Former Arsenal star playmaker Santi Cazorla kick-started a dramatic comeback as his side Real Oviedo won the La Liga 2 play-off final to return to the Spanish top flight. According to reports it has been 24-years since they played in the La Liga.
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. His side was 2-0 down on aggregate to CD Mirandes but Oviedo levelled the tie in the second half. The goals came from Ilyas Chaira and Francisco Portillo.
Santi 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.
