The post-derby syndrome

“Head up high, parakeets. From today we start to win the game next Sunday. See you at home, family. “This is how Espanyol expressed themselves on Sunday afternoon on their social networks. And the squad, after a day off, This Monday began the week with a closed-door training session –As usual– and without a press conference or public demonstrations. The message is clear: the derby is already part of the past, as the only way to try to defeat Real Sociedad, next rival.

It is not a trivial question for a Espanyol that on previous occasions he has already been immersed in very similar controversies after taking on Barcelona and that, obviously without having managed to reverse either the arbitration decisions or the adverse results, has been swallowed up by its consequences. The most significant example of the snowball that is getting bigger by derbies occurred five years ago, in January 2016, when as a consequence of tthree direct clashes with Barça –One of the League, two of the Cup– and not a few controversies, the parrots chained eight days without winning: six defeats, two draws, 26 goals against and only six in favor.

Without going so far back in time, in the derby before last Saturday, Not only did Espanyol lose the category on July 8, 2020 with a 1-0 at the Camp Nou, but he did not win again in the little that remained of the championship, although that team already arrived at Can Barça emotionally evicted.

Perhaps the lighthouse that can guide parrots to turn the page quickly is what happened after 2-0 at Camp Nou in the 2018-19 season, with Joan Francesc Ferrer ‘Rubi’ on the bench. That defeat, ten days from the end, was the last one suffered by Espanyol, which there would chain five victories and four draws until getting, in the last game, the classification to compete in Europe.

Of course that derby did not involve any controversy. Getting away from them is the challenge for Vicente Moreno and his family. The Real Sociedad, leader until last Sunday, supposes enough stimulus and reason to cure the recurrent post-derby syndrome.