It hasn't even been four months since Levante last visited the RCDE Stadium. That night, cold for April, very few would have imagined that in 2026 both teams would meet again in the First Division. Espanyol, who hadn't won for 16 matchdays, was on the path to the abyss, and Levante, who didn't take the three points because they hit the crossbar in the final play, were halfway to the Second Division.

Nené, Milosevic, Domoraud, Juanfran Torres, Coutinho, Ben Sahar, Lucas Vázquez, Asensio, Osvaldo, Kumbulla or Carlos Romero. The list of loaned players who have left their mark on Espanyol is very long. Also, the list of players on loan who have passed through the Catalan team with more pain than glory. This is the case of Finnan, Arlauskis, Alfa Semedo, Lecomte, or, more recently, Ramon Ramos, Ünüvar or Cheddira. Also, that of Samuel Eto'o, loaned by Real Madrid in January 1999; he was 17 years old and only played 33 minutes in white and blue in the Copa del Rey and a little while in the Copa Catalunya.

Last week, work began to replace the turf at the Narcís Sala, which from November will be able to host Primera Federació matches. Sant Andreu's promotion to a higher category obliges them to install natural grass at their stadium, a rule that has caused a lot of controversy recently. "We players like it. If it's in good condition, natural surface is much better than artificial. It's almost like another sport. The ball runs differently and you hit and control it better," says Robert Simón, who has played a large part of his career on natural grass: "It's an aspect to consider when you evaluate offers from clubs. It can sway the decision".

With less than two weeks to go before the start of the League, Espanyol still has a lot of work to do in the transfer market. Manolo González's squad is incomplete and everything suggests that the Galician coach will start competing officially with a team under construction. Although Monchi warned that he wanted to carry out an aggressive plan, a small revolution with the arrival of many new faces, the fact is that at the beginning of August the white-and-blue team has only signed three footballers.

From the 2022 World Cup is common to see on social media that Argentine players share photos and videos of their roasted with the national team. Fans follow them wherever they are: in Qatar, at the Ezeiza fields – where the internationals train in Argentina – or in the United States. "It has become a ritual. They usually do it 48 hours before matches. The players, the technical staff, and the rest of thestaff technician. The grid is always handled by Diego Iacovone," says Bruno González, an Argentine journalist.

With only 11 million inhabitants, Belgium made history in the summer of 2018 by reaching the semifinals of the World Cup in Russia. Despite the defeat against France, its inhabitants received the footballers as if they were true heroes, with a great celebration in Brussels' Grand-Place. One of the most acclaimed was Robert Martínez from Balaguer, their coach. He took office in August 2016, intending to leave after two years. But with the success in the World Cup, which catapulted the country to number 1 in the FIFA rankings, he reconsidered. Aware that the golden generation of players (Courtois, Hazard, Lukaku, De Bruyne, and company) had an expiration date, he became determined to build a legacy that went beyond titles, to prepare Belgian football to sustain its miracle in the future.

In the summer of 2019, Osona coaches Miguel Muñoz and Samuel Mora took over the reins of Parets, who had just been promoted from Second to First Catalan Division. Around Saint John's Day, they had already secured their entire squad; they only needed a left-footed player who could play as a winger or attacking midfielder. “Of all the names we had, the one we liked the most was Àlex Calatrava, who had been left without a team after finishing his youth career at UE Sant Andreu,” says Samu.

This year's is the World Cup of blurred borders and that of the diasporas. Almost 25% of the 1,248 players who compete in it defend the jersey of a national team different from their country of birth. The most paradigmatic case is Curaçao, which only has one player originally from the Caribbean island. The rest are from the Netherlands, the territory of which Curaçao depends on, which is not an independent state. In the World Cup there are up to 67 Dutch footballers, a figure that only France, which has 98, surpasses.

“Dear Roxane, do you remember when I was bought a fake United shirt and I wrote ‘Ronaldo 7’ on the back with a black marker? We didn’t know if we were rich or poor. But we were happy.” It begins this way the letter that young RB Leipzig footballer Yan Diomande (2006), one of the sensations of the World Cup with Ivory Coast, published a week ago on The Players Tribune. He dedicates it to his sister Roxane, who tragically died a few months ago: “They put something in her drink at a party and she never woke up again”. She was only 15 years old.

When, by chance, Monchi became the sporting director of Sevilla in his office there were no reports on footballers or drawers to store them; only a handful of tapes with recorded matches. It was May 2000 and the former goalkeeper from San Fernando, without structure, resources – the club was technically bankrupt – or experience, had to assemble a team to compete in the Second Division. In a notebook, he jotted down the phone numbers of some agents and scouted fields to see players he could sign for free. With one boot and one espadrille, that's how he began to build the success of a Sevilla that, after a while, lifted seven Europa Leagues and made a fortune in player capital gains.

