Leandro Cabrera’s career was going from strength to strength until Getafe appeared in his life. In Madrid, with José Bordalás as his teacher, the Uruguayan perfected his tactical knowledge and became a complete centre-back. For this reason, he was recruited by Espanyol in exchange for 10 million euros to rescue the team from almost certain relegation and be an important part of the future project. However, his time at Cornellà has been dominated by suffering. The one who experienced the entity and the fans with two traumatic relegations. What he, captain a few months after arriving, has suffered with fierce criticism for the ups and downs in his performance. Cabrera’s suffering embodies what Espanyol has experienced in the last almost five years. A feeling that has not disappeared and that connects with what the team experiences today. After the “slip” in San Mamés, certain doubts have returned in a team that wants to compete again in the same way it had done so far in the League.
In an almost cathartic speech, Cabrera portrayed the reality of the blue and white team this week. “Except for football’s chosen ones, the majority of footballers always suffer,” he said. “The reality of players who do not fight for the Champions League and the League, who also have pressure” is to live with “nerves.” Cabrera expressed hope that “a season of more satisfaction than suffering” will come for Espanyol, although he insisted that while competing “you have little enjoyment even if you win.” According to his view, it doesn’t help that Espanyol has always been “quite nervous.”
“We work and suffer, that is why we give more importance to victories”
Meanwhile, a Sevilla full of doubts and with certain difficulties in the classification arrives at the RCDE Stadium, where Espanyol suffers, but competes like never before. Of the ten points that the blue and white team has accumulated, nine have come against their fans, who continue to firmly trust in Manolo González’s project. “We are angry, looking forward to the game to give another image,” explained the coach at a press conference. “What we have achieved is that no one expects the team not to show its face. It is positive that this is a hallmark. Go out and compete, give up your life and win,” he wished.
For González, competing and suffering are almost synonymous in a category like the First Division. The coach recognizes that “when we lose weeks of shit. I have hard weeks. I turn it over and over. I watch the game and watch it again. We suffer and work for the games and that is why we give more importance to victories,” he explained.
Except for football’s chosen ones, the majority of footballers always suffer.”
In addition, he sent a direct message to his forwards, and more specifically to Alejo Véliz, who has played eight of the ten league games as a starter. “It’s not that few balls reach the area. Sometimes you have to be in the place to be able to finish. These excuses bother me a lot because we won’t reach the goal 100 times. When we arrive we have to be on the spot and not wait for the ball,” he said, annoyed.
#EspanyolSevilla #Compete #win
