Celta de Vigo

He won the Zarra trophy, given to the top Spanish scorer in La Liga, in 2015, 2016 and again in 2021.

Before him, the reference point was the stretch between 1996 and 2004 that supporters in Galicia still call EuroCelta. Aleksandr Mostovoi arrived in that window and stayed eight seasons, playing more matches for the club than anyone — 235 — and scoring more than 70 goals. He scored in the 2001 Copa del Rey final, which Celta lost. That was the third time the club reached the final and did not win it; the others came in 1948 and 1994. La Liga has never been won either.

What the trophy cabinet does hold is a record of climbing back. Celta won the Tercera División in 1930-31, then the Segunda División three times — 1935-36, 1981-82 and 1991-92 — each title marking a return to the top flight. The one continental prize is the Intertoto Cup of 2000, won during the same run of seasons that gave the club Mazinho, a World Cup winner with Brazil in 1994 and, by most accounts in Vigo, the finest midfielder the club has had.

Home is Abanca-Balaídos, the municipal ground that holds around 29,000.