Spain's fallen clubs

Spain has witnessed some quiet big declines in recent years. Declines with teams that were established in the primer División but have since fallen down the ladder. One name the springs to mind straight away is Real Oviedo. Oviedo are a massive club and have been in the doldrums ever since they were relegated from La Liga on the back end of the 2000-01 season.

Real Oviedo:
Relegated in 2001 after finishing just a point from safety the club from Asturias haven't been anyway near returning to the top flight in Spain. In 2001-02 the club in the Ségunda were in contention for promotion until they ended up finishing eleven points from promotion.
The following season in 2002-03 the club fell on hard times financially. On the pitch the club were like concrete sinking in a pond and after finishing in the bottom four they were originally relegated to the Ségunda B. Failure to pay players regularly during 2002-03 resulted in the club being demoted down to the Tecera División (4th Tier).
Real Oviedo by now were semi-pro and in the 4th tier just two and a half years after playing La Liga football. The club did well in 2003-04 by winning their Tecera group by four points from local side Oviedo Astur. However defeat in the play-offs resulted in another season in the Tecera. In 2004-05 they won their group again this time by three points from Ribadsella. Real Oviedo were victorious in the play-offs that season after beating Real Ávila 7-1 over two games.
2005-06 the club was in the Ségunda B. The problems off the pitch were still continuing at this point with the club almost going under during the last two season.
In 2005-06 they finished a creditable 7th in their group but didn't have enough to fight for the play-off spots. In 2006-07 the club was relegated back to the Tecera after another poor season in which they finished 19th.
2007-08 was a season of thaught for Oviedo. Back in the Tecera they again won their group and entered the play-offs only to be denied again.
2008-09 was another season in which they won their group. This time however they did win in the play-offs to secure another passage to the Ségunda B.
2009-10 was a fantastic season for the club. They fought really well as they finished 2nd in their Ségunda B group and they entered the play-offs looking for a 2nd consecutive promotion. However they were beaten in the play-offs by Pontevedra and so had to start this season in Ségunda B again.

Real Betis:
Although not completly gone from the professional game, Betis' demise into the Ségunda has been followed with massive disappointment. Having played Champions League football back in 2005-06 after finishing 4th in La Liga the previous season these are desperate times for Betis. Relegated from La Liga on the final day of the 2008-09 season the club have been taking the Ségunda well. The were extremly unlucky not to have won promotion in 2009-10 after being pipped by the narrowest of margins by Hércules. This season however the club have done well and are currently 3rd in the Ségunda. They have lost some good players down the years such as Mehmet Aurélio, Rivera, Edú, Ricardo Oliveira and Sergio García.

Celta Vigo:
Celta Vigo are a side that not so long ago were perhaps the 4th best side in Spain during Valencia and Barcelona's lean years on 2002-03. The 'Los Celestes' finished 4th in La Liga in 2002-03 which meant Champions League qualification. The reached the last 16 in 2003-04 but that was a distraction from their awful league season. The were relegated on the back of finishing 19th in 2003-04.
In 2004-05 the club were playing Ségunda football. The club did well on the pitch by earning promotion straight back to La Liga for 2005-06. The 2005-06 season was a good one for the club as they finished 6th and earned a UEFA cup spot. In 2006-07 they finished 19th again and fell through the relegated trap door for the 2nd time in three seasons.
In 2007-08 the club came out of a low period in which administration was a severe possibility. They survived off the pitch and on the pitch only survived another relegation by two points.
2008-09 was a season of more struggle as the club were on hard times financially. They survived again by five points and the period looks set to continue.
In 2009-10 the club despite finishing 12th avoided the drop by two points due to the Ségunda being really tight that season.
2010-11 has started very well for the club. They sit top of the pile with six wins from seven by the 10th of October.

Deportivo Alavés:
Alavés are another side that has fallen. The club proberly most famous for that enthralling 5-4 UEFA cup final defeat in 2001 to Liverpool have been up and down and down further in recent years and are a shadow of that 2001 side.
They were last in the Primera División back in 2005-06 when they dropped down. In 2006-07 they battled relegation from the Ségunda and survived. The following season they survived by just a point.
In 2008-09 they weren't so lucky. They were relegated by four points and into the Ségunda B they went. In 2009-10 they did miss out on the play-offs by a point after finishing 5th in their group.
So far in 2010-11 they have managed to start well and are 3rd in their group. The hopes are for promotion obivously.

Rayo Vallecano:
The Madrid-based Rayo were last playing La Liga football in 2002-03 when they finished bottom and suffered relegation to the Ségunda. In 2003-04 they were relegated again after finishing 21st.
In the 2004-05 season in Ségunda B they managed to finish 3rd but lost in the play-offs which resulted in another year in the 3rd tier. In 2005-06 they managed to reach the play-offs again but were denied in the play-offs.
2006-07 saw another challenege on the play-offs but after finishing 2nd it ended with the same result. The following season however Rayo finally broke their duct when they won the play-offs after winning their group.
The 2008-09 season the were back in the Ségunda and almost secured another promotion but ended up in 5th place. the 2009-10 season was a mid-table season and they finished 11th with no real danger of relegation or promotion.
So far in 2010-11 they are 2nd and looking for promotion back to La Liga.

UD Las Palmas:
Las Palmas are a big club on the canaries and have been outside the top flight in Spain since 2001-02 when they were relegated along with fellow Canary Islanders Tenerife. 5th place was all they could muster in 2002-03 but the 2003-04 season was one of massive disappointment for the club. They were relegated to the Ségunda B after finishing 18th. It took them until the 2005-06 season to return to the Ségunda after a 3rd place finish. Since then they have been in the Ségunda. They came close to going down again in 2006-07 and 2009-10 but have started well in 2010-11 and are looking to become the Canaries' only side in La Liga next season.