back to La Liga is not just a return to the top flight, but the revival of a fallen giant. (AP)