Great days for Deportivo

uefa.com looks back at the achievements of RC Deportivo La Coruña as part of our series of histories of the 18 clubs directly involved in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

Though founded in 1906, RC Deportivo La Coruña are relative newcomers to the heady heights of Spanish football. Indeed, as recently as the 1970s the club were languishing in the third division. However, over the last decade they have developed into one of the top teams, both domestically and in Europe, and recent years have brought three major trophies - two Spanish Cups (in 1995 and 2002) and, more significantly, a first league championship in 2000.

Reward for promotion
All of which is a far cry from their humble beginnings in their original 6,000-capacity ground, the Corralón de la Gaiteira, which was opened in 1907. When the Spanish national league was created in 1928, Deportivo found themselves in the second division and success was initially hard to come by. However, things began to look in the 1940s as they finally clinched promotion to the top flight in 1941. In 1949/50 they almost won the league - falling short in the last game of the season when they failed to beat Athletic Club Bilbao.

Financial struggles
Deportivo moved to a new stadium, the Municipal de Riazor, in 1944 but a further upward curve in their development failed to materialise and over the next two decades they struggled financially, often losing their most talented young players to the bigger clubs. They dropped out of the top tier in 1974 and further misery arrived when they were relegated to the third division.

Lendoiro the catalyst
Salvation came in the person of their chairman Augusto César Lendoiro, who is widely regarded as the catalyst for the club's transformation. His investment ultimately brought about the success the team's supporters craved.

Djukic heartache
Deportivo finally made it back to the Primera División in 1991 and quickly established themselves among the Spanish élite, featuring players of the calibre of Fran González, Bebeto, Donato and Mauro Silva. In 1994, they suffered the heartache of losing the league title on the last day of the season when Miroslav Djukic missed the last-minute penalty that would have brought the victory they needed against Valencia CF.

First trophy
They did beat Valencia the following season to win the Spanish Cup, their first major trophy, and in 1996 reached the semi-final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup before bowing out to Paris Saint-Germain FC.

Champions at last
The arrival of Javier Irureta as coach in 1998 led to their finest hour to date: in 2000 the Galician club finally claimed their first league championship. In 2000/01 they reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals before losing to Leeds United AFC. The next season proved this was no flash in the pan as Deportivo twice beat Manchester United FC before a third meeting with the English team ended in defeat in the quarter-finals. Domestically, Deportivo beat Real Madrid CF in the Spanish Cup final at the Santiago Bernabéu and finished second in the league.

Dramatic exit
Deportivo looked set for another Champions League quarter-final appearance the following campaign only for a last-minute goal from Juventus FC defender Igor Tudor to condemn them to elimination. In the Primera División, Dutch striker Roy Makaay won the ESM Golden Shoe with his 29 goals but it was not enough to lift Deportivo any higher than third place in the league.