The Espanyol Sentinel
Squad8 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Leandro Cabrera
43 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Espanyol lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom8 Feb 2027
Santiago Sanz has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Espanyol can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
Marcelo Herrera keeps the receipts
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Espanyol may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market8 Feb 2027
Edu Expósito wants more than Espanyol are offering
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Omar El Hilali falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Deportivo La Coruña tell Espanyol: Charlie Patiño is not for sale
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
No hiding place for Bryan Zaragoza
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bryan Zaragoza, and the manager let it.
Match6 Feb 2027
Girona take the points off Espanyol
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Ansu Fati runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
In brief
- The dugout Santiago Sanz answers for it
- The dugout Javi Puado asks for a word with the manager
- Squad A falling-out at Espanyol