Espanyol - The Royal Spanish Sports Club

[Mike]

End Of Season Review​

Yet another great season! Liga BBVA and EURO Cup double, along with the early-season Spanish Super Cup. Espanyol continue to improve and impress, and finally the words of ‘Real Madrid’ and ‘Barcelona’ can come top of every Espanyol fan’s beating list. A truly great season for all associated with Espanyol, and hopefully more to come!

Performace of the Season: ESPNAYOL 6 : 0 Getafe

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LIGA BBVA AWARDS

I won Manager of the Year award.
Asmir Begovic was selected as Goalkeeper in Liga BBVA Team of the Year, and Roberto Soldado was picked as one of the attackers.
Asmir Begovic was named as Spanish Goalkeeper of the Year
Andres Guardado was named Signing of the Season

View attachment 31133


ESPANYOL AWARDS

Top Overall Goalscorer: Roberto Soldado, 37
Most Overall Assists: Joan Verdu, 14.
Most Man of the Match: Roberto Soldado, 10.
Highest Average Rating: Roberto Soldado, 7.35
Fans’ Player of the Year: Roberto Soldado

Best Eleven:

View attachment 31134

Board Confidence:

View attachment 31135


Season Expectations: WINNER - £27M transfer budget; £875K p/w wage budget.

 

[fozzyliverpool]

Hey Mike, The layout and detail in your story is fantastic and what you have doone with Espanyol is awesome. I cant wait to see if you can win the champions league. Good luck with that!

 

[Mike]

Hey Mike, The layout and detail in your story is fantastic and what you have doone with Espanyol is awesome. I cant wait to see if you can win the champions league. Good luck with that!

Thanks man, means a lot :'(

More updates soon, only pre-season though.

 

[Jake]

your spanish success has reminded me to get back to my cultural leonesa story. havent updated for a week....

hope you win the league again and vela doesnt come back to haunt you (A)

 

[Mike]

Hurry up and update, shall have a read of it ^^)

I hope to shut out opposition attackers (especially the naughty little Mexican <)) from now with a new tactic.

 

[Mike]

JUNE​

Saturday, 29th.

17:00: Beckham retires. David Beckham has official hung up his boots following successful spells at Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, A.C. Milan and Espanyol. He has said that he doesn’t intend to work in football any longer.

- - -


JULY​

Monday, 1st.

11:15: Sagna and Kranjcar join Espanyol. The former Arsenal full back and Tottenham attacking midfielder become Espanyol’s first signings of the current summer window.



Thursday, 11th.

21:45: Liga BBVA title odds from Sky Bet. Real Madrid have been made favourites at 3-1, while both Espanyol and Barcelona have been made ‘second choices’ at 5-1.

- - -​

AUGUST​

Sunday, 18th.

Spanish Super Cup Final Leg 1: Athletico Madrid 1 : 2 ESPANYOL – Geromel (68), S. Asenjo O.G. (81)

Spanish Super Cup Final Leg 2: ESPANYOL 0 : 1 Athletico Madrid

Espanyol win on away goals rule.

View attachment 31205
View attachment 31206​

Thursday, 29th.

European Champions Cup Group Stage draw:

Manchester United, Sporting CP, ESPANYOL, FC RB Salzburg



Friday, 30th.

European Super Cup: ESPANYOL 2 : 1 Liverpool (aet) – F. Gago (67), R. van Persie (92)

View attachment 31207​

So even before the Spanish season kicks off, current champions Espanyol have already collected two pieces of silverware: the Spanish Super Cup and the European Super Cup.

 

[S.J]

Has vela now left ? nice win against liverpool. hopefully sagna and kranjcar do well. i just signed soldado for bordeaux (A)

 

[Mike]

Yep, that little ****'s gone XD New signings performing well, and Soldado's a great buy, banged in 37 goals for me ^^)

 

[stigen]

havent followed so carefully lately, so when, where and how has Vela left?oO)

 

[Dan]

Good stuff mate! So the naughty little mexican has left? Your doing really well! Keep it Up!!

Is there any chance you can take a look at my Liverpool story and give me some constructive criticism or how I can improve it?

Thanks

 

[Mike]

havent followed so carefully lately, so when, where and how has Vela left?oO)

Vela left in the summer for £15M (that was his minimum release fee), he went to Sevilla, and because he was unhappy that I rejected an early-season £11.75M bid from Chelsea.

Good stuff mate! So the naughty little mexican has left? Your doing really well! Keep it Up!!

Is there any chance you can take a look at my Liverpool story and give me some constructive criticism or how I can improve it?

