Just two and a half years ago, Espanyol lived in an ideal, fantasy world, initialed one May afternoon in the unforgettable match against Real Sociedad that returned the Blue and Whites to Europe 12 years later. A stand that flooded the stadium, which carried the players on their shoulders, a few words of prosperity that, unfortunately, remained on deaf ears. A year later the relegation came and now the parakeet team is back to its status in a usual recovery in its tough history.
The Real Sociedad, on the other hand, lived with pain that 2-0 that left them without playing in Europe, but these two years have been regenerative. He plays in Europe, he was in the Champions zone for a good part of last season and, at present, he is the second classified and has only lost one match out of 14. Football has made many turns in just two years.
The squads have also mutated, especially that of Espanyol. There are only six players in the current one who participated that afternoon. Is about Diego Lopez, which was indisputably the starting goal; Adrià Pedrosa, who displaced Dídac Vilà to the substitution in the last games; Sergi Darder and Óscar Melendo, pillars in the middle of the field by Joan Francesc Ferrer, Rubi; Wu Lei, that he thrashed that afternoon; and Javi Puado, who came out in the second half with the match already decided.
The Espanyol squad has been renewed since then, although from the headlines that afternoon Diego López, Pedrosa, Darder and Puado, three of them homegrown players, have become essential players for Vicente Moreno, especially the winger and the midfielder, who are among the six players with the most minutes.
It’s funny, but Real Sociedad has changed more and that has had years of meeting objectives and being even above. Aritz Elustondo, Mikel Merino and Mikel Oyarzábal They are the only players who started two and a half years ago who remain among the players with the most minutes this season.