Espanyol yearns for their Zamora

Although their clubs have been defended by goalkeepers as illustrious as Carlos Kameni, Kiko Casilla or the current one Diego Lopez, who holds the record for unbeaten minutes in the history of the club (586 ’), no one from the Spanish has conquered the Zamora Trophy for 22 years now. And that is named after the first great parrot legend. The last to reach it was, on May 15, 1998, Toni Jiménez.

The world had already been known in the Olympic Games of Barcelona, five years earlier, which led to his signing by the Vallecano Ray, where he did not play too much but did gain the confidence of José Antonio Camacho, who the following season, 1993-94, recruited him for the arduous mission of returning Espanyol to the highest category. And already that year in Second it would rise with the Zamora, which would revalidate already in First in the 1997-98 academic year.

It was in the season of debut in Montjuïc, where Espanyol did not lose until the second round. Despite the fact that the parrot team finished tenth, there was no team with fewer goals. Toni received 31 goals in 37 days. He lacked one, yes, because the last one he did not dispute, precisely that May 15, to guarantee the trophy. Replaced him Raúl Arribas. If he had played it, he would have stayed with Zamora, since that Valladolid-Espanyol ended in a draw to zero.

Toni was the last but not the first. Obviously, the pioneer of the trophy (which was not, of course, his name) was Ricardo Zamora in 1929, the first league. He received 24 goals in 15 games (he played the remaining three days Christopher Solà) the 'Divine’. It is true that Barcelona received fewer goals in that inaugural championship, but had divided the goal between Ferenc Plattkó, Manuel Vidal and Jaime Uriach.

And, between Zamora and Toni, is Marcel Domingo, who had already won the trophy in the 1948-49 season with his Atlético de Madrid and that he would repeat in 1952-53 in the Oxygen Espanyol, commanded by Alejandro Scopelli. He scored 34 goals in 27 games, of which 15 were victories. Not surprisingly, that team remained leader of The league during 19 of the 30 days. José Trías and Miguel Soler played the three games that Sunday did not play.