“My current job is more difficult than being world champion”

Joan Capdevilla has lived through different stages at Espanyol. From being a youth player who went to Atlético and suffered harsh criticism to live a calmer second stage in the final part of his career, with the European and World champion trophy already in his pocket. Now, since 2018, is part of the Department of Institutional Relations of the perico cluba position that he considers “more difficult than being world champion in football”.

Most soccer players are fish that, once retired and after spending their childhood, adolescence and part of their adult life hooked on a ball, feel far from their habitat. That is why Capdevila considers that “playing football is what you have always done, it is your life. This is different and for me it is more difficult than having been world champion. It’s a responsibility, a new area and I’m also learning a lot after the opportunity that Espanyol has given me”. The duties of the man from Tàrrega vary: “I am available to the club 24 hours a day. It’s many hours, maybe you can’t see everything. For example, going to hospitals, working and meeting for communication issues, participating in events, conducting interviews and representing the club, traveling with the team, receiving rival boards…” said the former left-back.

Regarding the future of Espanyol, Capdevila believes that “the club is growing” and that “the squad has more value than two years ago”. He also acknowledged that in the environment of the entity you always “see the pessimistic part” and that he would like the club to be one day “at the level of Villarreal”, curiously Sunday’s rival and a club he knows perfectly well as he lived through his years of growth (2007-2012).

“I was the best inside and outside”

In the fun atmosphere of the Perico Que Vola program, Capdevila spoke of those beginnings (“I came from Tàrrega and when I arrived in Barcelona it was as if I entered New York”) and his return to the club after being mocked by the fans when he left for Atlético de Madrid (they called him ‘capdedólar’). But Ramon Planes and Mauricio Pochettino, those responsible for the sports area at that time, reassured him: “They told me that everything would be fine… The youth club made me a banner at my farewell at home against Osasuna. That was for me like a title”, he valued.

The images of Capdevilla after winning the titles, like the famous one in which he held a glass on his shoulder while dancing, have a clear summary for the protagonist: “I was the best on and off the field,” he jokes. “I saw Cazorla do it, I thought ‘I’ll see if it works out’… And at that moment a camera caught me”.

Capdevila remains in his career with the day of his debut, on October 31, 1998 against Athletic, since “it is the dream of all children”. And he did it in the club with which he sympathized as a child. Member 2812 (I’ve been 31 years old) lived a funny story as a child in the relegation promotion of Espanyol in Santander in 1993. “I went with my uncle by train to Santander. We tied (0-0) and went down. He was so pissed off that we took the first train back that he saw. We ended up in Seville. My parents spent two days without hearing from us, ”he concluded.