Espanyol closes its worst season

Espanyol says goodbye to the First Division 27 years later. Thus ends the worst season in the history of the club, which had never before finished leather. The previous relegations had come on the last day or in promotion qualifiers, such as in 1993 against Racing de Santander, the last relegation so far. This year, on the other hand, the last episode of a season that started to go wrong when a year ago Joan Francesc Ferrer, Rubi, the coach who had qualified the team for Europe, left for Betis in the middle of summer ends with a sad match against Celta de Vigo (9pm, Movistar LaLiga) at the RCDE Stadium. A stadium that has never seen Second Division matches before. In a few months it will be different.

What is a simple procedure for Espanyol, already relegated days ago, is a match for life or death for the Galicians. Òscar Garcia Junyent’s team is just one point above the relegation zone and are forced to beat Cornellà-El Prat if they want to continue in the Primera Division next season, waiting for Leganés to play against Real Madrid. If they end up tied on points, it would be Celta who would be saved, but the Sabadell coach of the Vigo team has already made it clear that he will try to win to certify his permanence. Oscar and his brother Roger, his assistant on the bench, defended the colors of Espanyol as footballers at a time when they were struggling to be in Europe. Now they are visiting a team that, as a local, has only been able to win two games this season, against Mallorca and against Alabès.

The match will be Rufete’s last on the bench, the last match at RCDE Stadium in the First Division and the last match of some players who will not accompany the team to the Second Division. “Next week will be intense” in the planning of the next season, admitted Rufete, who will return to the office to act as technical director after these last games as coach, the fourth of the season. In fact, one of the decisions the club will make will be to announce the next coach. “It’s one of the most important things for the project and the start of the season,” admitted Rufete, who hopes to be remembered as “someone who has done or tried to do the best for the good of the club.” “The most important thing is to convince from the sports area. It’s not just a matter of going up to Primera, it’s thinking about the club model because I won’t be there all my life “, he said. In this sense, Rufete hinted at the main lines of what, according to him, should be the white-and-blue entity in the future. “You have to think about the Spanish of the future with a new identity and be very close to the people. Our fans must feel the players. This is what has made this club great ”.

Many casualties

As for the match against Celta, the coach will have the casualties of Sergi Darder, Raúl de Tomás and Bernardo Espinosa (sanctioned), as well as Calero (injured). In addition, by technical decision, Víctor Gómez, Jonathan Calleri, Facundo Ferreyra and Diego López have been left out of the call. The Celta, who have six games without a win and have complicated their lives, especially after falling at home against Levante on Thursday, will not be able to count on Rafinha Alcántara or Nolito, who will serve a penalty for accumulating cards and expulsion against Levante, respectively. In addition, the Russian Smolov is virtually ruled out after suffering a pubalgia.