How Santi Cazorla defied the odds to pay his 'debt' to boyhood club Real Oviedo with 'romantic' La Liga promotion

At 40 years old, Santi Cazorla has overcome a career-threatening injury to help the club he fell in love with as a boy return to La Liga after nearly three decades away. The midfielder scored key goals in the club's play-off success to propel a team who once flirted with extinction back to Spain's top division, where clashes against the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona await.

As most fans’ attention seems to be on the FIFA Club World Cup, back in Europe, Spain’s second tier was busy producing one of the sport’s most romantic stories of the season.

In the Liga 2 play-off final, Real Oviedo secured a historic promotion back to Spain’s top flight after over two decades away, with a 3-2 aggregate win over Mirandes.

The tie was not without drama as Mirandes, leading 1-0 from the first leg at home, doubled their advantage early on in the return match at Oviedo’s Estadio Carlos Tartiere to put themselves within touching distance of promotion.

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However, the home side refused to give in and clawed their way back into the match to force extra time, where they scored the decisive goal to power their way back into La Liga for the first time since 2001.

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Amid the drama, an individual fairytale story was also being told, as amongst the Oviedo ranks was a 40-year-old Santi Cazorla.

The ex-Arsenal and Villarreal star had begun his career with the club and left as a teenager before returning in 2023. And now, following their play-off success, the midfielder will get another chance to compete with Spanish football’s elite at the tail end of his career.  

What did Cazorla do?

Cazorla’s contribution to his boyhood side’s promotion was a notable one.

"Obviously, he's gotten a lot of attention for being a legend of Spanish football," says Eurosport Spain’s Ignacio Ortiz Escobar.

"He's been a regular at Oviedo, but he hasn't been outstanding compared to other players in the division."

While not necessarily being "outstanding", with three goals in 32 appearances for the club during the league campaign, Cazorla was seemingly saving himself for the play-offs.

The two-footed star, who once lit up Wembley with a free-kick for Arsenal in an FA Cup final, showed he still had set-piece magic in his locker with another goal from a dead-ball situation, scoring the equaliser for his side in the second leg of their semi-final against Almeria.

Having led 2-1 from the first leg, this strike in front of the rapturous home fans proved to be the winning goal of the tie.

Not content with that moment of heroism, as his side trailed 2-0 on aggregate in the second leg of the final, it would be Cazorla’s converted penalty which sparked the dramatic comeback, ultimately settled by Francisco Portillo’s extra-time winner.

Santi Cazorla

Image credit: Getty Images

How did Cazorla end up at Oviedo?

For the start of the love affair between player and club, you have to go back to 1996.

Real Oviedo were local to Cazorla, who was born in nearby Llanera, and joined the club as a youth.

Sadly, like many a traditional love story, the two were forcibly separated against their will. The club found themselves in financial disarray in 2003, forcing them to let go of the 18-year-old Cazorla after seven years on their books, as they began plummeting down the leagues.

Cazorla joined Villarreal before a short spell with Recreativo Huelva, a return to Villarreal, and a move to Malaga, before setting sail for the Premier League with Arsenal, a third spell with Villarreal, and then Al Sadd in Qatar ahead of his eventual and emotional return to his "best friend" in 2023.

Cazorla’s career also saw him feature in Spain’s European Championship-winning squads of 2008 and 2012.

"I would play for free but you’re not allowed," he told The Guardian after arriving back at Oviedo, such was his affection for his boyhood side.

Naturally, not playing for "free", Cazorla did in fact accept the minimum wage allowed for a player in the Segunda, some £80,000 a year.

"It's a romantic story," says Eurosport’s Ortiz Escobar. "In Spain, many great players often choose to return to their roots to give their last ounce of football to the team that gave them the opportunity to start.

"It would be something of a 'debt'."

Why is the achievement special for the club and player?

Aside from their split from each other, both Cazorla and Oviedo have suffered incredible individual adversity down the years, which makes their promotion, especially together, all the more beautiful a story.

Elevating himself to hero status in his first three years at Arsenal, the second half of his time at the club was beset with injury, with an ankle complaint requiring eight surgeries and a skin graft from his arm.

A gangrene infection during this lengthy period on the sidelines also had the player at risk of having his right foot amputated as well as being told he should be grateful just to walk again, such was the severity of his injury.

In total, he was out of action for 636 days before he returned to play for Villarreal after leaving the Emirates in 2018.

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As for Oviedo, a 13-year spell in La Liga came to an end with relegation in 2001, and financial woes saw the club teetering on the brink of oblivion, as they twice sank as low as the fourth tier of Spanish football in the mid-2000s.

Cazorla was among a number of former players to purchase shares in the club in 2012 to help keep them afloat as their money troubles continued.

The club stabilised and returned to the second tier in 2015, and will finally be able to rub shoulders with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona after 24 years when they compete in La Liga again next season.

Will Cazorla stay at Oviedo in La Liga?

But will Cazorla be there? As it stands, his current deal with the club is set to expire this summer, but Eurosport’s Ortiz Escobar fully expects him to take to the pitch with his beloved Oviedo come the new season.

"We have no information about him becoming a coach for now," Ortiz Escobar said. "Although everything could change, he's one of the leaders in the locker room but remains focused on his football career.

"It's too early to tell, as Oviedo is still celebrating a long-awaited promotion. It would be extremely odd if Cazorla didn't continue in the First Division next season."

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