The magic of Santi Cazorla

Real Oviedo, the small team from Asturias, has officially returned to La Liga after a 24-year wait. And at the heart of this miracle is none other than Santi Cazorla – who is now 40 years old.

Santi Cazorla brought glory to Real Oviedo.

As the stands at Carlos Tartiere erupted in cheers, Cazorla continued to pursue his childhood dream with sweat and tears. In the La Liga promotion play-off final, Oviedo defeated Mirandés in a thrilling 3-2 aggregate victory over two legs, with a 3-1 home win in the second leg proving to be a turning point.

In the early hours of June 22nd, the goals scored by Cazorla, Ilyas Chaira, and Francisco Portillo were not just cold numbers on the scoreboard; they were symbols of perseverance and belief. When the final whistle blew, thousands of spectators poured onto the pitch, tears mingling with smiles, embracing each other. After all, an entire generation of Oviedo fans had waited for this moment for far too long.

An amazing journey

Cazorla began his football journey at the Oviedo youth team at the age of 8, watching idols like Carlos Munoz, Slavisa Jokanovic, Robert Prosinecki, and Petr Dubovsky. Now, he has become a hero of his own homeland.

More than a decade ago, Cazorla was forced to leave when his hometown club faced financial crisis, but fate brought him back two years ago with the statement: "I'm willing to play for free, but the rules don't allow it."

Cazorla turned his words into action, scoring the equalizer from the penalty spot in the second leg, making it 1-1. Earlier, Joaquin Panichelli of Mirandés had scored the opening goal in the second leg, giving the visitors a 2-0 aggregate lead.

Everything seemed over for Oviedo, but Cazorla and his teammates didn't give up. Portillo's extra-time goal was the climax of the emotions, sending the entire stadium into a frenzy. This was the first time since the 2000/01 season that Oviedo had participated in the top Spanish league.

Cazorla's illustrious career with Villarreal, Arsenal, and the Spanish national team is a testament to his innate talent. He possessed exquisite technique and the ability to take free kicks with both feet – qualities that made him famous worldwide . But it was Cazorla's never-give-up spirit that truly made his career with Oviedo possible.

After suffering a serious Achilles tendon injury in 2016, when doctors said he could be content with just being able to walk again, Cazorla underwent 11 surgeries to return to the pitch. His return to Oviedo was an emotional journey, as he not only played football but also healed the emotional wounds from those difficult times.

In the play-off semi-final against Almería, his perfect free-kick paved the way for the Oviedo team's dream, and now, his penalty goal against Mirandés completes the fairytale.

Oviedo's head coach, Veljko Paunovic, speaking with a choked voice on La Liga TV , shared: "It's impossible to describe the significance of this victory for us. These players are heroes, one by one. They deserve immense recognition."

El Pais commented that this moment will never be erased from Oviedo's history, as it is proof of the resurgence of a team that was on the verge of bankruptcy and had fallen to the fourth division of Spanish football at the beginning of the 21st century.

Santi Cazorla fulfilled his childhood dream of bringing Oviedo back to La Liga.

A dream come true

Cazorla's miraculous story doesn't just stop at himself; it also resonates with his teammates, such as Kwasi Sibo, the 27-year-old Ghanaian midfielder for Oviedo. From a teenager in Ghana who admired Cazorla on TV, Sibo now plays alongside his idol on the pitch.

When Cazorla scored the free kick that beat Almería, sending Oviedo into the play-off final, Sibo sensed a miracle even before the ball went into the net. Sibo recounted: “His (Cazorla's) first touch was extraordinary… As I watched the free kick, I thought, 'This ball is in the net,' because the player behind it was Cazorla.”

Twelve years ago, young Sibo was captivated by Cazorla's brilliance on the Emirates Stadium pitch. Fifteen years later, he became teammates with his idol, together leading Oviedo to make history.

“When talking about Oviedo, people have to talk about Santi Cazorla. When talking about the heart of this club, the heart of this team, it is Santi Cazorla. So I am very happy. I don't know how to celebrate when he scored because it was a very important goal in our lives,” Sibo revealed.

Sibo occasionally has to pat himself on the cheek to remind himself that he's playing alongside Cazorla in Oviedo's midfield: "I never imagined that day would come. It's magical to play with Santi and take the team to La Liga. Santi Cazorla is an enduring icon of Oviedo."

Sibo wasn't exaggerating. In 2012, the former Arsenal star even invested in Oviedo shares to prevent the club from going bankrupt. At that time, Oviedo had dropped to the fourth division. Exactly a decade later, Cazorla gave up a €2 million annual salary in Qatar to return and rescue his boyhood club for a symbolic income of only €77,000 per season.

Cazorla even gave the club full rights to exploit his image, and agreed to share an additional 10% of his jersey sales revenue to invest in Oviedo's youth development. Coach Paunovic said that there are millions of professional players playing across Europe, but he wasn't sure if anyone would dare to make such a sacrifice for their childhood club as Cazorla did.

Let's not forget that Cazorla didn't go to Oviedo to retire, but continued to shine on the pitch as a true star.

Source: https://znews.vn/dieu-ky-dieu-cua-santi-cazorla-post1562767.html