Some time ago, while searching for the latest soccer news on the FIFA site, I stumbled upon a photo gallery which took me eleven years back into the past and made me relive one of the most incredible Champions Leagues match ever: the second leg of the quarter-final between Deportivo La Coruna and AC Milan which took place on April 7, 2004.
After the first leg, things were more than clear: Milan had obtained a convincing 4-1 win and they were already making plans for the semi-finals. After all, they were the title holders and they were also undoubtedly the team of the moment in Europe. Therefore, I considered that the second leg would be a formality for them and I preferred to stay out later that night and miss the first half of the game.
Imagine my surprise when I entered home and found out that Depor were leading 3-0 at halftime thanks to the goals scored by Pandiani, Valeron, and Luque! It was simply unthinkable for an Italian club, and especially a giant like AC Milan, to receive three goals in one half! But on the other hand, Super Depor had earned the reputation of a giant killer in both Spain and the Champions League. It seemed that nothing was impossible for that fantastic team which had earned so many fans exactly for its fearless, unique offensive style used against the powerhouses of European soccer.
I watched the second half nervously, hoping that the miracle would continue until the end. After all, one goal from Milan would have saved the Italians from disaster, but it didn’t happen. Depor was in complete control of the match and when the captain Fran scored the 4-0 goal, I knew it: The miracle has been completed!
It rarely happens to me to watch the replay of a soccer match if I know its results, in the case of the legendary Depor vs. Milan clash I made an exception and watched the entire game again the next day. What an amazing team that SuperDepor! They were bound for glory, they were definitely the most entertaining team in Europe.
Sadly, Tristan, Pandiani, Valeron and all the other legendary players stopped in the semi-finals, when Jose Mourinho and its extremely pragmatic FC Porto side found the antidote for SuperDepor’s enchanting style of play, and even more sadly from that moment on the decline started and the Galician team fell into obscurity and it has recently reached a truly low point when it was relegated to the Spanish third division in the summer of 2020!
However, the legend of Javier Irureta's Superdepor and its stunning thrashing of AC Milan will remain forever embedded in football history as the greatest achievement of a small team that made its fans dream of European glory.
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