Real Oviedo sealed their return to the Spanish La Liga after almost a quarter of a century.
Exactly 24 years have passed since the club from the Principality of Asturias was last part of the elite, 24 years have passed since Real, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and other giants of Spanish and European football last visited the Carlos Tartiere Stadium.
History brings Ovijeda back in the most beautiful way, even though so many years have passed: on the coaching bench, namely, sits Veljko Paunovic, who as a player was a member of the last generation of "blue and white" players to play in the elite.
In 2001, Ovijedio was relegated, with the legendary Radimir Antic on the bench and Paunović on the field.
On the night of great celebration, the victory over Mirandes in the play-offs (3:1 in extra time, after a 1:0 defeat in the first match), Paunović, a world champion with the Serbian youth team, and the 10th anniversary of that feat, was remembered by his football father.
And not only him...
"This is for Peter Dubovski and for Radomir Antic," he said.
Neither one nor the other is anymore among the living.
Dubovski, a Slovak, an Oviedo legend, wore the jersey of the club from Asturias, in northwestern Spain, for five years when his heart suddenly stopped beating during a vacation in Thailand in 2000.
Antic, the legendary coach of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico, who passed away in 2020, left a deep mark on the Oviedo bench, which he led on two occasions. First from 1993 to 1995, when it won survival, and then with Robert Prosinečki i Slaviš Jokanović The team finished ninth in La Liga, and then in the 2000/01 season with Paunović.
- I've had a thorn in my side for 24 years. Ovijedo has returned to where it deserves to be, for the fans, for the city, for its history... Things have been done well. Last year we were close - said Paunović.
He took over Oviedo on March 24th of this year after a Mexican adventure with Guadalajara, then Tigres. He also managed Chicago Fire, in short - he was far from the European scene when he received the call from his former club.
The football paths thus set up a touching story - the Serbian coach led the blue and white team through the finals of La Liga 2, and then through the play-offs, without defeat.
Another incredible story falls at the feet of the 40-year-old icon of Arsenal and Spanish football, Santi CazorlaThe guy whose career was almost halted in 2016, and not just halted, after an Achilles tendon injury due to gangrene and the functionality of his foot was questioned, stood at the head of the guys who directed the feat and returned Oviedo to the Spanish elite.
- This is the most emotional moment in my career, even though I have played for big clubs and won a lot - says Cazorla, known as the "little magician", who returned to his parent club in 2023.
A year earlier, Oviedo was on the verge of bankruptcy, and Cazorla offered to play for free. In the second leg against Mirandes, he scored a penalty to equalize the score 1-1.
- Bringing Ovijedo back to where it deserves to be is something I couldn't even imagine when I came back. This isn't just for us players, this is for the whole city, for our fans, this is for my family too. What I experienced in the Ovijedo jersey is incomparable!
The packed Carlos Tartiere Stadium turned into a volcano after the final whistle, when fans invaded the pitch.
Oviedo joined Levante and Elche in Spain's top flight, from which Leganes, Las Palmas and Valladolid were relegated.
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