Deportivo La Coruna, a club steeped in a rich history of Spanish football, has completed a remarkable rebirth, returning to La Liga after an eight-year absence and making an immediate impact in the 2026-27 season. Spearheaded by the evergreen Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the Galician side enjoyed an unbeaten start to their top-flight campaign, signalling a new era for ‘Super Depor’.

The journey back to Spain’s elite division has been arduous. In July 2020, Deportivo suffered a controversial relegation to the third tier of Spanish football for the first time in four decades. The decisive match was postponed due to Covid-19 cases among Fuenlabrada players, and subsequent appeals to La Liga, the RFEF, and CAS were all rejected. This setback compounded years of struggle, which saw the club drop out of La Liga in 2011, 2014, and 2018, all while grappling with crippling debts.

The long road back to La Liga

The club’s financial recovery was meticulously orchestrated by Galician banking giant Abanca, through a series of debt-to-equity swaps and strategic capital increases. On the pitch, the turnaround began in the 2023-24 season when Imanol Idiakez guided Depor to the Primera Federacion title (Group 1 North). A season of consolidation followed in the 2024-25 Segunda campaign, resulting in a mid-table finish.

The ultimate goal was achieved in the 2025-26 season. Under manager Antonio Hidalgo, who was handed a one-year contract in summer 2025, Deportivo secured second place in the Spanish Segunda behind Racing Santander, confirming their promotion to La Liga. The decisive moment came with a 2-0 victory at Real Valladolid, where Cameroonian frontman Bil Nsongo netted both goals.

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Depor CEO Massimo Benassi reflected on the significance of the return, telling La Gazzetta Dello Sport: “I’ve been here for three of those long eight years, and this was the objective, which we’ve now achieved. But when you’re here, you understand how important it is for the city that Depor are in La Liga. There was a healthy pressure that was palpable every day: each day without La Liga felt like another day something was missing.”

Aubameyang’s instant impact

For their return to La Liga, Deportivo invested €25 million in 10 new players for the 2026-27 season. Key acquisitions included:

• Leonardo Román Riquelme (€9m from Mallorca)

• Jonathan Asp Jensen (€6m from Bayern Munich)

• Lorenzo Amatucci (€6m from Fiorentina)

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (€1.5m from Marseille)

• Adama Traore (free transfer from West Ham)

• Jose Maria Gimenez (loan)

• Angelino (loan)

• Marc Casado (loan from Barcelona with a buy option)

The blend of youth and experience immediately paid dividends. Deportivo went unbeaten through their first five La Liga fixtures, securing 1-1 draws against Elche, Malaga, and Getafe, alongside impressive wins over Valencia and Villarreal. The run was eventually broken by a defeat against Sevilla.

Central to this strong start has been the remarkable form of 37-year-old Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Gabonese striker, who scored 10 Ligue 1 goals last term for Marseille, became the first player since Zlatan Ibrahimovic (2009-10 for Barcelona) to score in each of the opening five La Liga matchdays. His influence was particularly evident in the 3-2 victory against Villarreal at El Madrigal, where he provided assists for Luismi Cruz and Zakaria Eddahchouri before scoring Depor’s third goal in the 89th minute.

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Manager Antonio Hidalgo praised his veteran forward’s dedication. “What Aubameyang is doing is absolutely incredible,” Hidalgo commented. “He doesn’t miss a single training session and works harder than anyone else. He has a special talent.”

Currently sitting seventh in the La Liga table, Deportivo, whose supporters voted to change the team’s name from ‘La Coruña’ to the Galician version ‘A Coruna’ over the summer, are reminding fans of their golden era. That period saw them win their only top-flight title in 2000, two Copa Del Rey trophies, and reach the Champions League semi-finals in 2003-04, overturning a 4-1 first-leg deficit against AC Milan in the quarter-finals. This new ‘Super Depor 2.0’ aims to build on that legacy, driven by a renewed sense of purpose and a fresh injection of talent.

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