La Liga Lowdown, Jornada 12: Beware Fortress Cornellà-El Prat

Although many will be talking about some other team in the city of Barcelona this weekend, another victory for Espanyol ensures they remain in the Champions League places ahead of Valencia, Atlético and Sevilla – most people’s favourites for the spots.

Undoubtedly key to Espanyol’s success so far has been their home form, winning six straight home games this season – something they haven’t managed since 1975. The 60 million euro Cornellà-El Prat Stadium, one of the best stadiums in Spain, was completed in the summer of 2009 and took over from the Olímpic Lluís Companys as their new home.

Mauricio Pochettino, a former perico defender himself, is the man responsible for the club’s recent upturn in fortunes. The 38-year-old took over from Jose Manuel Esnal, aka Mané, in January 2009, with the club stuck in the relegation zone. He had a tough task on his hands, but Pochettino managed to guide them to a respectable 11th place finish last season and has carried on his good work into this one.

The summer saw the departure of club icon and long serving captain Raúl Tamudo, after injury and falling out of favour. With a huge hole upfront, Pochettino turned to Italo-Argentine striker Pablo Osvaldo, who had previously been on loan at the club for five months. After an impressive spell, he was signed permanently for around five million euros – a deal that looking to be a real bargain. Another big loss in the summer was that of Nicolás Pareja; the Argentinean international left for Spartak Moscow in Russia.

However, much like their city rivals Barcelona, Espanyol have put a lot of emphasis on youth and home-grown players, giving them opportunities to play regular first team football. They have a number of talented players coming through in a variety of positions. At the back, 21-year-old centre-back Víctor Ruiz has been excellent for them. Ruiz, a classy and intelligent defender has progressed through the youth ranks and has formed a solid partnership with the equally impressive 22-year-old Juan Forlín. They had a tricky task replacing Pareja, but have managed it very well.

Another couple to look out for are Dídac Vilà and Jordi Amat. Amat especially, another canterano, at just 18-years-old he made his La Liga debut this season and has been filling in recently for the injured Ruiz. 21-year-old former Barcelona youngster Raúl Baena has taken his place in midfield alongside Espanyol’s most prized asset – Javi Márquez.

An integral figure at the heart of midfield, local lad Márquez has been at the club since he was a teenager. Having spent five years in the ‘B’ team, he made his first team debut at the start of last season, and has been there ever since. Now, one year on, he is starting to get the recognition he deserves – and not just in Spain, but the rest of Europe. He has also been linked with a few Premier League clubs in recent times and it’ll be difficult for Espanyol to keep hold of him if a bigger club comes knocking. That is, assuming he would want to leave. “I’m a home-grown player, I’ve always liked being here,” he said when asked about the rumours. He continued, saying he isn’t aware of any interest and leaving is “not what he wants”.

This weekend’s win over Hércules was by no means their greatest performance, but three goals and three points made up for that. They can also thank goalkeeper Carlos Kameni for another clean sheet, after he pulled off a couple of spectacular stops, one denying David Trezeguet. Joan Verdú opened the scoring for Espanyol with a slick finish, after some good work by Pablo Osvaldo. Osvaldo was once again the creator for the second, having been brought down in the area by Juan Calatayud, Hércules’ keeper (who was subsequently sent off).

Osvaldo then got up and nonchalantly stuck the penalty away, sending the keeper the wrong way. In the last minute, another one of their youngsters, 19-year-old Álvaro Vásquez earned them another penalty. This time Luis García stepped up and slammed it home to make it three. The win left Pochettino delighted once again. “I’m not surprised,” he remarked. “We always have the mentality going on to the field, fighting for every ball, every game.”

Lower down the Lowdown

• Two men, two hat-tricks; Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi continued their goal scoring tête-à-tête in Madrid’s 5-1 and Barça 8-0 wins. Incredible. As ever, Cristiano had something to say after the game: “Let’s see if they score eight against us on Monday,” he quipped, in reference to El Clásico on Monday night.
• Barça’s record 8-0 win over Almería finally put an end to Juanma Lillo’s time as manager. Lillo became La Liga’s fourth sacking already, following the departures of Antonio Álvarez (Sevilla), Jesualdo Ferreira (Málaga) and José Aurelio Gay (Zaragoza).
• A six goal thriller saw Atlético Madrid come back to beat Real Sociedad 4-2 in San Sebastián, for the first time in 19 years. Joseba Llorente put Real into the lead early on, but Atlético fought back through Diego Forlán and Kun Agüero. Agüero in particular looked back to his best, scoring two goals and creating another. Simão Sabrosa wrapped up the win with a late penalty.
• Sevilla lost at home to Mallorca, with Gregario Manzano facing his old team. But it was Laudrup who came out on top, as his team picked up an 89th minute winner through Pierre Webo. According to Laudrup: “I can’t say it was an expected victory, because it would be arrogant. But I was convinced we could get a good result.”

Results

Villarreal 1-1 Valencia, Almería 0-8 Barcelona, Real Madrid 5-1 Athletic, Osasuna 1-0 Sporting, Levante 3-1 Racing, Deportivo 3-0 Málaga, Espanyol 3-0 Hércules, Sevilla 1-2 Mallorca, Real Sociedad 2-4 Atlético, Getafe 1-1 Zaragoza.

Goal of the Week

Leo Messi (Almería 0-8 Barcelona)

(photo via tsellas on Flickr)

Espanyol, Hercules, Spanish Primera Division