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.
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 in the third tier.
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.
A two-time European champion with Spain, the midfielder spent six years at Arsenal and made 180 appearances before leaving in 2018.
He suffered an Achilles injury in October 2016, going on to have 11 operations to cure the problem.
One of the operations led to gangrene with doctors telling Cazorla he should be satisfied to walk again, never mind play.
[BBC]