Raúl de Tomás, among friends

Note Raúl de Tomás the winning goal against Alcorcón , and runs to the corner to celebrate, with a serious but convinced gesture. Sergi Darder catches up with him first. Then, Álvaro Vadillo rushes towards him, hugs him from behind and whispers a few words to him. Of affection. Of friendship. He Espanyol's top scorer, with three goals already, has stayed at the Parakeet club after a tortuous transfer market with as many clubs asking for him as offers from his agent. And now that that is in the past, RdT can feel more secure than ever.

In that same window of ups and downs landed, on the horn, a Vadillo who knows the Madrid striker like few others. Their relationship dates back more than a decade.. “We have been together since we were little in the National Team. We were roommates. So I am delighted to share a dressing room with him. We have always had a special friendship,” said the winger on Friday, who was born a month and five days before De Tomás. In a few days, on Wednesday 21, they will be fulfilled, for example, ten years of a friendly Spain-Russia U-17, one of the first matches in which they appear in the newspaper archives playing in unison, along with Saúl Ñíguez, Gerard Deulofeu, Denis Suárez or the then parakeet Óscar Arroyo, under the command of Ginés Meléndez.

They also appear together in a photograph that runs this week on social networks, both wearing the National Team tracksuit, insultingly young, and holding trophies in their hands. The image corresponds to May 27, 2013, when both De Tomás and Vadillo were considered within the Bronze Eleven in the Gala Draft, held in the Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas. They shared a gala team, among others, with Rubén Blanco, Sergi Roberto, Óliver Torres or Víctor Álvarez.

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The closing of the market, the support of Vadillo and the return to ownership after two days starting from the bench –although in Oviedo he entered and scored two goals– may be the cornerstones for optimum RO performance, but not the only ones.

As they demonstrated at the beginning of this 2020 already in Espanyol, and especially between 2017 and 2019 in Rayo Valllecano – the parrots' next rival, this Sunday -, his partnership with Adrián Embarba is most explosive. No one has served more goals to the center forward in his professional career than the seven enabled by the Madrid winger, now convalescing (although asymptomatic) after testing positive for COVID-19.

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And if all these balance points weren't enough, Raúl de Tomás had also coincided before landing at Espanyol with Fernando Calero, who joined the Valladolid dressing room during the 2016-17 season, and Leandro Cabrera, with whom he played for Castilla seven years ago. At that time, not in vain, the forward often trained with Real Madrid's first team, so he also knew Diego López, who was the goalkeeper of the whites.

More than enough reasons to regain his smile, to sustain his scoring nose over time and to, as he himself said after scoring against Alcorcón and receiving a hug from Vadillo, to reinforce his commitment to the parakeet club. “Here I have a contract and I am happy. I am happy, I owe myself to Espanyol and I will give everything“And in the best company.