Chelsea loanee and man of mystery Ulises Davila becomes the hero of Cordoba

While most of the football world is taking a well-deserved break in time for the World Cup, the hipster Spanish Second Division trundles right along with their promotion playoffs.  Much like England's second division, La Liga Adelante promotes the top two teams automatically and puts the next four into a playoff bracket.  Except this year, Barcelona B finished third, so it was in fact the 3rd-7th place teams that entered these playoffs.  In 7th place (on head-to-head results over 8th place Recreativo) were none other than Córdoba CF, home of one Ulises Dávila, Mexican Mystery Man.

On loan from Chelsea for the season, the 23-year-old scored just 6 goals in 21 starts (33 appearances), but he popped up when and where he was most needed on Sunday.  Córdoba faced Las Palmas in the playoff finals, a team they lost to twice during the regular season.  Leg 1, at home, finished 0-0 and when Las Palmas had taken a 1-0 lead in the second leg into the 92nd minute, all hope seemed lost.

And then...

What happened next is truly the stuff of legend.  A few overzealous Las Palmas fans invaded the pitch ahead of the final whistle, causing a delay of over five minutes.  When the match resumed in the 99th minute, Cordoba were basically down to their final attack.

And then...

Yep.  Don Dávila, the Hero of Cordoba, who return to Spain's top flight for the first time 42 years.  Amazing!

(Coming soon to a preseason tour near you, Dávila has two years left on his original five-year deal from when he signed with Chelsea in 2011.)