Real Club Deportivo de La Coruna Quiz

Answer: 1906

This was the year when everything started for Deportivo. Jose Maria Abalo, who had learned about football while living in England, brought the sport back to the city of A Coruna. A group of members of the Sala Calvet gym (the word "deportivo" means gymnasium) created the sporting club, which would quickly become a formal football team.

San Francisco is a city in the American state of California that frequently experiences earthquakes. A major one occurred on April 18, 1906, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries.

Answer: Spanish Cup

Much of Deportivo's accomplishments in the 20th century were rather unremarkable. The team spent many years going back and forth between the First and Second (and sometimes Third) divisions. Their first official title, however, was achieved early in their history, when they defeated Vigo F.C in the final. The Cup was different from other tournaments at the time in that it allowed foreign players to participate. However, this was the only edition of this "Copa Espana" or Spanish Cup.

RC Deportivo would have a much better streak in the 1990s, a decade where they won a Copa del Rey and a Spanish Supercup.

Answer: Bebeto and Diego Tristan

The top-scorer of each Spanish league tournament is awarded a prestigious trophy known as "Pichichi". Deportivo La Coruna's first two "Pichichis" in their history were Bebeto and Diego Tristan. Bebeto, a Brazilian forward who won the 1994 World Cup with his national team, won the award in the 1992-93 season with 29 goals. Diego Tristan, a Spanish striker who also played for Mallorca and West Ham United, achieved the same feat in the 2001-02 season with 21 goals.

Answer: Luis Aragones

Arsenio Iglesias was the manager when Deportivo won the Copa del Rey in 1995, in a match that had to be played on two separate days because of heavy rain. John Benjamin Toshack was at the helm of Deportivo La Coruna when the club won the Spanish Supercup against Real Madrid in 1995. Javier Irureta had an even more successful run, as the Spanish manager won the Spanish League (1999-2000), a Copa del Rey (2001-02), and two Spanish Supercups in 2000 and 2002.

Luis Aragones was also a great Spanish coach, but he never managed Deportivo La Coruna. He did lead Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid to several championships and won the UEFA Euro 2008 with Spain's national team.

Answer: Rivaldo

Rivaldo had a long and decorated professional career. Born in Recife, Brazil, Rivaldo spent the first five years of his professional career playing for a variety of local clubs. Then, he signed for Deportivo in 1996, where he played for one season and scored over 20 goals.

The years that followed were likely the best of Rivaldo's career: he played for the top clubs of Barcelona and Milan and won the 2002 World Cup with Brazil.

Answer: Galicia

The city of La Coruna is located in an eponymous province, which itself s part of the autonomous community of Galicia. Galicia is one of the northernmost parts of Spain and is known for the Santiago de Compostela cathedral that it houses. The Galician flag has a white background and a diagonal blue stripe going across it.

It also features the community's coat of arms in the center. Deportivo La Coruna's emblem pays tribute to its home community by incorporating the white background and blue stripe into their emblem.

Answer: RC Celta de Vigo

Matches between these two teams are pure dynamite! That would be expected from a football rivalry that has decades of history. The Galician derby ("derbi gallego") is contested between RC Deportivo La Coruna and RC Celta de Vigo. They first faced each other at a Copa del Rey in 1928. Within Galicia (which is at the very north of Spain), A Coruna is located in the north and Vigo is located in the south.

Notable derbies in Spain include the "Clasico" (Real Madrid v. Barcelona) and the meetings between those two teams and their local rivals (Real Madrid v. Atletico de Madrid in Madrid and Barcelona v. Espanyol in Catalonia).

Answer: Blue

Deportivo La Coruna's classic jersey is white with blue stripes, similar to the Galician flag. Though the kit designs have slightly changed over the years, the team's home jersey is almost always a mixture of blue and white stripes. RCD has also used alternative jerseys in colors like green, black, and even orange.

Answer: Semi-finals

The UEFA Champions League is Europe's premier club football tournament. Deportivo first played in this competition in 2000-01 since they won the preceding Spanish League title. Though they were knocked out in quarter-finals, this season set in motion a great streak for Depor, since they also qualified for the next four Champions Leagues.

The most they achieved in those five tournaments was reaching the semi-finals in 2003-04. Deportivo left behind both Juventus and Milan, but was then defeated by Porto (which ended up winning the tournament).

Answer: Riazor

Estadio Riazor, otherwise known as Estadio Municipal de Riazor, has been Deportivo La Coruna's home stadium since 1906. The stadium began to look more like a professional football arena in 1944. Its name comes from the beach and neighborhood where it is located, and the stadium hosted three Group 1 matches during the 1982 World Cup. One of Deportivo La Coruna's most fervent supporter groups is the controversial Riazor Blues, which have existed since the late 1980s.