Deportivo de A Coruña is a Spanish association football team.

History

Unlike what happened in most of the Iberian Peninsula, football did not reach the city of A Coruña through the English, instead, it was introduced by José María Abalo, a youngster who had returned to his hometown after studying in England. The game gained rapid popularity and several teams were formed on an informal basis. Abalo settled in Coruña, where he tried to make football known as a sport among the young people of the city, teaching football to the youth and organizing the first football matches in the region, most of which were between locals.

The sport began to take root in the city and kept growing to the point that in 1903, some young people from the Sala de armas Calvet, a gym that was then directed by the fencing champion Federico Calvet, began deserting it to follow Abalo in football practice.

Later that same year, Abalo's team changed its name to Foot-ball Corunna Club, which played on two sides and was distinguished by the color of the belt, white or red, on an entirely white uniform. The club later adopted a different one: a yellow and black striped shirt and white pants, with which the team appeared on 20 March 1904 at the albero of the Herculina Bullring in the Plaza de Toros in a match against a team known as Diligent, which was made up of members of the officers of two British steamships.

This was the first serious and proper football match in the city and it was surprisingly won 3–0 by the locals who, buoyed by their success, both sporting and social, continued to play meetings against the officers of the ships that docked at the Port of A Coruña. The popularity of football in La Coruña kept growing to the point that the Bullring soon became too small for this group of football pioneers, so they moved to the grounds of the so-called Corralón de la Gaiteira ("Piper's Yard") were soon enabled as a permanent football field, the first of such in La Coruña.

The members of the Sala Calvet who had participated in the constitution of Corunna FC and the recently created Club Naútico followed Abalo's example and recruited a large group of players for the Calvet's gym, and thus Deportivo de la Sala Calvet was founded in 1906. Not without effort, since getting it started required a dispute between the rowing section and the football section to know which of the two was the most complete sport. It was settled in a match between the two at the Corralón de la Gaiteira and, as night fell without a goal having been scored, they decided to continue the match the next day, on 1 March 1906, which was won 1–0 by the Deportivistas. In December 1906, members of Sala Calvet gymnasium formed Deportivo de La Coruña, naming Luis Cornide as the first president. Records indicate that the team consisted of Salvador Fojón, Venancio Deus, Juan Long, Ángel Rodríguez, Manuel Álvarez, Daniel Aler, Paco Martínez, Félix de Paz, Virgilio Rodríguez, Juan Manuel López, and Martínez Urioste.

On 11 May 1907, civil governor Luis Moyano passed the proper statute and regulations on the formation of the club. One and a half years later, King Alfonso XIII of Spain conceded the mark of royalty to the club while he also accepted the role of honorary president of the now-called Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña. At the same time, Deportivo's first home pitch at Corralón de la Gaiteira would become obsolete, and they moved to a stadium now called Viejo Riazor.

The first decades

Because of the success of the Spain national team at the 1920 Antwerp Summer Olympics, football exploded throughout Spain. This eventually led to the establishment of a national tournament which would end the regional championships. This form had existed throughout the country's numerous provinces.

With football becoming part of the city, Deportivo began to take part in many friendly exhibitions within and out of Galicia until 1928, when the "Liga" was born. However, Depor failed to qualify for the Primera División season 1928/1929. Instead they started playing in the Segunda División, where they eventually finished eighth in a division consisting of ten clubs. The other nine were Alavés, Sevilla, Celta, Valencia, Betis, Iberia, Oviedo, Gijón, and Rácing de Madrid.

In 1932, while still playing in the second division, Deportivo managed to eliminate Real Madrid from the Copa del Rey tournament. This was a big achievement because the club from the capital became Liga champions that season. For Deportivo this was only a hint of better things to come.

1941-1945: First period in the Primera División

In a year when the Second World War was going on in the rest of Europe and the world, and Francisco Franco was dictator in Spain, Deportivo finally managed to achieve promotion to the Primera División for the first time in its history. It took place after the season 1940/1941 when Murcia was defeated 2–1 in a match for promotion. The legendary Deportivo team of that day consisted of Acuña, Novo, Pedrito, Muntané, Molaza, Reboredo, Breijo, Guimerans, Elícegui, Chacho, and Chao.

They were led by coach Hilario Marrero and each player earned 2,000 pesetas (not even €20) each for this achievement. This amount even had to be collected through public donations or other subscriptions because of the weak economic state of the club at that time.

The team finished fourth in the first year at the highest level (1941/1942), and there was a decision to build a new home. 1944 was the year of the inauguration of the new Riazor, but the team encountered problems playing football at the highest level. This led to the first ever relegation from the Primera División in 1945.

1950: Close to first title

The team went up, down, and up again until they reached their best achievement in the first 44 years of existence: second place in the season 1949/1950. Back then Chaver Gómez was president of the club and Scopelli was coach. Deportivo lost the Spanish title to Atlético de Madrid after the Galicians only were able to take one point from Atlético de Bilbao in the San Mamés Stadium on the final day of the season.