More than a third of Spain's players at the World Cup are Catalan. Lamine Yamal, Joan Garcia, Pau Cubarsí, Eric Garcia, Dani Olmo, Víctor Muñoz, Marc Cucurella, David Raya and Marc Pubill are the nine footballers from Catalonia who are competing in this summer's major sporting event under the orders of coach Luis de la Fuente. But beyond the Spanish squad, there are more representatives from the region at the World Cup, spread across teams from Europe, Africa, and America.

"When you get to the kiosk, they already ask you if you want World Cup stickers. They can tell by your face. The first question is: ‘Do you have them?’. And the second: ‘When will more arrive? They are selling out in many places’", explains Albert Valor, a collector.Albert Valor, collector. "This year they are selling more than ever. It's hard to find them because sales are exceeding Panini's expectations", confirms Ferran Roig, manager of the Euro Soccer Cards sticker shop.

A week ago Tim Payne was an anonymous player, practically unknown to the general public. With just over 4,700 followers on Instagram, the center-back of the New Zealand team, ranked 85th in FIFA, was the least media-friendly footballer among the 1,248 called up for this summer's World Cup. But overnight he became internationally famous and his number of followers increased at a dizzying pace, becoming the viral phenomenon in the days leading up to the World Cup. Not Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo: the man of the moment is Tim Payne.

In a cadet match against Barça with Messi, Cesc, and Piqué, Fran Rubio realized he would never become a professional player and that if he wanted to dedicate himself to football, it would have to be off the field. That's why he trained as a coach, and at 15 years old, he began working in the youth academy of Can Vidalet, a modest neighborhood club in Esplugues de Llobregat. “At university I met Carles Romagosa and David Hernández, who together with Joan Vilà –one of the great defenders of the Barça DNA and discoverer of Xavi Hernández–, founded the Ekkono method,” says Fran Rubio, who convinced Pedro Rubio, the club's president and his father, to start using this revolutionary training methodology at Can Vidalet.

Ramon Rodríguez Verdejo (San Fernando, 1968) is known by everyone as Monchi and is identified as the architect of the greatest Sevilla in history and one of the best sporting directors in the world. He is backed by more than a dozen titles, including seven Europa Leagues, and many millions in capital gains. With this resume, it is not surprising that his signing for Espanyol has unleashed euphoria among many 'periquitos'. Seduced by Alan Pace, with whom he began to meet more than two months ago, he will try to replicate his successful formula as the entity's general sporting director, which presented him to society on Tuesday.

It had been years since Espanyol had enjoyed such a calm end to the season, without the worry of knowing if they would play in the First or Second Division next year. It is the reward for having done their homework; very late, after 18 long, agonizing matchdays, but just in time. That is why the draw against Real Sociedad (1-1) did not hurt. It was inconsequential. In case of victory, they would not have been able to qualify for the Conference League either. It would have been a cinematic ending to the schizophrenic season of the Catalan team, capable of fighting for the Champions League and seriously seeing its survival in danger after almost five months without a win.danger its survival after almost five months without a win.

“It is a very special week. You see children walking down the street in our shirt or the elderly talking at the bar about Sunday's match. On days like these, you realize how important the football club is to the municipality”, says Carles Aguirre, president of L’Horta de Sant Joan, one of the 174 teams between Quarta Catalana and Tercera RFEF who are playing promotion playoffs this weekend. The first leg is in La Fatarella, which is also from Terres de l’Ebre and, like L’Horta de Sant Joan, plays on a sand pitch. In less than 24 hours, the fan bus was filled. “It’s the last category, but the feeling is the same. For us, who are a village of a thousand inhabitants, it is a great success”, Aguirre proudly claims.

The Espanyol nightmare is over, which last night left behind months of suffering and frustration, the worst in the careers of Manolo González and a good part of his footballers. At El Sadar, a cursed ground where the white and blues headed for the Second Division for the first time in the 21st century, they secured permanence with a goal from Carlos Romero and another from Kike García (1-2). Now, the 'periquitos' can breathe a sigh of relief, having started the year dreaming of Europe and ending the season with their backs to the wall... but with 45 points. All this, thanks to two wins in four days after almost five months without achieving one. Such is football.

The most dramatic League in memory is approaching its conclusion, especially at the bottom. With only two matchdays left and Oviedo out of the running, up to nine teams are involved in the fight for the most expensive survival in history. Two of them are Catalan: Espanyol and Girona. At the moment, Llevant and Mallorca would be relegated, both having 39 points and facing each other this Sunday. They have the same points as Elx, the first team to be safe; one less than Girona and three less than Espanyol, who have 42. Sevilla and Valencia are not yet out of danger because, in a League as crazy as this year's, no one can be sure that with 43 points you won't fall to the Second Division.

Manolo González's cry was more of liberation than joy. Almost of redemption. With the 2-0 in stoppage time, the blue and white coach burst into tears. A victory at last. A purgative triumph that ended 142 long days of penance. The goals from Pere Milla and Kike García broke a streak of almost five months without a win for the periquitos and scared away the ghost of relegation that was nipping at their heels. They now have 42 points. It's not definitive, but yesterday they took a giant step towards survival.