The symmetry of Gallego and Moreno

Sunday's duel between Sporting and Espanyol hides small encounters. As the nth between David Gallego and Vicente Moreno, two technicians who as players have lived practically parallel paths and who now also fight for the same objectives on the benches of their teams. Their careers are so symmetrical that last year, coincidentally, Moreno's Mallorca executed Gallego's already deteriorated career at Espanyol. In just eight days that defeat in Son Moix ended the ephemeral stage of Suria's on the bench of the parakeet first team.

Its history begins in two towns that today do not even reach 10,000 inhabitants. Vicente Moreno grew up in Massanassa, just ten kilometers from Valencia, while Gallego did it in Suria, more than 40 from Barcelona, ​​at the foot of the mountain of Montserrat. The former had extensive training at Valencia, while the Catalan was forced to carve out his career, ascending since L’Hospitalet He signed him when he was just 19 years old.

The first time they saw each other on the pitch was in December 1997 in a Terrassa-Valencia B (2-0). At that time, the current Espanyol coach had been in the Ché subsidiary for three years without being able to make the jump to the first team, while Gallego had gone through Manlleu, Levante, Sant Andreu and Córdoba, always in Second B. After that campaign, their lives changed.

MIGUEL VAZQUEZ '); return false; “class =” item-multimedia “>

The jump to Second and a short-lived debut in First

Moreno finished his cycle in Valencia and after two years in Guadix and Ontinyent he signed for Xerez, the club of his life. There he was promoted to Second and then to First, a category in which he only played 22 games in the 2009-10 season. Gallego traveled an identical path: Hercules, Córdoba again and a one-year experience at Recreativo en Primera with ten games played. The last time they saw each other was in the 2004-05 season, with Terrassa who lost 0-2 at home and drew (0-0) on the road, but ended up relegated.

Gallego retired with 438 official matches while Moreno did so with 583. Moreno found stability in Xerez while Gallego went through up to nine clubs. The Valencian started 90% of the games played while the Catalan 70%.

Already retired, and despite the fact that Gallego (49) is more veteran than Moreno (46), the Sporting coach has lived a short stage as a coach in the elite. His three-year period in the perico subsidiary, his 12 days at Espanyol and now his first stage in Segunda A with Sporting. Xerez, on the other hand, gave her the opportunity to coach one of their most iconic players, and then four years in Tarragona and three in Mallorca followed. On Sunday they meet again, as equals, in a Second Division that they know by heart as players.