Deportivo's Historic Return Against Real Madrid: 81st Trofeo Teresa Herrera
Deportivo’s return to the big stage comes with a familiar guest and a trophy steeped in history.
On Wednesday night at the Abanca-Riazor, the 81st Trofeo Teresa Herrera brings Real Madrid back to A Coruña for the first time since 2013. For Dépor, newly restored to La Liga after eight long years away, it is more than a friendly. It is a statement occasion.
Dépor rebuilt, disciplined, and hard to break
Antonio Hidalgo’s side arrive in good shape. Six pre-season games, no defeats. Wins over Compostela, Lugo and Genoa, draws with Oviedo, St. Pauli and Fiorentina. The highlight came in Genoa, where Kevin Sánchez struck late at the Luigi Ferraris to lift the Trofeo Spagnolo and underline the team’s growing resilience.
That resilience has been built on structure. Dépor have conceded only three goals all summer. Their first three friendlies brought three clean sheets: a 4-0 dismantling of Compostela, a cagey 0-0 against Oviedo and a 1-0 win over Lugo. Fiorentina then arrived with Serie A pedigree and left with only a 1-1 draw. Genoa were beaten 1-0 in Italy. This is a side that knows how to suffer without the ball and stay compact.
Off the pitch, the club have backed their return to the top flight with close to €30m in spending. The headline arrivals are clear: Leo Román in goal and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up front. One is tasked with anchoring that defensive solidity, the other with turning half-chances into points when the real business begins.
The Italian tour did reveal a weakness. Crosses caused problems, with the back line struggling to command the box consistently. Against a Real Madrid side that can overload wide areas and whip in quality from both flanks, that flaw cannot be allowed to linger.
Yeremay Hernández, one of the brightest attacking sparks, remains on a managed workload with the physios. His gradual return is another reason to expect a pragmatic, controlled Dépor performance rather than a wild, end-to-end contest.
Mourinho’s Madrid still under construction
On the other bench, José Mourinho is only just beginning to shape this version of Real Madrid. His team arrive from their first pre-season win, a 2-1 victory away to Ferencváros, which followed a frustrating collapse against Fiorentina when a 2-0 lead slipped to 2-2.
Madrid’s summer has been disjointed by staggered returns. Kylian Mbappé, Aurelien Tchouaméni, Marc Cucurella and Ibrahim Konaté only rejoined full training on Monday after extended post-World Cup breaks. Jude Bellingham is still to come back into the fold. Eder Militão, Rodrygo, Ferland Mendy and Marco Asensio remain sidelined.
The result is a patched-together defence, heavy on academy names and light on experience. Clean sheets have been elusive. Real have conceded in each of their three public outings: Fiorentina’s Piccoli and Kean wiped out that 2-0 lead, while Ferencváros also found a way through in Budapest.
Up front, the picture is different. Even without a full-strength cast, there is firepower: Vinícius Júnior, Endrick and Arda Güler provide pace, flair and unpredictability. Mourinho’s Madrid may be short of balance, but they are not short of threat.
Likely line-ups: youth, stars and old scars
Hidalgo is expected to lean on the structure that has served him well:
Deportivo La Coruña (probable):
Leo Román; Ximo Navarro, Noubi, Bright Ede, Angeliño; Amatucci, Gijselhart; Mario Soriano, Luismi Cruz; Aubameyang, Nsongo Bil.
Real Madrid are likely to send out a side that blends high-end quality with emerging talent:
Real Madrid (probable):
Lunin; Alexander-Arnold, Huijsen, Joan Martínez, Carreras; Valverde, Camavinga, Arda Güler; Bernardo Silva, Vinícius Júnior, Endrick.
With Mbappé, Tchouaméni, Cucurella and Konaté only just back in training, they are expected to start on the bench at best, if they feature at all. That leaves the onus on the fit squad players to set the tone early, with the possibility of Galáctico cameos to raise the level in the second half.
Tight margins, not a goal rush
The numbers point in one direction: control, not chaos. Four of Dépor’s six pre-season matches have finished with three goals or fewer. Their defensive record, coupled with Real’s incomplete squad and Mourinho’s instinct to organise first and embellish later, makes another low-scoring affair entirely plausible.
There is, however, another trend. Dépor have found the net in five of their six friendlies, failing to score only in that 0-0 draw with Oviedo. They may not be free-scoring, but they are rarely toothless. With Aubameyang leading the line and the Riazor crowd behind them, they have enough to trouble a makeshift Madrid back four.
Real, for their part, have yet to keep a clean sheet in their three public outings. The defensive uncertainty, the lack of rhythm among returning stars and the reliance on younger defenders all leave the door open for Dépor to strike.
Put those threads together and a clear picture emerges: Real Madrid carry more individual quality and should edge the contest, but the hosts have every chance of landing a punch of their own.
A 2-1 away win feels like the natural scoreline for this stage of pre-season: Madrid sharper in the final third, Dépor competitive and organised, the Riazor reminded of the level they are returning to.
Fast starts and late cameos
One pattern from Madrid’s summer stands out. They start quickly.
Against Fiorentina, they were 2-0 up inside 24 minutes through Endrick and Alexis Ciria and still led 2-1 at the break. In Budapest, Mario Rivas scored in the 41st minute before Carlos Espí added what proved to be the winner in a 2-1 victory. Mourinho’s sides often look to impose themselves early, and this group has followed that script.
With the fitter squad players trying to impress before the stars are fully reintegrated, the opening 45 minutes could again belong to Madrid. The second half, with potential cameos from Mbappé and company, would then be about control rather than chasing the game.
For Dépor, the challenge is clear. Keep their shape, ride out the early surge, and use the emotional charge of their La Liga return to push back against a heavyweight that is still working out exactly what it will become.
The Teresa Herrera has always been a curtain-raiser with a touch of prestige. This year, it doubles as a test of how ready Deportivo really are for life back among Spain’s elite – and how quickly Mourinho can turn Real Madrid from a collection of stars into a ruthless machine.
