Donato backs Dépor project: with this team, we can dream | OneFootball

The hero of the 2000 league title praises the blue-and-white squad as well as the figure of Antonio Hidalgo

Donato Gama da Silva remains a true man of A Coruña twenty-six years after that legendary header that set the club on the road to the 2000 league title. The legendary Spanish-Brazilian former footballer was the star of the latest installment of Torre de Marathón, where he spoke with great optimism about the exciting return of Deportivo to La Liga. After watching the recent matches at Abanca-Riazor against Sevilla and Betis in person, the Dépor legend did not hesitate to show his enthusiasm for the way the squad has been assembled: "They’ve recruited very well and Dépor have a good team that can really get us excited. Looking at the rest, I think the team can finish in the top ten. I’ve always believed Deportivo needed a mix of experienced players and youngsters, and I love seeing people like Villares or Soriano giving everything, alongside veterans of the caliber of Aubameyang or Giménez."

Now 63 years old, living in A Coruña and devoted to taking long walks along the Burgo estuary and practicing aikido, Donato also wanted to highlight the job Antonio Hidalgo is doing in charge of the Hércules dressing room. "We have a tremendous coach. It’s not easy at all to manage a dressing room with so many players who can step onto the pitch, and he’s doing it very well. We need to support him much more," said the legend, while also celebrating the integration of talents developed in Abegondo into the top flight. During the long conversation, the Deportivo icon looked back on unforgettable moments from his time in the city of Hércules, from that friendly in Betanzos in 1996 when he defied John Toshack with a goal from midfield to earn his place at the club, to the bitterness of Djukic’s penalty against Valencia, as well as the immediate revenge in the 1995 Copa del Rey, when he asked Arsenio Iglesias to take the kickoff after play resumed following the hailstorm.

The historic blue-and-white No. 6, who spent more than a decade at Riazor until his departure in 2003, did not hide the lingering disappointment over the way his farewell to the club was handled just as he was on the verge of an automatic renewal based on appearances. Even so, Donato reaffirmed his unconditional love for the club and for A Coruña, where he happily lives with his family. In the more relaxed part of the interview, when put through a quick-fire round of questions, the Spanish-Brazilian chose winning the league title as the best moment of his career, named Luis Aragonés as the best coach he ever had — while regarding Arsenio as a father figure — and picked Mauro Silva as his most special teammate and Rivaldo as the most decisive footballer he shared a dressing room with.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.