Real Oviedo is a most unusual football club.

Playing in the quaint city of Oviedo in the principality of Asturias, Northern Spain, Real Oviedo are the club that the world united to save.

Back in 2012 the club faced crippling debts and the very serious realisation that a winding up order was only days away. That was until a global campaign to save the club raced around the globe, with fans buying shares to raise the 1.9million euros needed to save Oviedo's very existence.

Championed by the world's richest man, Carlos Slim, the campaign worked, and in only two weeks, 1.93million euros was raised by newly-born Oviedistas who fell in love with the club's story. These people were the short-term investors that essentially saved the club and ever since, Oviedo have never looked back.

They've never fallen under 10,000 season ticket sales since dropping out of the top flight, and only two fellow Segunda B teams can rival that level of support. And this season everything has come to fruition, and back-to-back promotions are by no means out of the window yet.

Oviedo were promoted from the notoriously difficult Segunda B last season, and despite many touting them to struggle in Spain's second division, the club have thrived and numerous positive results now see Oviedo sitting pretty in third place in the table.

Only seven points separate them from leaders Leganes, but it will be a tight race for promotion. Former La Liga giants such as Elche, Tenerife, Girona and Valladolid all compete in the Segunda Division, making it one of the most hotly contested league campaigns in years.

But Oviedo were never supposed to have done this well - it simply wasn't expected. But in striker Toche, they have one of the league's most competent goal scorers and a belief that the sky is the limit.

And that is what really separates Oviedo from many clubs in their league, and possibly even the whole country - their support and fanbase.

People worldwide were, and still are, captivated by the Real Oviedo story. For the football community to come together in such a way, and save a club that was destined for certain extinction shows a pretty special bond between game and supporters.

All too often you see clubs winding up, closing down or simply struggling because of the current footballing climate. It's a cuthroat business and results matter - but so do the finances and running of the club, they go hand-in-hand.

But in Oviedo the world has seen the emergence of fan ownership at its finest, and how successful it can be on the pitch.

And you can tell the true fans of Oviedo will always appreciate the support the world gave their club. After all, without them, Oviedo may not be in the running for a shot at La Liga next season.

Little Oviedo who were on the brink in 2012 could be playing Real Madrid next season. What a story.