Espanyol fired Abelardo. With the team in the last position on the table, eight points from salvation, and after two consecutive defeats, against Levante (1-3) and against Betis (1-0), the Blue and Whites’ leadership chose (again) for a change on the bench. The decision was led by the CEO, José María Durán, the sports director, Rufete, and supervised by President Chen Yansheng. The negotiations, between the managers of the Catalan club and the representative of Abelardo, took place in the early hours of Saturday and the Asturian coach was informed during the morning. It will be Rufete, who assumed his new position on June 9, who will take over Espanyol until the end of the season. “The club has made this decision as a result of the sports performance of the first team and with the clear will to save the category of the Blue and Whites in the League,” Espanyol reported.
Rufete led his first training session on Saturday afternoon and this Sunday he will debut on the bench against the LaLiga leader, Madrid (22:00, Movistar Partidazo). It is not a good moment, much less a good rival: the Blue and Whites’ team has added four of the last 30 points against Real. “I know this is a difficult time. No one expected it. But as long as there is hope, we have to try. I think it was something I should do. I’m here to show my face, always. When you have the feeling that you can change things, you have to be. My challenge is that our players take to the field thinking that they are not inferior to Madrid. We have to enjoy. We have to play our game and not look any further, ”said Rufete, who will be Espanyol’s fourth coach of the season. The campaign was started by David Gallego: five points in the first eight days. His replacement, Pablo Machín, did not correct the course. The former Girona and Sevilla coach spent only 10 games on the Cornellà bench and also had five points. In December, in the midst of a power dispute between Óscar Perarnau, former soccer director (he left in May after being relegated) and, Rufete, then technical secretary, changed his coach again. Rufete flirted with taking the reins, but preferred the experience of Abelardo, who had already saved Alavés from relegation in the 2017-2018 academic year.
The same recipe did not work for the Asturian. In his 17 games at Cornellà, he had 14 points. “Espanyol thanks Abelardo and his coaching staff for their involvement during these months of work and wishes them all personal and professional success,” said the Blue and Whites’ entity. “The body asks me to tell you that I have felt loved, supported and valued. From the first day you have transmitted to me that this club was my home and you my new family, which was not easy considering my past [como jugador del Barcelona]. You are very big, you deserve the best ”, answered Abelardo.
After the return of LaLiga, Espanyol de Abelardo had threatened to take off from the bottom of the table. Triumph against Alavés (2-0) and draw against Getafe (0-0). But in front of Levante something broke with the dressing room. “You have to leave your skin, and there were players who did not transmit that to me,” complained the Asturian coach. “The easy thing is to point out the footballers. It gave us no solution, ”they replied, privately, from the locker room. Tension with the group, also with managers. “There is no choice but to continue fighting,” said Abelardo, without wasting optimism, after losing to Betis last Thursday. Chen Yansheng did not like Abelardo’s attitude at all, much less after his desperate bet on transfers in the winter market.
Bad planning
“The problem is poor sports planning. It is a template that is not well structured. Players are missing in certain positions and it is a group without leaders, ”complained from Pablo Machín’s coaching staff. Espanyol invested 59.5 million euros during the 2019-2020 campaign, 40 the last window to try to reverse the mistakes of the summer. Espanyol paid the clause of Cabrera, a hard center, to Getafe (nine million). Same formula to sign an end as Embarba (10) to Rayo and paid for what has never been seen in his history for the goals of Raúl de Tomás (20.5), who could not find his place at Benfica. The man from Madrid excited with his success (four goals in his first four games), but he was caught with injuries. First a problem in the adductors and then a tendinitis in the knee that has caused headaches since March. He played half an hour against Alavés, missed duels against Getafe and Levante and returned to Betis. Now awaits the team in which it was formed: Madrid. A path undermined for Espanyol, which has Real Sociedad, Leganés, Barcelona, Eibar, Valencia on the calendar and closes LaLiga against Celta de Vigo. “Mercenary players”, “Playing with our passion has consequences” were some of the graffiti that appeared on Saturday morning in the Ciudad Deportiva and in the Cornellà stadium. “Many times, from the outside, things are seen from another perspective. I have a part of the responsibility, but our players are very good. The first thing I said to the players is that to play soccer there are two very important things: to love and respect your profession. When that happens, things change, ”explained Rufete.
In the 21st century, only five teams have played every season in Primera: Madrid, Barça, Athletic, Valencia and Espanyol. It seems difficult for the Blue and Whites to retain their status, sunk in LaLiga, long lost in law firms: in the four and a half years of Yansheng as president and top shareholder of Espanyol, three CEOs, four sports managers and, Now, with Rufete, there are already seven coaches.
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