Thanks

Yep, he's gone XD Hopefully I won't miss him too much, eh? ^^)

I'll take a look within the next few days, read further on and you'll find out why



To all of you that are following - I will not be updating this for a while as I'm helping Stuart (along with LGFIRE and steve-okenebi) with his new SilkySideways 2010 logos. But do keep checking back sometime within the next week or so (A) Thank you.

 

[Mike]

Espanyol maintain unbeaten streak.

September​

View attachment 33462​

Sunday, 15th.

[L] Real Betis 1 – 3 Espanyol (Guardado 21, Soldado 76, Gago 87)
Espanyol’s stunning unbeaten run continues with this 3-1 victory over Real Betis. Andres Guardado put in another great display and even got on the scoresheet again, this time with a nice solo effort. Soldado did likeways, scoring after skinning 2 defenders and firing into the corner of the goal.Gago scored a header from a corner to firmly secure Espanyol’s second win in two games. Betis’ only reply came from Mariano Pavone.

• Average rating: 7.20
• Man of the Match: Fernando Gago, 7.7
• Number of goals scored: 6
• Current league standing: 1st

Weekend roundup
Valencia managed to bounce back from their embarrassing defeat two weeks ago with a stunning display against newly-promoted Real Mallorca, thrashing them 4-0. Other entertaining games include Getafe’s 3-0 away win at Hercules, Valladolid and Athletic Bilbao’s 3-3 draw, and Real Madrid losing away at Villarreal.​

Wednesday, 18th.

[E] Espanyol 2 – 1 FC RB Salzburg (Torric 50, Sahar 90+2)
Ben Sahar’s last-gasp winner saved Espanyol from Salzburg blushes. The away side took the lead on six minutes and kept the marginal 1-0 scoreline up and into half time. 21-year-old Ghanaian defensive midfielder Torric equalised with a stunning right-foot strike from all of 30 yards. Sahar got the winner two minutes into injury time.

• Average rating: 7.10
• Man of the Match: Thomas Augustinussen, 7.9
• Number of goals scored: 8



Saturday, 21st.

[L] Athletico Madrid 1 – 2 Espanyol (Asenjo O.G. 39, Forlin 78)
A resounding win, but it came at no ease. We managed to go ahead when Sergio Asenjo put one in his own net, after a double-deflection from a corner. Eren Derdiyok equalised with 20 minutes to go, but Juan Forlin scored the winner 12 minutes from time to secure the 10th win on the bounce for Espanyol (carrying on from last season).

• Average rating: 7.14
• Man of the Match: Juan Forlin, 7.9
• Number of goals scored: 10
• Current league standing: 1st

Weekly roundup
There were sublime victories for the top teams in Spain over the weekend: Barcelona gave Deportivo a 4-0 whitewash, whilst Real Madrid thrashed Valladolid away 3-0. Villarreal keep their winning streak and remain top of the table. There were also wins for Osasuna, Bilbao and Xerez.​

Sunday, 22nd.

Ben Sahar speaks of ‘tough time’ at Espanyol.

View attachment 33466​

Speaking at a recent short press conference, Espanyol’s Israeli striker Ben Sahar talks about life at the club, the future, and International appearances.

Press: Ben Sahar, you sit in front of us needing to speak of your anguish at the club. Care to elaborate?

Sahar: I’ve found myself struggling to cope with the fact that the boss doesn’t need me anymore. When he took over I was really pleased – such a quality standard of management. When Carlos Vela joined, I thought, ‘Great’, as he is a fantastic youngster. I think I did enough in the first season with Raul [Tamudo] to earn a spot in the following season’s line-up, but it seems the manager has had other ideas since.

Press: With competition for a place in the first team, surely you’re hoping to knock either Soldado or Obinna out of there?

Sahar: Roberto and Victor are two top-notch players, both are very explosive and intelligent, but it is my job, yes, to train hard and get in there ahead of them. It is tough competition, but it’s gone on far too long now.

View attachment 33465​

Press: Are you suggesting maybe your career can pursue elsewhere?

Sahar: Oh definitely. You know, I’m only 24, I’ve still got a lifetime of football ahead of me, and I really need to start playing regularly in order to improve and play at the top level. Don’t get me wrong, I think the manager’s done a brilliant job bringing Espanyol to the top level, but warming the bench week in week out doesn’t suit me; it’s just not my style.

Press: Do you think you can change that then?

Sahar: I really hope so. Like I’ve said, we have two brilliant players ahead of me at the moment, but if I try hard enough maybe I can get there ahead of them. Also by doing this, I need to prove that I can play internationally by earning a first team place.

