Oviedo: 8770 Days: The fall and rise of Real Oviedo

Words: Diego Crespo

Images: Diego Crespo

All fans claim their team is the best, and we agree on that.

Narrative and storytelling keep us constantly learning about the stories of unique teams, and for some time now, even misfortunes have managed to spark the curiosity and sympathy of other fans.

Summarizing the history of the 8,770 days that have passed since Real Oviedo's relegation to the second division until its return would be absurd, at least for those fans who want to read something detailed, since the web of events is enormous.

Another sporting relegation to 2B, the third tier of Spanish football, and at the same time a second administrative relegation due to non-payments that landed them in the third division, the fourth tier.

©Diego Crespo/ Terrace Edition. Real Oviedo vs CD Mirandes.

A team founded that attempted to impersonate the original, led by the city's mayor, and lost promotion playoffs.

From 2003 to 2012, the team managed to rise to 2B, but unfortunately was relegated to third due to sporting merit, the most regrettable moment in the club's history.

It was in 2012, while playing again in the second division, that a new matchball incident threatened the club's existence.

The risk of disappearing due to debt was more than real, and the team needed to raise money immediately.

Fans from all over the world sympathized with Real Oviedo's story and bought shares.

Most of them were British citizens. That movement was spearheaded by journalist Sid Lowe, who studied in Oviedo as a young man and has been a true Carbayón fan ever since.

The tweet that changed everything was as simple as reminding fans on the islands that the club that had produced three of the best players in the Premier League that season was in danger.

Michu, Juan Mata, and Santi Cazorla. In addition, the three players bought shares, encouraging others to do so.

€2 million was the sum raised by all shareholders, but another €2 million was still missing. Carlos Slim, one of the richest men in the world, became interested in the team after receiving spam from fans and phone calls from radio shows.

The club was saved at the last minute, and the shareholder movement meant that fans from all over the world were seen at practically every match, visiting that city they had never heard of and that team of which they were now minority shareholders.

If that story wasn't an example of romanticism, the sporting amor was yet to be seen.

Esteban, the goalkeeper and captain of Real Oviedo in the first division, joined the team in 2B to help it return to professional football, and he would achieve this in 2015, after beating Cádiz in the promotion final to the second division.

Then came homegrown players established in the first division, such as Saúl Berjón and Michu, but escaping the second division was no easy task.

In the 2023-2024 season, Cazorla returned to the club, and the team reached the playoffs for promotion to the first division for the first time, being eliminated in the final.

In the 2024/2025 season, they managed to reach the playoffs again, and with more experience, they achieved the long-awaited promotion 8,770 days later.

There are teams that know they'll never win a title, as is the case with Real Oviedo, but having a goal that sustains pride and hope is everything.

Returning to the top was that goal for 24 years and it came with a victory against CD Mirandes in an epic playoff.