Espanyol announces by surprise Eder Sarabia as new coach

BarcelonaEspanyol has made official the arrival of Eder Sarabia as the new coach. Hours after announcing that Sergio García would be interim manager this week, the 'periquito' club has confirmed the arrival of the Basque coach, who will sign for this season and one more. He was without a team after saving Elche last season.

After the defeat in the Copa del Rey against Sestao from the Second RFEF, the sporting director, Monchi, decided to fire Manolo González. The coach of the last promotion to the First Division had chained together a bad streak of results that had brought the team to the relegation zone, after falling to Racing de Santander. Already back then, there was speculation about the possibility of firing González, but the decision did not arrive until the defeat in extra time at the Las Llanas field in Sestao. When Manolo got on the bus to leave the field, he already knew that he had lost his job.

This Wednesday's training session was led by Sergio García. In fact, the club had announced that he would be the interim coach until Monchi could find another manager. Sergio García, former player and captain of the club, is currently the coach of the reserve team, which plays in the Second RFEF. But in the end, he was only forced to lead a single training session, as after six in the afternoon, the announcement of Eder Sarabia arrived by surprise.

Second experience in the First Division

Son of the legendary former Athletic Club de Bilbao player, Manolo Sarabia, he began his career as a coach in the youth football of Danok Bat, continuing in the lower categories of Villarreal. Afterwards, he went on learning and making a name for himself within the technical staff of Quique Setién, with whom he worked at clubs such as Las Palmas and Betis. Eder Sarabia would be Setién's assistant when he signed for Barça, a period that did not end well due to poor results, the pandemic, and an altercation that Sarabia had with Lionel Messi. After falling 2-8 in the Champions League to Bayern, they would be dismissed. Sarabia would later begin his career as a head coach, working at Andorra, with whom he would climb to the Second Division, before being dismissed by Gerard Piqué. His last experience was with Elche, a club with which he achieved safety last season, winning the last match in Girona.

Together with Eder Sarabia, Jon López, Jon Moreno, Aitor Unzué, and former Espanyol player Álvaro González also join the technical staff. In this way, the Cantabrian former footballer, who defended the blue-and-white shirt on 82 occasions from 2014 to 2016, returns to the 'perico' discipline.