At Osasuna's field, Espanyol has celebrated safety and has mourned relegations, but in the white-and-blue popular imagination, the Sadar stadium is deeply linked to the name of a very high-profile referee: Eduardo Iturralde González. It has been more than 20 years since the episode that gave rise to his black legend among the periquito fan base; despite the passage of time, there is no Espanyol fan who does not remember him when their team competes in Pamplona. And this Saturday (16:15, Movistar+ LaLiga and DAZN), six days after the refereeing controversy against Sevilla, the Catalan side returns to visit the Navarrese capital to face Osasuna.

Since March 17, 2024, the day Manolo González debuted on the blue-and-white bench, Espanyol has changed its president and owner, its sporting director –Garagarza, on leave, keeps the position, but his duties are performed by Monchi– and, even, its division. One of the few things that has not changed is, precisely, the coach. A Manolo who yesterday managed his 100th match in charge of the first team.

Espanyol has ended the first transfer window of the Monchi era with two operations closed on the last day of the market: the departure of Rubén Sánchez to Elche and the incorporation of Andoni Gorosabel on loan. A right-back who was not in Manolo's plans leaves, and another arrives, from Athletic Club and with a lot of experience in the First Division, to compete with Omar El Hilali for a place in the starting eleven.

Espanyol's first away trip ended in disappointment because Mikel Oyarzabal decided it so. The Real Sociedad attacker, honored for being a world champion, made the white-and-blues pay dearly for their mistakes (2-1). Two assists from the Eibar footballer sealed the fate of the Periquitos, who were too erratic yesterday at Anoeta. Roberto Fernández's great goal was of no use to the Catalans, punished by Barrene and Óskarsson. Despite a good start to the league, the Periquitos only have three points out of nine.

When he came out of the dressing room tunnel towards the bench, more than thirty photographers focused on José Mourinho. He was the man of the day: 13 years later he was returning to manage Real Madrid in an official match. The blame lies with 20 months without titles and a dressing room turned into a henhouse. Many fewer flashes photographed Manolo González, the main supporter of Àlex Calatrava, the young Barcelonian who seven years ago worked early mornings at Primark while playing for Parets in Primera Catalana and who yesterday almost spoiled the Portuguese coach's return to the League. The young Carlos Espí prevented it in the 90th minute with a saving goal for the Madridistas, who are starting this second spell with the Setúbal coach on the bench on the right foot (1-2).One of the tasks that Florentino has entrusted to the new coach is to fit Vinícius and Mbappé on the pitch, who at Madrid seem like oil and water. In Cornellà, on the Portuguese's debut, both were starters. Bellingham too, who arrived four days ago from vacation and who was one of the big surprises in the starting eleven. The Englishman immediately justified the coach's decision: before the 10th minute he connected with a header to make it 1-0 after a great free-kick from Arda Güler.Driven by the energy of the British midfielder and Valverde, Mourinho's new Madrid began its new era like a bullet. If it weren't for Clemens Riedel, who cleared a ball off the line, and Dmitrovic, with another saving foot, Espanyol would have reached minute 21, magical at Cornellà-El Prat, with the match decided. It was a mirage. A distant shot from Riedel and a deflected header from Roberto lifted the parakeets off the canvas, who are rebels at heart and who needed very little to believe in a comeback.In the longest possession of the home team, Javi Hernández accelerated an action inside the box and, just as last week he served the 2-0 to Roberto, last night he assisted Cala for the equalizer. The Barcelonian, who just last week debuted in the First Division, shot with soul to debut in the League and score a goal against Courtois, the best goalkeeper in the world. Dreams sometimes come true. The day all the international press was focused on famous people like Mbappé, Vinícius, and Mourinho, Cala managed to shine with his own light, demonstrating that, in life, dreams can often come true.

At La21 nobody has a bad word about Roger Hinojo (Cabrianes, 2005). Everyone who has met him since he arrived, 12 years ago, says he is an "extraordinarily normal" guy who lives far from the clichés surrounding footballers. He left home at 16 and has gone through all the ranks of the youth academy until his debut at the RCDE Stadium last Sunday at the age of 20. He had a great game. He is the man of the week in white-and-blue terms because days later he agreed to wear the number 21, which honors Jarque's memory and gives its name to the sports city of the club of his life. And this Saturday, as a left-back, he will mark Yan Diomande, the most expensive signing in the history of a Madrid team that is premiering a coach: José Mourinho.What did you hear on Sunday?

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.

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.

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.

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.

The season has begun in Swedish football and, where one would not expect to find any Catalans, you stumble upon the name of Marc Manchón, a 28-year-old from Barcelona. He plays for Sundsvall, in the country's second division. His is not a story of overcoming adversity, but rather of resilience and effort. A young man who found himself on the verge of fulfilling his dream and debuting with Espanyol's first team. One summer he was left with no future in professional football and was on the verge of giving it all up. “They always say you have to be in the right place at the right time. It's a cliché and true at the same time, but you also have to be prepared in case it ever happens.” After a moment of uncertainty, the moment arrived via an Instagram message. And to a destination he surely never would have imagined.

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.

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.

The Vega Andújar family founded a project in the sports events sector in 1999. They organized a Coca-Cola Cup and some summer camps. The idea evolved towards the distribution of sportswear, and at the beginning of the 2000s, it grew to have eight multi-brand stores. From this initiative, Gedo (Gestión de Eventos Deportivos y Ocio) was born, founded in May 2002, and it grew to the point of outfitting more than 800 sports clubs throughout the country. In Catalonia, l’Hospitalet, Llagostera, Terrassa, and Reus were part of its client portfolio. But what seemed like a solvent business was not so much in reality. In fact, up to five transactions by brothers Ricard and Jordi Vega to raise funds for the company have ended up in court due to non-payment. Other attempts to capitalize Gedo, which today is a project in limbo, have involved several professional footballers. Most have lost their money and their faith in recovering it.

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.

“We have to be optimistic and positive. We are very clear about what we have to do”, declared Ramon Terrats after the defeat of Espanyol against Madrid. His hopeful phrase was going in one direction, but his gestures in another. He looked deeply afflicted, desolate. “Each person deals with it in their own way. I consider myself guilty of what happened because I had chances and didn't score”, admitted Terrats, Espanyol member 5,894, a reflection of the state of mind of a team that has gone 18 games without a win and has gone from fighting for Europe to being very close to the abyss of relegation, now two points away.

Espanyol presents a very bad image. One more matchday they continue without winning, and now it's 18. In Seville, in a life-or-death duel against a direct rival, they were on the verge of achieving it (2-1). But in the final moments of the match, a goal from Castrín equalized Tyrhys Dolan's 0-1 and frustrated the virtual permanence of the 'periquitos', who ended up falling in a very cruel way with a second goal in injury time from Adams.