The white and blue treasure that hides in a small village of the Garraf

Garraf“Vera, Parra, Teruel, Artigas, Diego, Casas, González, Grau, Celma, Pujol, Segarra and Egea. Pujol is my father, who was a forward and was on trial at Espanyol,” says Xavier Pujol with a smile, after reciting from memory the starting eleven from a photo from the 1950-51 season that hangs on one of the walls of the ground floor of his house, in a small town in the interior of the Garraf. That space was prepared to be a wine cellar, but Xavier, one of the most recognized white-and-blue collectors most recognized, decided to turn it into a museum dedicated to the club of his loves.

His passion for collecting arose in the eighties, on a trip to Italy with the Garraf football school to play in a football tournament near Turin. “I discovered a little shop of memorabilia with all sorts of objects from Italian teams. I was impressed by the quantity of pieces there were and how well displayed they were. It looked like a museum,” recalls Pujol, who bought a handful of pennants for 70 pesetas each. On his return, his mother scolded him.

Forty years later, Xavier has accumulated around 500 team pennants from all over the world. More than 100 are from Espanyol, some from the fifties and sixties with a practically incalculable value. He also has badges, match posters, tickets, photographs, and all kinds of objects related to the club's history, acquired in markets, internet forums, buying and selling apps, and through private collectors: “The oldest piece is a trading card from the year 1915”. At the end of the stairs that go down to the basement, in a display case, he has an original ball from the 2007 UEFA final signed by all the players. For a long time now, the 45 m² of his basement have become too small for him.

“Each 'matchworn' has a story behind it”

The thing that draws the most attention in his museum is the jerseys. The first one he acquired was the centenary jersey in 1999 at the celebration event for the club's 100 years, where his father marched as a veteran. Now he has more than 200, 188 of which were worn by footballers. At first, he started by buying store kits, but now he only looks for matchworn ones, jerseys used by the players themselves in a match, even if they cost double or triple in some cases.

“I like them because every matchworn has a story behind it; that of a specific match or a season. I even have some with blood or grass stains. There is one of Monito Vargas from the UEFA year that still smells like sweat,” the collector comments with a laugh, who keeps some unique kits, such as a long-sleeved burgundy Puma jersey with Pacheta's name and number. It was only used in one match, at the Real Sociedad field in 1997. Xavier has become a curator of Espanyol's history.

The craze for Mont-halt

Tamudo, Molinos, Arteaga, Pochettino, Benítez, Jarque... all of them have their own space in the museum. “There are also three from Joan García. I hold no grudges against anyone,” states Xavier, who has an impressive roster of Massana clothing, the most iconic brand in Espanyol’s history. “Job wore this one in Leverkusen at the '88 UEFA final. And this one from Ernesto Valverde carries the Araña advertisement, the first one we wore on the front of the shirt,” he says while touching two of the most prized pieces in his collection. “This Meyba shirt from Rafa Marañón is one of my favorites. I have a friendship with him,” he adds, pointing to one of the mannequins at the entrance to the basement.

Massana. The most iconic brand in Espanyol’s history. “Job wore this one in Leverkusen at the '88 UEFA final. And this one from Ernesto Valverde carries the Araña advertisement, the first one we wore on the front of the shirt,” he says while touching two of the most prized pieces in his collection. “This Meyba shirt from Rafa Marañón is one of my favorites. I have a friendship with him,” he adds, pointing to one of the mannequins at the entrance to the basement.

The jewel in the crown is the Mont-halt, the brand that dressed the white-and-blues in the seventies. “Back then, each player only had one shirt for the entire season. And if it tore, the footballers themselves had to sew it up. Since there were so few, they are highly sought after. Currently, more than a thousand euros are being paid for each Mont-halt,” analyzes Pujol, who owns five. “The oldest one is from a 1974 Trofeo Carranza in which Espanyol beat Pelé’s Santos. It bears the number 6, it belonged to the Paraguayan Ortiz Aquino,” explains the man from Garraf, who also has one from Dani Solsona, a legendary Espanyol player: “He asked me where I had gotten it from. It seems he doesn’t keep any from that era.”

“I haven’t even considered the economic value of my collection nor how much it has all cost me,” explains Pujol, who over the years has become a reference for many novice collectors. He is a sage of shirts and the history of Espanyol. Also a regular at the Periconcurs, a kind of 'periquito' trivia that tests knowledge about the Catalan club. He has been a finalist twice. His museum is missing the champion’s trophy and two shirts. "A white Mont-halt and one that is like a shirt that my father wore in the fifties. My dream is to get them one day,” concludes Xavier Pujol, the collector who guards a white-and-blue treasure in a small town in the Garraf region.