Deportivo's road to ruin

An entire generation of Deportivistas that had never seen a Primera División match at the Riazor stadium rejoiced when Deportivo la Coruña, after 18 years in Segunda, finally achieved promotion in 1991 as runners-up in Spain's euphemistically monikered "Silver Division."

As of Sunday, a new generation of Depor supporters faces the grim reality that their side - Liga champion in 2000, King's Cup winner in 2002 and Champions League semifinalist in 2004 - will be lining up in Segunda División next season. Those same Deportivistas can only hope the side's stay in Segunda is brief, but as neighbors Celta Vigo and other illustrious former Primera clubs can attest, it is a notoriously problematic division to get out of, particularly after a concatenation of disasters of the style that led to Deportivo's relegation on Sunday.

Economic plight

Depor's genial longstanding president, Augusto César Lendoiro, said Deportivo entered into debt to chase a dream that became reality: "The problems began when we lost our Champions League status." But while the club was at its sporting pinnacle, in the semifinals against Porto in 2004, there were already worrying signs when it tried to launch a capital increase of 60 million euros. Lendoiro spoke of possible investors, but none arrived.

Structural shortcomings

"We cannot make mistakes with signings," Lendoiro said when it was apparent the coffers were empty. Richard Moar, a former player who advised Lendoiro on transfers, left the club last summer. Nobody replaced him and coach Miguel Ángel Lotina demanded more power over player policy, but unfortunately he erred in almost all of his recommendations.

Bad business

Lendoiro, who in 15 years had never combed the loan market, resorted to that format. None of the loanees who arrived in summer had played in the Spanish top flight. The height of improvisation was demonstrated in Filipe Luis' transfer to Atlético Madrid. After a month of searching, Lendoiro presented Claudio Morel Rodríguez, who struggled to keep himself at a competitive weight, and Knut Olav Rindaroy, an unknown Norwegian. They made little impact.

Tactical tinkering

Lotina stated in pre-season that Deportivo's team "is better than last year. We will play soccer." In the second game of the season at the Riazor, Lotina was already employing long-ball tactics. His idea was to give Saúl, Míchel and Yves Desmarets responsibility, but in the end he fell back on the talent of 35-year-old Juan Carlos Valerón after noting: "If these three play two consecutive games, I'll be in trouble on the third."

Injuries

Up to 20 players suffered from injuries that seemed as innocuous as they were recurrent, fostering mistrust between the technical and medical staff. Andrés Guardado and Riki, two of the side's key attacking players, missed half the season.

The future

Parachute payments from the LFP will total 15 million euros if Deportivo stays in Segunda for two years, 10 million euros if it returns at the first try. Only Zaragoza has done so in the past five years and four erstwhile Primera teams have fallen into the netherworld of Segunda B: Tenerife, Alavés, Murcía and Cádiz. Depor needs a new coach and to shed some players with Primera División salaries.