Unheralded Portuguese coach Luís Castro has propelled Levante to the verge of La Liga safety, orchestrating a stunning revival in a tight relegation battle. The club, which had the smallest salary limit in the division at €17.4m, was bottom of the table with just nine points from 14 games when Castro arrived in December. Since then, they have climbed out of the relegation zone for the first time this year, following three consecutive wins against Osasuna, Celta Vigo, and Mallorca.
Levante's president, Pablo Sánchez, admitted he had never heard of Castro before hiring him, but praised him as the ideal coach for the club. Castro, who began his career coaching five-year-olds, has no playing background but has instilled a fighting spirit in the team. The turnaround has been dramatic: Levante were six points adrift of safety in early 2026 and looked destined for relegation, but a series of comeback victories has given them a 94% chance of staying up, according to Opta.
To go down, Levante would need a specific combination of results on the final day: losing at Betis, while Girona beat Elche, Mallorca fail to beat Oviedo, and Osasuna get at least a point at Getafe, creating a three-way tie on 42 points from which Levante would fall on goal difference. However, with their recent form, such a scenario seems unlikely. The team's captain led fans in a thunder clap after the Mallorca win, chanting 'yes, we can!' as the Ciutat de València erupted.
Castro's appointment was met with confusion by fans who Googled his name and found the more famous Luís Castro, the Grêmio manager who twice beat Real Madrid with Shakhtar Donetsk. But this Castro, quiet and softly spoken, has written his name into Levante's history. 'He has written his name into Levante’s history in gold letters,' wrote Las Provincias. Castro himself said he knew the club's history of fighting against the tide and shared that ethos.
