He Espanyol He is far, very far, from his best version. It is not a sensation or a specific warm-up from the fan: it is something that is seen every week, and before the Alavés finished being confirmed. The team no longer competes like before, it has lost that point of hunger that allowed it to grow and engage the stands. And the most worrying thing is that this fall does not come from a superior rival, but from a disconnection of our own.
own Manolo Gonzalez He recognized it bluntly after the game in the RCDE Stadium. The coach was clear and direct, putting words to a feeling that many already had in their heads: “With so much cock from Europe and so much fucking shit from Europe, we all want to go, to see if we are making a mistake. To go to Europe you have to compete just as you do to save yourself. Maybe we are making a mistake”.
The message leaves no room for doubt. He Espanyol He has looked in the mirror too much. dream about Europa That’s fine, but that goal cannot become an excuse to stop doing what has brought the team here. Because this Espanyol It has not been built from brilliance, but from effort, intensity and constant competitiveness.
The coach’s words point directly to the locker room. To aspire to something more you must first fulfill the basics. And the basics, in the Espanyolhas always been about running, biting and competing like animals. Without that, there is no Europano tranquility, no project that is sustained.
The team celebrating Roberto Fernández’s goal against Deportivo Alavés | Photo: David Jiménez
The fan perceives it day after day. He sees a team that arrives late, that doubts, that no longer imposes. And before him Alavéseverything that had been chewed ended up exploding. It was not an isolated bad day, it was the confirmation of a worrying trend that threatens to dilute a season that promised more.
Of course, it is advisable not to fall into easy drama. This team has credit. Last year we already recovered from a similar streak, and in much more screwed up conditions. So there was urgency; Today there are expectations. And sometimes, expectations outweigh the need.
The path is clear and has been marked by the coach himself: fewer speeches and more actions. Run again, compete again, become animals again. He Espanyol He has already shown that he knows how to do it. The question is whether you are willing to remember it in time.
