A year later, he played as a substitute in the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League Final, but AC Milan won that game 2–1. Crouch signed a five-year contract with Tottenham Hotspur in July 2009, where he also received his first professional contract eleven years earlier. The revived Barcelona won 2-3 in Riazor, and Valencia also took revenge for an earlier defeat and won 3-0. In the quarterfinals of the Champions League, the defending champion and again an old acquaintance waited: AC Milan. Most impressive, however, was the 0-2 win over Highbury at Arsenal, which saw the team again qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Atlético Madrid then eliminated Deportivo in the Copa del Rey, but the team got back on track in the competition with, among other things, a 0-5 win at fellow countryman Celta de Vigo and a 4-1 win against Real Zaragoza. In November, fellow countryman Celta de Vigo won for the second time in 2006 in Riazor, and there were big defeats against Osasuna (4-1), Valencia (4-0) and Sevilla (4-0), so that the team had even dropped to a relegation spot.

In the summer of 2005 it was clear that Deportivo would not play European football for the first time since 1998. Deportivo would qualify for the Champions League five times in a row between 2000 and 2004. In order to make a good figure, the club spent large amounts in the summer of 2000. A day later, the game between Deportivo and Zaragoza took place, where a win for the visitors would ensure that all five chasing teams would still have a chance at the title. After 35 matchdays, the gap was therefore only two points and Zaragoza came to Riazor as number three (five points behind Deportivo). Despite the high ranking in the sub-top of the league, there was dissatisfaction among the supporters. After, among other things, a 0-3 home defeat against Racing de Santander, Real Zaragoza fell to two points in the competition, and FC Barcelona to four points. In addition, Racing de Santander was defeated in the Copa del Rey.

Knowing that the last home game against Espanyol, which had already been played, would take place, Deportivo played very conservatively at Racing de Santander (0-0). The fact that FC Barcelona seemed to have already given up the fight, however, showed the new loss of points at Real Sociedad: 0-0. Of the other clubs, only Zaragoza was able to join thanks to a 3-2 win over Málaga. Deportivo had a fairly easy route to the final with Marino, Leonesa, a round with L'Hospitalet that was canceled (because of the type of field of the Catalans), chelsea away kit Valladolid and Figueres. In the home game that followed against Valladolid, however, Valerón suffered a serious injury and the team was thrown off balance. Although the team would still reach eighth place in the league, the Champions League campaign ended on a minor note with a 1-0 defeat at Olympiacos Piraeus and a shocking 0-5 defeat against AS Monaco. Real Madrid was sent home with a 5-2 defeat, although a 2-1 defeat at FC Barcelona led the Catalans led by Louis van Gaal to within two points.

On September 22, 2004, Valencia left no stone unturned from Deportivo in Riazor (1-5), and things also went wrong almost immediately in the Champions League with a 0-0 draw at home against Olympiakos Piraeus and a 2-0 loss at AS Monaco. Things also went wrong in the Copa del Rey after a 2-3 defeat in Riazor against Mallorca and a 1-1 draw on the island. In Europe, however, things went wrong again in the quarterfinals. The clubs Mallorca and Celta de Vigo had reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1999/00. The season could have been interpreted differently if the last twenty minutes in Marseille had been survived, or if a goal had been scored in the Copa del Rey against Espanyol, arsenal jerseys or if one of the last home games against Celta de Vigo or Athletic de Bilbao had been won. In the remainder of the competition there was the almost traditional victory over Real Madrid (2-0). However, when even chances of UEFA Cup football seemed lost, the official newspaper of Deportivo announced that Irureta would leave at the end of the season. In Europe, the team had four points after two games, but in the league it had to leave the lead to Valencia after a few weeks.