Press: You boast an impressive record at international level: 23 goals in 46 appearances, that’s, on average, one goal every two games. Surely that’s something the manager must consider?

Sahar: Definitely, I think it’s one of the best in the club. I can understand why Roberto [Soldado] hasn’t had many caps [4] because of stiff Spanish competition, but I can compare to Victor [Obinna] and occasionally van Persie, and I think it’s time the boss sorted something out.

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It is rumoured that after manager Wayne Thomas told Ben Sahar that he picks the team and he’ll start when he sees fit, the Israeli requested transfer. The request was accepted, and he’s said to be happy to be on his way.



Tuesday, 24th.

Espanyol get ready to sell Sahar. Rumour has it that Ben Sahar is on his way out of the high-flying Spanish club after being told he’s been offered to leave the club.

The club has slapped an £8M price tag on the striker which may prove to be a setback.



Wednesday, 25th.

[L] Espanyol 3 – 1 Hercules (Soldado 6, Keita 13, Verdu 20)
With Espanyol going into this match heavy favourites, the win was bound to come. With three goals scored in the opening twenty minutes, surely it was a promising match, with hopefully a few more goals. Soldado, Keita and Verdu scored in the first half, as did Hercules’ Abraham Paz, but that was it in terms of goals. Another win for Espanyol.

• Average rating: 7.31
• Man of the Match: Seydou Keita, 8.1
• Number of goals scored: 13
• Current league standing: 2nd

Weekly roundup
Villarreal continue their winning, beating Tenerife 2-0 away from home, and maintain a top-place league spot. Notable wins were those of Bilbao’s and Zaragoza, as they beat Almeria 4-1 and Valladolid 4-2 respectively. Real Madrid were victors against Barcelona at Madrid’s Bernabeau, the scoreline being 2-0.​

Saturday, 28th.

[L] Osasuna 0 – 2 Espanyol (Soldado 15, Verdu 76)
With many of the first team players rested for Tuesday’s away match against Manchester United, a few of the youngsters got a chance to shine. The older stars did however star in this pleasing match. Soldado scored after quarter of an hour, and Joan Verdu completed the scoring 15 minutes from the end.

• Average rating: 7.15
• Man of the Match: David, 7.6
• Number of goals scored: 15
• Current league standing: 1st

Weekly roundup
Villarreal continue to impress as they win their first 5 games to end the month top of the league. There was only one draw at the weekend, which was Xerez and Bilbao’s 0-0 tie. Valencia lost 2-0 away at Athletico Madrid whilst Real stuffed Sevilla on their own home turf.​

Last 6 results including friendlies:

View attachment 33468

End-of-month league table:

View attachment 33469

 

[stigen]

i like the layout of your "website"thingy, its simple so its beautiful, good results also mate^^)

 

[Death Ball]

Yup, I agree, very nice. I like it.

 

[Mike]

Just realized I hadn't added any colours to my last update XD

Update coming right up (A)

 

[Mike]

Ups and Downs for Espanyol

October​

Tuesday, 1st.

[E] Manchester United 4 – 3 Espanyol (Soldado 27, 43, 67)

What a game! Manchester United took the lead after just 3 minutes when Luka Modric scored a fine goal to kick-start the goalscoring game. Soldado equalised on 27 minutes and also took the lead just before half time. Anderson equalised right before the break though. Modric scored another just after the hour mark, but Soldado got his hat-trick 4 minutes later to bring the scores level at 3-3. Espanyol were downed by a dubious penalty decision, which Anderson tucked away neatly.

• Average rating: 6.75
• Man of the Match: Roberto Soldado, 9.3
• Number of goals scored: 18



Saturday, 5th.

Sahar set for Palermo. Espanyol accept an initial £8M from Palermo for Israel centre forward Ben Sahar. He is set to sign on January 2nd 2014.

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Tuesday, 8th.

Arsenal accept proposed friendly. Espanyol ask Arsenal kindly to play against them in Spain just to keep tabs with fitness, and to give some players a run out, on 12th Saturday.

It is international weekend, and Arsenal accepted the friendly offer.



Saturday, 12th.

[F] Espanyol 1 – 4 Arsenal (Pizarro 43)

Not the outcome I expected, but at least it gave a few of the youngsters a run out against the likes of Jack Wilshere, Denilson and Curtis Davies.



Sunday, 19th.

