Castellón dreaming of La Liga return after 19-year wait for promotion spot
CD Castellón sit in an automatic promotion spot to La Liga for the first time since 2007, marking a fairy tale moment for a club that's endured a rollercoaster two decades.
After a 19-year wait, CD Castellón find themselves in dreamland - sitting in an automatic promotion position to La Liga at the halfway point of their Segunda División campaign.
The fairy tale moment
Castellón are currently experiencing what can only be described as a magical period. The club from La Plana hasn’t touched these promotion heights since September 2007 - a whopping 6,715 days ago! Back then, they briefly flirted with promotion after winning their first two matches against Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo, but the dream quickly faded.
Now under the guidance of Pablo Hernández, they’ve transformed from early-season relegation candidates into genuine promotion contenders. The change in technical direction proved inspired, with the team steadily climbing the table to reach the halfway point as the division’s surprise package.
Two decades of turbulence
To appreciate how significant this is, you need to understand Castellón’s proper nightmare journey over the last 20-odd years:
- Relegated from La Liga in 1991, never returning since
- Spent three seasons in Segunda before dropping to Segunda B in 1994
- Languished in Spain’s third tier for 11 seasons
- Brief five-year return to Segunda before consecutive relegations in 2010 and 2011 sent them plummeting to regional football
- The period from 2018-2025 was a proper elevator experience between tiers
Looking forward
After securing promotion to Segunda in 2024, Castellón have finally found stability under owner Voulgaris. What was once unthinkable now seems possible - a return to La Liga after more than three decades away from Spain’s top division.
For a generation of supporters who’ve never seen their team compete at the highest level, these are days to cherish. The question now is whether they can maintain this form through the second half of the season or if it’ll be another case of what might have been.