Espanyol's secret museum hidden in Barcelona

BarcelonaGabriel Martínez has been collecting everything since he was a child. "I used to keep Coca-Cola bottle caps, Bimbo trading cards, stamps, keychains... and, of course, everything else that "I found myself at Espanyol," This die-hard Espanyol fan says that, as an adult, he transformed that curiosity and fascination with objects related to his lifelong club into a passion; almost into one modus vivendiSo much so that, encouraged by his great friend Jordi Puyaltó - the one who knew the most about collecting and historical memory in blue and white - in 2007 he set up his own Espanyol museum in the basement of a family premises he owned in Carmel.

Last summer he moved it to an even larger location in the same neighborhood. It's a veritable Espanyol shrine, almost 50 square meters dedicated exclusively to the club. "I still need more space," Gabriel says with a laugh. His collection includes everything: kits, photographs, figurines, ashtrays, stamps, and armchairs from the Sarrià and Montjuïc neighborhoods. Some items are over a century old, and the historical value of some is practically incalculable. Take, for example, a 1950s jersey from the era of Julián Arcas and Pepe Mauri, the oldest in an exhibition featuring jerseys worn by players from all eras, including several pieces from various brands. Meyba and Massana, the first ones that were marketed.

UEFA 1988: shirts, ticket and a loan

Of course, the two jerseys, blue and white and red, that Espanyol wore in the 1988 UEFA Cup, were on display. Gabriel, now a collector of stories, also has the poster from the final and his ticket for the second leg, which cost him a fortune. "To go to Leverkusen, I took out a loan from Banco Pastor for 80,000 pesetas; I paid it off for a year. Imagine my face when we lost on penalties," he jokes. In one of the drawers in the shop, he also keeps the cover of The Vanguard The following day, an unpublished story: "Since we had won 3-0 in the first leg, the newspaper already had a special color supplement ready about Espanyol's title win, which was supposed to lead the edition. But in the end, it was never sold at newsstands." So how did it end up in Gabriel's hands? He'll take it to his grave: "Collectors are like mushroom hunters; we don't explain where we find things."

“I’m often asked which pieces are most valuable to me. And I always say the same thing: they’re all special, and each one has a story behind it,” says Martínez, who checks the main collecting websites and apps every morning in search of new finds, the older the better. He also visits antique shops and flea markets like Els Encants, Sant Antoni, and Celrà. “Some objects have been given to me. There are people who, instead of keeping them locked away in a closet, prefer to have them on display here,” comments Gabriel, a mechanic by trade who considers himself a responsible collector: his motto is not to overextend himself.

Ricardo Zamora's Corner

"Zamora was the best goalkeeper in the world and never hid his love for Espanyol," which is why Gabriel has dedicated a space to the Barcelona-born footballer, an icon of La Liga. He keeps photos, posters, trading cards, and even a letter sent by Ricardo Zamora himself to his idol and predecessor, Pere Gibert, known as "El Grapes." There's also the cover of an Argentinian magazine in which the famous scapular of the Espanyol goalkeeper is in the colors of the flag of the Second Spanish Republic: "This period is of particular interest to me because my family was Republican." The collection also includes badges of the Espanyol crest without the royal crown—removed during that period—as well as the ticket from the 1929 Water Final—currently on loan to the club—a poster with Kubala and Di Stéfano dressed in blue and white, and the... Chute! from 1932 that has become one of the most representative documents of the rivalry with Barça.

Espanyol's multi-sport legacy, which throughout its history has seen it win titles in various disciplines, also has a dedicated space in the museum: it consists of basketball and rugby jerseys, roller hockey pennants – "even today we are the second club with the most Copa del Rey titles," Gabriel points out – cycling magazine covers and a photograph from 1941; even, the illustrious Miquel Poblet He pedaled in blue and white.

"You know when a sticker album is finished because it has 300 or 400 stickers, however many there are. But a collection like this, from a club with 125 years of history, is endless. Every day something new, something never before seen, can come out. And when it does... the feeling is incredible," concludes Gabriel Martín, a historic figure at Espanyol, with emotion, and he becomes a true Espanyol supporter.