Ageless Cazorla the Catalyst as Real Oviedo End 24-Year La Liga Exile

Santi Cazorla rolled back the years to inspire a stunning comeback as Real Oviedo sealed a return to La Liga for the first time in 24 years, overturning CD Mirandés in a gripping Segunda División play-off final.

At 40 years old and with his side trailing 2-0 on aggregate, Cazorla coolly converted a penalty just before half-time in Saturday’s second leg to ignite belief at the Carlos Tartiere.

Oviedo drew level after the break through Ilyas Chaira before Francisco Portillo unleashed a thunderous extra-time winner that sent the Asturian club into raptures.

It was Cazorla who had also delivered the decisive moment in the semi-finals, stepping off the bench to curl in a trademark free-kick that dumped out Almería.

The midfielder’s return to his boyhood club in 2023 was driven by love, but it has now delivered something far greater.

“This is beyond football,” said an emotional Cazorla. “This is about identity, belief, and never giving up. To do this here, at home, is the most special feeling I’ve ever had.”

A youth product forced to leave when the club collapsed financially in 2003, Cazorla was later among the fans who helped save Oviedo from extinction by buying shares during another crisis. His journey back to the top with the club that gave him his start defies belief.

Told he might never walk again after a horror Achilles injury, Cazorla has now walked Real Oviedo back into the Spanish top flight, with magic still in his boots.