Deportivo de La Coruna

Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (English: Royal Sporting Club of La Coruña) is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia; founded in 1906 and currently playing in La Liga. Since the Spanish football league system was established in 1928, it has spent all but two seasons in the top two tiers, remaining in the top flight since 1991.

Depor has won the league title once, in 1999-00 season, finishing as runner-up on five occasions. The club has also won the Spanish Cup twice, (1995 and 2002) and three Spanish Super Cups. The Blues and Whites have been a regular on top positions in La Liga in the last 20 years, being on the top half of the table 16 out of 19 seasons. As a result, the club has been a regular side at European competitions, playing the UEFA Champions League five seasons in a row, and reaching the semi-finals in 2004.

Deportivo play their home games at the 34,600 capacity Riazor since 1944 when the stadium was built. Traditional home kit consists in blue and white shirts (striped) with blue shorts and socks. The club has a long-standing rivalry with national opponents Celta de Vigo, and matches between the two sides are known as the Galician derby.

For political reasons the current club board keep the city un-official name "La Coruña" (in Spanish), although the official name of the city is "A Coruña" (in Galician). Hence, if the club ever adopts the official name of the city it would be renamed "Deportivo da Coruña".

1928-1948 Segunda Division and first spell in the top flight

In 1928, Depor failed to qualify for the first ever Primera División and took part in the Segunda División where it finished 8th out of 10. The team keep battling next years in a division that was going to suffer many structural and geographical changes. In 1932, Depor defeated Real Madrid in the Cup, which had gone unbeaten through the entire season in the league.

In 1936, the Spanish civil war broke out, so official competitions were abandoned until the 1939-40 season. That year, The Herculeans made a brilliant season qualifying for promotion stage. The final game was against archrivals Celta de Vigo who were fighting for avoid relegation. Celta won by 1-0 and remained in the top flight as Depor's expectations of promotion were denied. By the way, next season another brilliant campaign led the club to a final match against Murcia. Depor won by 2-1 and achieve promotion to La Liga for the first time in their history.

The first season in the top flight finished with a remarkable 4th place. Following seasons, marked 9th, 12th and 14th position in 1945 which led the club to relegation. Instant promotion was achieved next year but Depor were relegated again by the end of the 1946-47 season. Once again, the team gained promotion next season, in 1948.

This decade saw Depor's entrance in the top flight, so the club decided to build up a new ground, Riazor which is still their home. It was opened on 28 October 1944 with a league game against Valencia. By this era, the key player of the team was Juan Acuña, club's keeper. Xanetas as he was known by locals picked up four Zamora Trophies between 1942 and 1951, what makes him the second most awarded keeper ever in the Spanish league.

Foundation and first steps

In 1902 Jose María Abalo, a youngster who returned to his hometown after studying in England, introduced football to A Coruña. The game gained rapid popolarity and several teams were formed on an informal basis.

It was in December 1906, when members of Sala Calvet gymnasium formed Deportivo de la Coruña, naming Luis cornide as first president. In May 1907 Alfonso XIII of Spain granted the club with the 'Real' (royal) denomination. Depor started playing at Corral de la Gaiteira (piper's yard), but soon moved to Old Riazor, a new ground near the Riazor beach.

The team played friendly matches regularly and competed in local leagues, but failed to achieve success in the Copa del Rey by its first years of history.

In 1920, the Olympics in Antwerp, saw the debut of the Spanish national team. A good run for the Spanish side increased football popularity, and so many teams gained professional status, as well as the league was formed and planned for the 1928-29 season.