Espanyol's blue velvet

The real life of Spanish this season has been full of virtue. The team of Vicente Moreno He has given an image of superiority, perseverance, defensive rigor and forceful attack, he has been the best in the statistical rankings, a fertile land in which to build the future. Except Javi puado, whose contract expires in 2022 and its renewal is urgent and worrisome, the rest of the players have long ties and the club does not have much room for maneuver with the salary limit and financial requirements, so, a priori, excessive are not expected changes. Some necessary sale, some other assignment and market opportunities.

But the life of Espanyol will change drastically next year in First. The Blue and Whites have only played one game against a team of that category in the campaign that expires in two weeks. It was against Osasuna, in the Copa del Rey. Although Vicente Moreno opted for a team with less common players (like the Navarrese), the result was a reflection of the differences between the two teams (0-2). Before the other great teams of LaLiga SmartBank, Espanyol has added 11 of 18 points (Mallorca, Almería and Leganés), and in some of them he was subjected, although finally his punch was decisive.

The debate between the changes to which the squad should be subjected already revolves around the blue and white environment. From the goal (with the age of Diego López and the few minutes of Oier Olazábal) up to a defense in which Leandro Cabrera, David López and Adrià Pedrosa they have become the most regular players, with the doubts that have been awakened again Fernando Calero, Miguelón and Óscar Gil, as well as the little protagonist a campaign over Lluís López. Yes Keidi Bare and Sergi Darder have established themselves as a reliable couple, the squad lacks a positional midfielder, with the doubts that it also generated Fran Merida and the few minutes of Pol lozano, to whom an assignment could be convenient as to Puado the previous year.

It is in attack where Espanyol has the most marked cards, with Adrián Embarba, Raúl de Tomás, Puado and Nico Melamed as franchise players, with Oscar Melendo as a specific and useful performance player. The doubts, again, to Matías Vargas, Álvaro Vadillo and Nany Dimata, players for whom the club invested 14 million euros. Only the Belgian forward has established himself although his performance remains ambivalent.

A term that perfectly defines what the Espanyol season has been, as David Lynch wanted to reflect in his film Blue Velvet, where nothing is what it seems to the naked eye. That duality of life, like the one that now absorbs Espanyol: distinguishing between that superficiality that could have meant a logical (and obviously meritorious) promotion and the reality that the team will find next season. The sports management will have to decide how to interpret this film that has lasted 304 days, that it can end with a story ending (the title) but that next year it will experience its true revalidation.