The goal that made Ulises Davila a legendary cult hero in Spain

Ulises Davila is already a fan favourite of Wellington Phoenix, but in the southern Spanish city of Cordoba, the Mexican international is a legendary footballing icon.

Davila has burst onto the Hyundai A-League scene with four goals in six matches, and is clearly thriving in the New Zealand capital.

Five years ago, the 28-year-old wrote his name into the folklore of Córdoba CF by scoring the goal which sent Los Califas into La Liga, ending a 42-year absence from Spanish football’s top flight.

The date was June 22, 2014, and Davila’s Cordoba arrived at the Gran Canaria stadium for the second leg of their promotion playoff against Las Palmas following a 0-0 stalemate in the first leg.

Cordoba trailed 1-0 deep into stoppage time after Apoño’s 48th minute opener, where fans of Las Palmas began to jump from the stands in attempt to delay time and secure promotion.

It caused the referee to interrupt the match on several occasions, and the match soon became in danger of being abandoned, meaning Las Palmas would secure victory.

But when play eventually resume, Davila pounced on a spilled shot by Las Palmas gloveman Mariano Barbosa to hand Cordoba an away goals triumph and La Liga football in the final act of the match.

You don't score many goals better than this one, just ask Ulises Davila.#ALeague pic.twitter.com/CsWvxsrweR

— FOX Sports Football (@FOXFOOTBALL) November 23, 2019

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Tens of thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate one of the greatest sporting moments in Córdoba’s history, and the image of Davila wrapped in the flags of Mexico and Cordoba is one that resonates with fans to this day.

Davila never played for Cordoba again and was recalled to Premier League club Chelsea by Jose Mourinho in the off-season.

The Guadalajara-born attacker did not feature once at Stamford Bridge, and that spell in southern Spain was Davila’s third of five seasons spent on loan.

Spells in his homeland, with Santos Laguna, and in the Indian Super League with Delhi Dynamos followed, before signing for Ufuk Talay’s Wellington on a two-year deal in July.

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Since arriving in Wellington, he has demonstrated the promise that saw him light up the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup eight years ago with four goals in six matches.

“At the start there were a lot of question marks about Ulises but you can see the quality that he brings, and he’s going to grow as we play more games,” Talay recently said.

“He scored again, and I think he was probably one of our best players on the park [against Brisbane Roar].”

Davila says there is more to come this season.

“I came for a big role, I want to have a big role, there’s a lot of very good players but when Ufuk, the manager, and all the staff give me the confidence, I want to give it back with good games and I hope there’s a lot more goals to come.”