levante had to wait until the 1960s to make its la liga debut. in 1963, the club finished runner-up in group ii of the second division, defeating deportivo de la coruña 4–2 on aggregate in the promotion play-offs. during the first top flight season, it managed to win both games against valencia, managing a 5–1 home win against barcelona in the 1964–65 campaign but being relegated nonetheless after losing in the playoffs against málaga. it spent most of the following two decades in the second and third divisions; the segunda división b would not be created until 1977. in the early 1980s, dutch superstar johan cruyff played half a season for the club, retiring three years later. after winning 2003–04's second division, levante returned to the top level but survived only one season. finishing third in 2005–06, it returned for two additional campaigns, the decisive match in the 2006–07 season being a 4–2 home win against valencia courtesy of riga mustapha (two goals), salva and laurent courtois.