40-year-old Arsenal legend helps his hometown team return to La Liga with goals

24, 8750 days, Real Oviedo finally returned to La Liga. On June 17, 2001, when Real Oviedo lost to his opponent 2-4 at home in Mallorca and was unfortunately relegated from La Liga, Santi Caszorla was still a 16-year-old child and was undergoing training at Oviedo youth training camp.

On June 21, 2025, 40-year-old Caszorla scored a penalty in the second leg of the Segunda Playoff Final, helping Real Oviedo reverse defeat Milandes and successfully return to La Liga.

Realize your dream! When Cazorla scored consecutive goals in his childhood team, when Cazorla scored, the situation was actually very unfavorable to Real Oviedo. They lost 0:1 in the first leg of the two-round finals. Shortly after the second leg started, they were scored by Milandes, and the total score in the two-round was already 0:2 behind.

As the first half approached, Real Oviedo ushered in a turnaround and they received a penalty. At the critical moment, veteran Cassolla walked to the penalty spot and steadily cut the ball.

In the second half, Real Oviedo equalized the total score with Ilias Jaira's goal. Francisco Portillo then scored a winning goal in overtime, helping Real Oviedo return to La Liga.

This is not the first time that Cazorla has saved Oviedo with a goal in a key game. Previously, in the second leg of the semi-finals of the upgraded playoffs, Oviedo trailed Almeria 0:1. Cazorla, who came on the bench, used a direct free kick to help the team equalize the score, and eliminated the opponent with a total score of 3:2 in two rounds.

Cazorla spent the most glorious time in Arsenal. After the six-year Gunners career, he went to Villarreal, Qatar and Sad to continue his football path. In 2023, 38-year-old Cassorla returned to his hometown and joined Real Oviedo, who is in the Spanish Second Division. His last wish in his career is to help his childhood team return to La Liga.

Last season, Real Oviedo also reached the final of the upgraded play-offs, but unfortunately he lost to Espanyol in the end.

Now, the 40-year-old Cazorla has finally realized her dream. The official statement of the Real Oviedo Club has stated that Cazorla will definitely appear in the team's lineup for La Liga next season. This is a compliment to veterans and a code of the club's heritage.

Look back! 24 years of suffering were like purgatory, and at the worst time it fell to Sidin

In 2001, when Real Oviedo was transferred to the Segunda Division, no one would have thought that their road to returning to La Liga would be so long. The last time they upgraded from the Spanish Second Division was in 1988, and by 2001, they had been playing in La Liga for 13 consecutive seasons. In the total ranking of La Liga, they ranked 15th among all teams, and they have played in La Liga for 38 seasons.

However, this time, the relegation to the Spanish Second Division was just the beginning of their long night. They only played in the Spanish Second Division for two seasons and were downgraded again, but this is not the bottom. At the worst, they dropped to the amateur category in the Spanish Division, and they played for several years.

What is as bad as their grades is their financial situation. At the worst, Oviedo City Council set up another team to replace them, and it was the fans who took on the responsibility of saving this historic team.

In 2008, the situation finally improved. They won the Sidine League championship again in the 2008-09 season. Unlike the previous few times, this time, they qualified for upgrades.

In 2012, the club achieved historic capital increase, Carlos Slim became the club's major shareholder, the club started the chapter of economic recovery, and the team finally got back on track.

Great! In 2021, the new boss sent the team to La Liga in three years. In 2021, Oviedo returned to the Segunda League. In their first season, they won the Segunda League 7th, one step away from upgrading to the play-offs.

Then the Mexico Pachuca Group became the team's new owner, which also became the turning point for Real Oviedo to make a strong effort to the League. The owner of the Pachuca Group is called Jesus Martinez. He bought 80% of the Oviedo club shares in Slim, who is still a small shareholder of the club.

It is understood that Jesus Martinez is a person who achieved his career through hard work, determination and faith. He initially sold popcorn and hot dogs at a public transportation hub in Papantra, Veracruz, Mexico, and that stall has been going on to this day. Jessus and his family are major shareholders of the Pachuca Group, which owns Royal Oviedo, Spain, Pachuca, Mexico (in the same group as Real Madrid in the Club World Cup), Leon Mexico (for the same group as Pachuca, was banned from participating in the Club World Cup by FIFA due to the same group as Pachuca), and Everton, Chile. He also owned the Cordoba club in Argentina and later sold it. You should know that both Pachuca and Leon have achieved great success in the advancement of the Mexican second division to the top league under the rule of Jesus Martinez. Now, it is Real Oviedo's turn.

In 1995, Jesus Martinez bought Pachuca, who was still in the Mexican Second Division for $100,000. In 1999, Pachuca won the Mexican League Two Championship. Today, the team has become the best youth army in Mexico, with a group of Mexican young talents. Due to the existence of Pachuca Football Club, the city's appearance of Pachuca City has also been greatly changed. Jesus Martinez equipped the club with facilities including football university, high-performance medical center, modern Hidalgo Stadium, Pachuca Football Hall of Fame and other facilities.

In fact, Oviedo is also building a new sports city, and Jesus Martinez is still negotiating with Oviedo City Council on land, and he wants to build a stronger and more profitable club..

After Real Oviedo's successful upgrade, Jesus Martinez said very calmly: "Now, the most difficult thing is to relegate." He understood that only by retaining the qualification of La Liga, the subsequent series of development actions will be meaningful.