Vilhena momentum: “We can be in the top five”

Tonny Vilhena was one of the many spectators who watched Cádiz-Espanyol on television on Tuesday, now from Barcelona, ​​where this afternoon he will personally meet Vicente Moreno (“I spoke to him on the phone”) and all his colleagues. He suffered, he bit his nails at 2-2 but the sensations were very good. “I watched the match and it was a good game. We played good football, we showed that we can score goals and play well. And that’s the important thing.”, stressed a midfielder who can play as a winger, winger or midfielder. “I have no preferences,” he said.

Perhaps if he has them, or senses them, Francisco Rufete, sports director, who commented that “he can give us strength in the line of attack, he has quality and a good shot on his left leg,” he stressed. Vilhena arrives on loan until June 30, but Espanyol, in the mouth of Josep Maria Durán, CEO, was resounding: “We want to execute that purchase option so that it is ours permanently”. The player picked up the glove when asked if he wanted to put down roots in Barcelona: “Yes, of course,” he whispered.

The conversations come from afar. Last summer Krasnodar and Espanyol talked, although they did not reach an agreement, and finally the green light has now been given thanks to the fact that “the Russian club has done its part and has lent us a hand, also Tonny”, he commented: “Having a versatile player can help us a lot now and especially for next year.”

This season, the Dutchman has played 987 minutes in the Russian league with Krasnodar, mainly as a left-back, so he is ready to be one more with Vicente Moreno’s team. “Yes, I can add now,” he said, to which Rufete added that “we want him to start picking up this pace.”

Jhon Córdoba, ambassador of Espanyol in Russia

Vilhena stressed that it is “an expert player and I think I can help the team” and that is why he urges the group to be afraid and go for it all: “We don’t have to be afraid of these great teams, because we play well, we have to play each game like a final, everything is different. We have to look and I think we can be among the top five,” he said, ambitious.

Raised in Rotterdam, Vilhena knows LaLiga and has had good ambassadors in recent days. First, Jhon Córdoba, his partner in Krasnodar, brother-in-law of Sergio García and former parakeet player: “He has told me wonders about the club, the stadium, the fans. Everything is very exciting for me”. And, last Tuesday, when the player exercised in Sant Adrià, he chatted with Keidi Bare, who also commented on great things about the city. In it, Vilhena wants to reinvent herself in a Espanyol that sees a great future.