In those years the club was expanding to an "overseas" level as the team incorporated two Argentine players: Corcuera and Oswaldo. They would become part of an attacking line consisting of them and Franco, Moll, and Tino; four South American players and one "Coruñés" and they became known as the Orquesta Canaro.

This attacking force achieved that Deportivo started their "Golden Decade" and stayed in the highest division until 1957. For the club this was a significant period, and personnel such as Argentine coach Helenio Herrera, Pahíño, and Spain's future European Footballer of the Year, Luis Suárez, were featured at the club in this decade.

1962-1973: Ups and downs

Ups and Downs. Hopes and disillusionment. After their "Golden Decade", the club came into an uncertain period, despite the presence of some great players. From the forward line Orquesta Canaro to the quick-fleeing stay of Luis Suárez, Amancio, Reija, Veloso, and Jaime Blanco. All of whom were products of Deportivo's youth system at that time.

But the poor financial health of the club had as its consequence that they could not keep these jewels and most of them left to economically more powerful clubs. It caused the notorious period of "ups and downs" for the Galician club as they experienced relegation in 1963, 1965, 1967, 1970 and 1973. It was a time of being too good for the lower leagues but not capable of surviving in the Primera División. It was a good time though compared to what came after it.

1973-1991: Troubles in the lower leagues

Deportivo encountered the most problematic years of its existence after the relegation in 1973. The club found itself trapped between the Segunda B División and even the Tercera División and the relegation from the highest level left a tremendous mark on the social and sporting reputation of the club. This was stressed even more due to the constant rise in debt of the already economically troubled club. Not even Luis Suárez, as coach of Deportivo during the season 1978/1979, could turn the tide.

The 1980s were a prolongation of the uncertainties and despair within La Coruña, and the everlasting obsession of returning to the Primera División grew each year. But after one disappointment after the other, the frustration grew as Deportivo saw themselves locked in the Segunda División.

They were even close to dropping one level when in May, 1988 a goal of Vicente in extra time in the last match of the season against Racing de Santander saved Deportivo from yet another step backwards and a possible end of the club, because of the economic difficulties. It had been a narrow escape, but Deportivo had just survived...

It was worth the pain and waiting as slowly the succession of dreadful events came to a halt. The administration of the club was completely restructured with the objective of healing it economically while finding a sense of sportive stability. In 1988, a historic assembly took place at the Colegio de Los Salesianos, where Augusto César Lendoiro was elected president of the club. Fans, players and the directing staff all came together to place Deportivo back to where it belonged: A club for all coruñeses.

But the situation of the club was not very encouraging back then. The debt had grown until 600 million pesetas (about €4 million) while the social "implantation" of the club was very weak. Simply put: there was no proper future installed nor prepared for the sportive aspect of the club. The number one priority of the directors was to remove the debts and to find economical assurance. There was a popular theme to this called "walk or explode", which later would be referred to as a "miracle" once the club was able to support itself again.

The season 1988/1989, the first under Lendoiro, began with local coach Arsenio Iglesias on the bench and with practically the same squad which barely had escaped relegation during the previous season. But the team, with the addition of Brazilian Raudnei, managed to complete a great Copa del Rey campaign yet once again failed to gain promotion to the Primera División. Nevertheless, for the first time in many years the club was able to deal with its financial difficulties and actually to reach a surplus in their balance.

With few new signings, and still wary of any possible monetary dangers to the club, the 1989/1990 season was somewhat of a turning point. The team was more motivated than ever and with the debut of players like Martin Lasarte and Sabín Bilbao, and with the eastern-bloc players Sredojevic, Batrovic and Stojanov, the Galician club managed to reach a preliminary two-leg encounter with Tenerife for a place at the highest level. But despite a draw in the first leg on the Canary Islands, the fans of Deportivo faced another disappointment as in the return leg in Riazor the island club obtained the ticket to the Primera División.

However, Deportivo president Lendoiro insisted that with everyone's support the club would finally ascend to the highest level. The financial management was in safe hands, a surplus in gains still existed and the number of club members (socios) continued to grow to 17,500. This was how the season 1990/1991 was approached. Josu, Albístegui, Stojadinovic, Kanatlarovski, Mújika, Villa, Albis, Uralde and later Djukic were some of the names added to the squad and the target was clear: reaching the Primera División.

Once again the dying seconds of the season would decide the fate of Deportivo. But after having missed 18 years of football in the Primera División, Deportivo defeated Murcia in play-off matches and finally achieved promotion. All of La Coruña and Galicia were soaked in joy and the blanquiazul world would then start to move beyond its borders, as fans all across the nation were to join the Deportivo cause.

1991-1993: The Birth of 'Superdepor'