[L] Espanyol 3 – 0 Valladolid (Pareja 7, Obinna 11, 86)

Espanyol, playing in their away strip, strolled comfortably to a 3-0 win following 3 defeats (ECC, Liga BBVA and friendly). Centre back Nicolas Pareja got the home side going after a point blank header 7 minutes into the game. Victor Obinna then scored a fantastic brace to seal a good win. 3 important first team players were called to the bench with half an hour to spare as in the week is the Sporting Lisbon ECC match, then next weekend is Barcelona away.

• Average rating: 7.43
• Man of the Match: Victor Obinna, 8.7
• Number of goals scored: 23
• Current league standing: 2nd

Weekly roundup
League leaders Villarreal were held to a 1-1 away at Valencia, and Deportivo managed the same scoreline away at Real Madrid. Real Mallorca too managed to hold Barcelona to a 0-0 draw, whilst at Athletico Madrid, Osasuna suffered an embarrassing 8-0 drubbing; Sergio Aguero scored 5 of those goals.​

Tuesday, 22nd.

[E] Espanyol 1 – 0 Sporting CP (Sahar 90+2)

Luck was on Espanyol’s side as they sneaked passed an attacking Sporting side. Right from the word go the away side pressurised the home, shooting from distances and angles not imaginable. Ben Sahar was Espanyol’s saviour as a 85th minute substitute. He slotted coolly passed the keeper with a minute to go.

• Average rating: 7.10
• Man of the Match: Geromel, 7.5
• Number of goals scored: 24



Saturday, 26th.

Board ready to improve youth facilities. After asking for the youth facilities level to be increased, manager Wayne Thomas is pleased that the board confirmed that they are willing to do so so soon after requesting.



[L] Barcelona 1 – 2 Espanyol (Gago 22, Obinna 42)

With the game starting positively for both sides, Espanyol always looked the stronger in the first half. Former Real Madrid defensive midfielder Fernando Gago slotted past the keeper in the 22nd minute gave Espanyol the lead, then just before half time Victo Obinna doubled the margin to 2-0. The away side looked comfortable and virtually out of reach during the break, but Barca were not finished – Yury Zhirkov got them back in the game with 20 minutes after the restart. Espanyol managed to hold onto the lead despite having Bacary Sagna sent off before Zhirkov’s goal and van Persie and Guardado injured.

• Average rating: 7.05
• Man of the Match: Victor Valdes, 8.1
• Number of goals scored: 26
• Current league standing: 2nd

Weekly roundup
Osasuna continue their bad form from last week’s 8-0 defeat by losing at home to Hercules 3-1. Top of the league Villarreal were held to a 0-0 draw against Athletico Madrid, whilst Xerez felt the force of Real’s attacking presence, losing 3-1. There were also wins for Tenerife, Getafe, Deportivo, Racing, Sevilla and Real Betis.​

Youngster reaches money-milestone. Espanyol’s 19-year-old attacking midfielder David is said to be pleased to have reached 40 league games for the club. This means Espanyol will have to pay Sporting a fee of £2.1M as part of the transfer deal.

David is said to be one for the future, but Wayne Thomas believes he is ‘ready for the big time’ as of now. He is currently Spain U21’s captain.



Wednesday, 30th.

[C] Ejido 3 – 4 Espanyol (David 11, Valdo 18, Kranjcar 44, Sahar 48)

It promised to be a high-scoring game, and had everything a high-scoring game has, but nobody expected a game quite like this. Ejido went down 2-1, 3-2 and finally 4-3 before the scoring ended, and this went down to two hard-working teams.

• Average rating: 7.27
• Man of the Match: Luciano Becchio, 8.4
• Number of goals scored: 30



Last 7 results:

View attachment 34272

End-of-month league table:

View attachment 34273

 

[Mike]

Win, win, win!

November​

Saturday, 2nd.

[L] Espanyol 2 – 0 Sevilla (Soldado 14, Gago 56)

Espanyol fielded a full first team with Sevilla a couple of key players out. It was important to take advantage of their losses, and we did. Within the first quarter of an hour Roberto Soldado poached a goal after a mistake by the defensive line. Fernando Gago added a second to virtually seal the win with over 30 minutes to play.

• Average rating: 7.13
• Man of the Match: Fernando Gago, 7.8
• Number of goals scored: 32
• Current league standing: 2nd

Weekly roundup
Villarreal win yet again to stay top of the league, Barcelona are held to a 1-1 draw away at Betis, and Real Madrid beat Zaragoza 3-0 away from home. Getafe, Almeria, Bilbao and Valencia all win.​

Wednesday, 6th.

