Arsenio Iglesias guided Deportivo to the most successful season in their history, up to that point, in 1994–95. They matched their performance from the previous season in both La Liga, where they finished as runners-up four points behind champions Real Madrid, and the UEFA Cup, where they were eliminated after extra time in the third round by German side Borussia Dortmund. However, their greatest success came in the Copa del Rey. The first cup final in their history saw them face Valencia at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid on 24 June, and the first half went well as Javier Manjarín gave Depor the lead after 35 minutes. Valencia equalised through Predrag Mijatović with twenty minutes to play, but nine minutes later the match was suspended due to heavy rain and hail.[2]
The remaining eleven minutes were played three days later, and Deportivo retook the lead just two minutes after the restart through Alfredo Santaelena. They held on to win 2–1 and claim their first major trophy in the most unusual of circumstances.[2] Iglesias retired from coaching at the end of the season, therefore, he was replaced by Welshman John Toshack- who had previously been manager of Real Sociedad- and ending the "Super Depor" era (1992-95).
Players
Squad
Source:[3]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Source:[4]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
^On July 31, 1995, Sevilla and Celta Vigo were relegated to Segunda División B for not providing documentation (an audit) nor making their payments to the Royal Spanish Football Federation within the time limit. The two best qualified teams to be relegated, Albacete and Valladolid were readmitted to La Liga. Later, Sevilla and Celta Vigo claimed that according to the law[7] they had another 15 working days because they made allegations days before. Finally, the solution[8] was to not relegate any involved team and expand the league to 22 teams for the next two seasons.
