Friday, May 18th, 2012
The other storyline settles on El Killer, Pablo Daniel Osvaldo, the Italo-Argentine forward who has come under great scrutiny by clubs looking for a young and promising striker with the credentials to make that leap to the big-time: highly-developed aerial game, comfortable with the ball at his feet, a born-leader, and considering his modest surroundings easily had on the cheap. Or so they thought. Clubs valued him at around €10-12 million but Espanyol have placed a much higher valuation on the player. Osvaldo on the other hand has pledged to stay and help the club fight for trophies, or at least to settle in a European place, and stated on more than one occasion that he´d like to one day become Espanyol captain. He came from Italian football he said, where he wasn´t appreciated, but that he found his place at Espanyol where they value him and he´d like to repay that. New President Ramon Condal, who took over from Dani Sanchez-Llibre over the Summer, has pledged that the club will not sell their inspirational leader. Nice posture to have for the fans, but if his €20 million valuation is met I think either Atlético Madrid or Spurs would have him in a heartbeat.
Attack
The club are actively looking for a media-punta, a creative spark in attack but as of now they don´t have the money nor the inclination to find someone to take that role from the retired De la Peña. In Joan Verdú and Sergio Garcia they have players with enough versatility to fill that role if needed, which solves the question of who plays for José Callejón who returned to Real Madrid after two years in blue-and-white. Both do as they can both play centrally as well. On the other side is Luis Garcia, not the one who likes sangría and is apparently somewhere in the Mexican League, is the heart-and-soul of the club, an elder statesman at 30, and as such it seems that his days are numbered at the club. He´ll make it through another year at Cornellà-el Prat but not much more I think.
Ones to watch
After losing De la Peña, Ben Sahar, Callejon and Ivan Alonso it would seem the club are quite thin in attack. Don´t believe it. Ex-Arsenal youngster Rui Fonte is in the mix, as is Ajax you product Marvin Zeegelaar, but the gems of the project are Thievy Bifouma who provides a dogged Edgar Davids-like work-rate and Álvaro Vásquez who is quite clearly the pearl of the Espanyol youth-team. Vásquez scored a hat-trick against Australia in Spain´s 5-1 win at the U-20 World Cup and could possibly be a starter if Osvaldo is sold this Summer.
Midfield
Osvaldo is not the only position player getting notice from clubs in the transfer market. Midfielder Javi Márquez is our captain and a stabilizing force in the midfield for a player who is still only 25 years of age so it is no wonder that the likes of Blackburn have come for him. Negotiations are also ongoing regarding his contract. The club are desperate to keep him, but are in ongoing talks that are looking more clouded as the days pass. There are enough hard-workers in midfield to get stuck-in, the likes of Baena and Javi López, but it would be a big blow if we lost Martinez. Adrian Luna and Juan Albín. who have come from Defensor Sporting and Getafe respectively, but more importantly are both products of Oscar Washington Tabárez´s training program in Uruguay could also make an impression.
Defence
Didac Vilá won a European Under-21 Championship in Denmark this year after a less than stellar season at AC Milan last year where he appeared in one match at the end of the Serie A campaign. As a reward, the player has come back to Espanyol on-loan and rejoins a defense that is always capable of recovering, repairing, and reloading a defense to keep the club competitive. Joining him is Mexican international Héctor Moreno who played so well at the Gold Cup this Summer, Jordi Amat who is also currenlty playing in Colombia with the U-20´s and Juan Forlin should be the starting back four. Moreno in particular should provide the intimidating force in the middle of the defence that has been lacking since Victor Ruiz left.
Projection
I would like to say that with the stable of players we have, that we can challenge for a European slot again, but because of the instability with transfer and the constant churning of the talent pool, I always start with the idea that we can be in the top half of the table, maybe 8th give or take a couple of places.
*By the way, for those of you annoyed by my use of the pronoun we when I speak of the club, well forgive me, as head of the RCD Espanyol Supporter´s Club of Los Ángeles, it is hard for me to talk of my club without using it. To follow the season along with me and Espanyol, check out Espanyol.theOffside.com and for our weekly podcast covering the best of the Spanish League check out myself, and my partners Elisa and Ravi at Forzafutbol.com
Tags: Espanyol
