At 40, ex-Arsenal ace Santi Cazorla leads Oviedo back to the top flight in Spain

Oviedo, coached by former Serbian player Veljko Paunovic since March, had been in the second division since 2015-16, and spent a few seasons in the third tier before that.

SPOT ON: Veteran Santi Cazorla of Real Oviedo nails his penalty in the La Liga Play-Off final second leg against CD Mirandes in Oviedo. Pic: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

With veteran Santi Cazorla leading the way 20 years after he left the club, Oviedo made it back to the first division of the Spanish league.

The club owned by Mexico’s Grupo Pachuca since 2022 secured its return to the top flight with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Mirandes in the final of the promotion playoffs on Saturday night. After a 1-0 first-leg loss, it won 3-1 in extra time with Cazorla scoring one of the goals.