Deportivo La Coruña's 1997–98 season included its 33rd appearance in La Liga, where it ranked in 12th place. The club also competed in the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Cup.
Summary
1997–98 was to be the first full season in charge for Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Silva, who had taken over from John Toshack following the Welshman's resignation in February. Silva had a strong start, guiding Deportivo to 3rd in La Liga by the end of the season, and earning them a return to European competition after a year away by qualifying for the 1997–98 UEFA Cup. Their first round opponents were Auxerre, but a 2–1 defeat at Estadio Riazor followed by a goalless draw in France saw Depor eliminated before the end of September.
Deportivo were also far from convincing in La Liga, and a 3–1 home defeat by Real Valladolid on 15 October left them 15th in the table, with just one win from their first six matches. Silva was sacked, and replaced by José Manuel Corral until the end of the season. Corral improved the club's league form slightly, but they were only able to finish the season a disappointing 12th, their lowest placing since 1991–92. They did reach the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey, but were defeated 3–1 on aggregate by Segunda División side Alavés.
Corral made way at the end of the season for Javier Irureta, paving the way for the most successful period of the club's history. Irureta would lead them to their first top flight title only two seasons later.
Players Squad Source:
Left club during season
Out on loan for the full season Source:
Transfers
In # Pos Player From Notes Summer 5 MF Djalminha Palmeiras 9 FW Luizão Palmeiras 18 FW Salaheddine Bassir Al Hilal 19 DF Luis Miguel Ramis Sevilla 25 GK Peter Rufai Hércules Winter 8 MF Mustapha Hadji Sporting CP 11 FW Sergio Martínez Boca Juniors 12 MF Lionel Scaloni Estudiantes 405 million Pta 23 FW Sebastián Abreu San Lorenzo 26 FW David Fernández Sevilla Loan return
Out # Pos Player To Notes Summer 1 GK Petr Kouba 1. FC Kaiserslautern 5 DF Miroslav Đukić Valencia Free 11 FW Rivaldo Barcelona 4 billion Pta ($26 million)Rivaldo: In the name of the father, FIFA, 10 October 2000 18 FW Txiki Begiristain Urawa Red Diamonds 19 DF José Luis Ribera Rayo Vallecano 21 MF Rafael Martín Vázquez Atlético Celaya 22 FW Renaldo Corinthians Loan 26 FW David Fernández Sevilla Loan 27 MF Emilio Viqueira Campomaiorense Loan Winter 8 MF Corentin Martins Strasbourg 9 FW Luizão Vasco da Gama 15 MF Alfredo Santaelena Sevilla 17 DF Nando Sevilla 22 FW Mickaël Madar Everton FreeToffeeWeb's Everton Player Fact File: Mickael Madar. ToffeeWeb. Retrieved on 28 October 2006.
Statistics Last updated on 14 April 2021.
|colspan="14"|Players who have left the club after the start of the season:
Competitions La Liga
League table
Positions by round
Matches
Copa del Rey
RoundOpponentAggregateFirst legSecond legVenueResultRefVenueResultRefRound of 16 Osasuna 3–1 A 1–0 H 2–1 Quarter-finals Alavés 1–3 A 1–3 H 0–0
UEFA Cup
First round
Auxerre won 2–1 on aggregate
References