[E] Sporting CP 0 – 2 Espanyol (Soldado 36, Geromel 73)

Came away with much more than I bargained for as Sporting fielded a full squad of fit players. Roberto Soldado scored first on 36 minutes and centre back Geromel doubled the lead with quarter of an hour to go. Both sides had an equal amount of shots, but we scored more and thankfully come away with the 3 points.

• Average rating: 7.38
• Man of the Match: Geromel, 8.1
• Number of goals scored: 34



Saturday, 9th.

[L] Almeria 1 – 3 Espanyol (Sagna 8, Soldado 12, van Persie 36)

With all of Espanyol’s goals coming in the first half, the team talk at the break was sure to be pleasing. Sagna gave the away side an early lead, the Soldado doubled it only 4 minutes later. Robin van Persie ended Espanyol’s goalscoring rout on 36 minutes. Sagna’s own goal on 71 minutes gave Almeria a glimmer of hope, but it wasn’t to be.

• Average rating: 7.39
• Man of the Match: Asmir Begovic, 8.5
• Number of goals scored: 37
• Current league standing: 2nd

Weekly roundup
Barcelona yet again only managed a 0-0 draw at home against Valencia. Villarreal win again, and so too do Athletico Madrid. Racing beat Hercules, Tenerife beat Deportivo and Real Madrid draw 1-1 at home against Getafe.​

Sunday, 10th.

Espanyol declare interest in full backs. With manager Wayne Thomas realising in order to boost their chances of pushing for the ECC trophy, every position on the pitch needs to be solid. Left back Fausto Pinto is technically the weakest player in the first team, and he has been told to perform better or be replaced.

Antonio Lopez is pressurising Pinto for a first team place, but with both Juventus’ Domenico Criscito and Gael Clichy of Arsenal showing interest to Wayne Thomas comments, there could be changes around soon.

Domenico Criscito’s contract runs out at the end of the season, and that might attract the attention of Wayne Thomas. Thomas has made some important free signings over the years, the most notable ones being Carlos Vela, Andres Guardado and Bacary Sagna, and he’s keen to add to the list.

Other players whose contracts run out at the end of the season are skilful David Villa, hardworking Felipe Melo and Marek Hamsik, and Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard.



Tuesday, 12th.

[C] Espanyol 4 – 0 Ejido – Espanyol win 8 – 3 on aggregate (Sahar 1, 36, Lopez 66, Keita 76)

A truly magnificent performance by the ‘reserve’ team (‘reserve’ being ex-first team players and youngsters). Ben Sahar scored within 30 seconds to go one up, and then scored again 10 minutes before half time. Left back Antonio Lopez and defensive midfielder Seydou Keita also score to give Espanyol a comfortable 4-0 win, 8-3 on aggregate.

• Average rating: 7.67
• Man of the Match: Ben Sahar, 8.6
• Number of goals scored: 41



Saturday, 23rd.

[L] Espanyol 2 – 0 Athletic Bilbao (Soldado 11, 45+1)

Espanyol take all three points in a well-fought game today. Two goals from top scorer Roberto Soldado in the first half was enough to lead the champions to yet another win.

• Average rating: 7.21
• Man of the Match: Roberto Soldado, 8.5
• Number of goals scored: 43
• Current league standing: 2nd

Weekly roundup
Both Real Madrid and Barcelona win their matches, as do Racing and Villarreal. Sevilla and Valencia drew 2-2, and there were also wins for Tenerife and Zaragoza.​

Tuesday, 26th.

[E] FC RB Salzburg 1 – 3 Espanyol (van Persie 39, Soldado 42, pen 55)

Salzburg took the lead on 20 minutes, much to the scare of Espanyol. They soon replied, and going into the half time break, both van Persie and Soldado scored well placed shots from outside the area. Obinna was fouled and given a penalty on 55 minutes which Soldado coolly slotted passed the keeper to make the score 3-1 to the away side.

Espanyol qualify for the ECC Knockout Stages comfortably.

• Average rating: 7.30
• Man of the Match: Roberto Soldado, 8.3
• Number of goals scored: 46



Last 6 results:

View attachment 34998

End-of-month league table:

View attachment 34999

 

[Dan]

Great story mate I must say!

Criscito is a must buy. He is brilliant in my Liverpool game in the fourth season. One of the best in the world

Keep it Up you are doing great!

P.S I have just updated my Port Vale story if you fancy leaving any comments about imprvements i can make etc.

Thanks

Dan

 

[Jack Fulham]

Quality Story Mike, been following but haven't really commented, this stuff is a different gravy

 

[Mike]

Thanks man, I'm trying to convince him to come his stats own!

Shall have a look (A)


EDIT: And thanks Jack