Miguel L. Pereira can be found on social media here, and if you’re hungry for more, Miguel has also written a book that explores the heights and depths of Spanish football, and all its cultural and social layers. Find out more about it here.
It used to be a deadly disease, but now it is far from it. There was a time when many of Spain’s top clubs were whispering in fear of being relegated to the third tier. It was like being thrown into eternal purgatory. Clubs are on the brink of complete oblivion, fans who believe they will never see the light of day again. Fast forward to now and something has changed. The new model of the Primera RFEF has been a complete success, and it is no coincidence that fighting for a promotion place in La Liga we now have three clubs who for the past few seasons have been competing in the third level of professional football in Spain. Even if Real Zaragoza fans are already predicting doomsday, it may not be as catastrophic as expected if the club is relegated,
Racing Santander were in the first division of La Liga, but few know how they got there. The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has decided to start a league on behalf of Real Madrid, the main driver of this project, but it has only nine names to participate in the first edition. Those were the players who had reached the finals of the competition that later became the Copa del Rey, but they were one short.
Instead of picking one out of many, the play-offs were arranged between a few sides that were rising in their regional competitions, despite not attracting national attention. Race won this battle, and started playing until they fought for the league title a few seasons later. Later the main power of Cantabria disappeared, returned to the elite from time to time, and became popular again at the end of the century thanks to a local artist named Pedro Munitis. In the following decade, the Cantabrians enjoyed success with the attacking partnership of Munitis and Serbian giant Nikola Zigic. Big man-little man, a combination as old as football itself.
Then a young, promising star, Sergio Canales, came from their youth ranks and promised more, but the club was already in foreign hands and would soon fall into the third division. In 2022, they were still there, despite a rare promotion that never lasted more than a season. It seemed that the glory days were over, but here they are, once again fighting a noble battle to return to La Liga, where they have not played for over a decade. And it’s not just the giant who sits down with a coffee after a long nap.
Deportivo La Coruna is the only team that has ever won the Spanish league and is currently playing in the second division. Worst of all, they spent most of the last decade in the third division and were re-promoted to Segunda in previous seasons. Gone are the days of Super Depor. Filing for bankruptcy in 2013, everything went sideways. With their faith restored in a wonderful youth set-up, and the homecoming of the prodigal son, Lucas Perez, Depor have a connection with their fans that has not been seen for two decades. With Riazor packing more support than ever before in their golden years, here they are in second place behind Racing and their eyes are on a rematch of the Galicia Derby against Celta Vigo.
Another first-tier side, Malaga, who were minutes away from a Champions League semi-final in 2013, also fell victim to poor ownership and fell into third-tier oblivion a decade ago. The club was almost disbanded, but depended on some talented additions and La Rosaleda, and relied on the grassroots support that grew during their years in the mud. They are now in the promotion play-off position in the league table, and many already think that if one wants to play in La Liga next season, they will have to put up with La Rosaleda – under the rosegarden the name suggests.
For 576 reasons why we love it @LaLiga2 …
At 630 pm today, @MalagaCF could move within 1 point of an automatic promotion spot, or could be kicked out of the playoffs altogether if they lose again @Burgos_CF victory vs @SDEibar pic.twitter.com/CDIUEQzGWd
— The Spanish Segunda Show (@SegundaSpanish) March 15, 2026
Yet arguably no story is as powerful as Castellon’s. A club that has not played in the top flight since the early 1990s, the first power in the region without the financial cannon of the Roig family Villareal, too, was consumed by debt when a Canadian poker player decided to buy the club. Harabolos Voulgaris decided to take the Moneyball philosophy into football after success in the NBA, and made Castellon his lab experiment.
Returning Alvinegros to the second division in 2024, he did it in style in his second full season in charge. At the beginning of this season things seemed to be going wrong, and then he took the bold decision to fire Dick Schreuder, the man who promoted the team. What looked like a desperate attempt to salvage something from the campaign turned out to be another successful gamble by Voulgaris, who is now in Castellon fighting for a playoff spot in 5th place. There is a real possibility of a Castellon-Villarreal derby next season, the clubs live a few miles from each other and their way is proof that running a football club in Spain can be done differently.
Of the teams currently sitting in the top six Liga Hypermotion table, four have played in the third division in the last five seasons. Almeria – now part-owned by Cristiano Ronaldo – and Las Palmas are the only two sides to have played in the top flight in recent years. It is a testament to the competitiveness of the second division, but also that relegation to the Primera RFEF is no longer the end of the world. Financial restrictions sometimes help clubs to reshape, get rid of debts, find their faith in youth programs and even help the best choices their fans have to offer. Those juggernauts who went down to the third tier were based on numbers, even more than when they were playing in La Liga or Segunda, because people really cared.
Other iconic clubs, like Real Murcia or Hercules, know a thing or two about it too. It is not for lack of support that they are in the third division, and Tenerife, who have just been relegated, are boasting record numbers this season as they look to move up to the second division. Relegation is bad news, but it shows an opportunity to start over, and sometimes there are sports projects that need to take a step back in order to move forward.
The example of Deportivo is what Real Zaragoza fans should be looking at right now. Despite never winning La Liga, Zaragoza has its place among the symbols of Spanish football culture. It’s not just their two European Cups or six Copa del Reys, or the magic of La Romareda. It is the story of a club that emerges from a remote part of Spain to compete with the nation’s elite. Zaragoza was an anomaly as a football club, just as the city itself is. The area that connects Madrid and Barcelona, and seems to have the best of both worlds.
However, all the mistakes that Zaragoza made in the last 15 years are easy to see among their dead and resurrected people from his time of the last 30 years. After decades of playing backwards, the regular UEFA Cup now looks set to drop, sitting in 20th place and four points from safety. With La Romareda being rebuilt almost from the start of the 2030 World Cup, perhaps this is the time when the demolition could help Real Zaragoza become the side they once were. They are right to fear, but Deportivo, Racing, Castellon and Malaga have shown that it is possible to come back strong and with an eye on the biggest prize of all.
It is possible that next season the club that has been playing in the third division for the past ten years will return to La Liga. It is also possible that Real Zaragoza could end up being relegated to the third tier for the first time since 1949. Both events tell the story of how complex Spanish football can be, a place where giants can be giants and giants if they play their cards right. A place of Quixotes and windmills, both on and off the pitch.
