Espanyol 
Fact File
Team: Espanyol (The Parakeets)
Country: Spain
Founded: 1900
Status: Professional
Reputation: National
Favoured Personnel: Raul Tamudo, Thomas N’Kono, Paco Flores, Sergio, Jose, Antonio Camacho, Javier Clemente
Fierce Rivals: Barcelona
Other Rivals: Atletico, Valencia
Finances: OK
Estimated Value: £59M (Loan Debt £28M)
Stadium: Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Barcelona
Stadium Details: 56000 all seater
Training Ground: Top training facilities + Excellent youth facilities
European Competition: EURO Cup
Media Prediction: 15th
Squad Average Age: 25
Squad Personality: Determined
Wage Budget: £545,266 p/w
Used Budget: £449,821 p/w
Transfer Budget: £827,586
History:
The team was founded on October 28 1900 by Angel Rodriguez, an engineering student at the University of Barcelona. Its original home was in the district of Sarrià, the same as their local rivals, FC Barcelona. The club was initially known as the Sociedad Española de Football. It was the first in Spain to be formed by Spanish fans of the game as opposed to foreigners who formed other clubs such as FC Barcelona.
In 1906 the club folded due to financial reasons and most of the players joined the X Sporting Club. This club won the Campionat de Catalunya 3 times between 1906 and 1908. In 1909 this club was effectively relaunched as Club Deportivo Español.
Espanyol are one of several Spanish football clubs granted patronage by the Spanish crown and thus entitled to use Real in their names and the royal crown on their badge. This right was granted to Espanyol in 1912 by Alfonso XIII and the club subsequently became known as Real Club Deportivo Español.
Following the abdication of Alfonso XIII in 1931 and the declaration of a republic, clubs dropped the Real from their name. During the time of the Second Spanish Republic the club adopted the more Catalan/republican friendly name Club Esportiu Espanyol. After the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent prohibition of the Catalan language, the name reverted to Real Club Deportivo Español.
The club finally adopted its current Catalan language name in February 1995. The word "Deportiu" in Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona means sport for fun; while "Esportiu" is reserved to professional sport. The correct word would have been "Esportiu"; because of tradition, "Deportiu" has been kept.
The club originally played in bright yellow shirts, the colour of the shorts been left to the individual player. A friend of the club founder owned a textile business and happened to have an abundance of yellow material left over from a job. In 1910, the RCD Espanyol chose blue and white to be the colors that would adorn its jersey and shield, because the blue and white color combination appeared on the shield of the great Catalan Admiral Roger de Lluria who sailed the Mediterranean protecting Catalonia’s interests in the Middle Ages and were known as Club Español de Futbol.
In 1928 the club became a founding member of la Liga and in 1929 won their first Copa del Rey. Espanyol have qualified nine times for the UEFA Cup (including the 2006-07 qualification following the 2006 Copa Del Rey 4-1 win over Real Zaragoza) and reached the final in 1988, losing to Bayer Leverkusen of Germany on penalty kicks (2-3) after a memorable home-and-away final (3-0 in Barcelona, 0-3 in Leverkusen).
In 1994, RCD Espanyol created its reserve team, RCD Espanyol B that currently play in the Segunda B.
Titles :
Copa del Rey (4)
1928/29, 1939/40, 1999/00, 2005/06
Campionats de Catalunya (12)
1903 , 1903-04, 1905-06, 1906-07, 1907-08, 1911-12, 1914-15, 1917-18, 1928-29, 1932-33, 1936-37, 1939-40
Copa Catalunya (4)
1994-95, 1995-96, 1998-99, 2005-2006
Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Barcelona, one of the 29 UEFA five star stadia.
The Board
The Chairman, Daniel Sanchez Llibre is happy to stay at the club and the Directors expect the team to fight bravely against relegation from the First Division in the first season. The supporters expect the team to achieve a safe mid-table position within the First Division. There are no restrictions on where you can send your scouts and the board feel that a club of Espanyol’s stature should not be a feeder club. There are no feeder clubs associated with the club. The Assistant Manager, Bartolme Marquez’s team report states rather pessimistically that the team has absolutely no chance of avoiding relegation unless the squad is strengthened in every department.
The Squad (based on volume 1 update)
Goalkeepers:
Kameni is the first choice goalkeeper, and although he is from Cameroon he also has French nationality therefore he is not considered as a non EU player. He is an excellent goalkeeper and at 22 his best years are ahead of him. He has excellent reflexes, command of his area, aerial ability, handling but has high eccentricity. He is one of 6 players rated at 4 stars by the Assistant Manager. Gorka is very good understudy with good stats but unfortunately is not happy to sit on the bench for too long, Biel is a very good prospect in the B team however playing very well when called upon.
Defenders:
At right back there are a number of options, Velasco, Lacruz, Sa and Chica. Velasco is the better option, he is very steady but not a quality right back. Lacruz is very average and Chica is a good prospect for the future. Sa is an average player. In short the right back is filled but not to a great degree of quality. On the volume 2 update Chica is very good with great tackling, teamwork and bravery attributes, making him the number 1 right back.
At left back you have David Garcia who is very dependable and rarely gets injured, he won’t get many assists but is very useful in defending and has plenty of stamina and determination. Chica is left footed and can also play at left back although his natural position is right back.
Centre backs, despite their age and in some instances their stats is a very strong position for Espanyol. Jarque is the oldest centre back at 23 is strong in the air and has excellent positioning. It is not long before the bigger clubs come in for him but he seems happy for you to reject any bids for him. He is often in the Spain squad and is the best defender in the team, rated at 4 stars. Torrejon at 20 is a very good centre back and very determined, Sergio Sanchez has the potential to be a very good centre back also. Both Torrejon and Sergio Sanchez improve quickly and put in very reliable performances from the start.
Midfield:
Left midfield is covered by Riera, who was on loan at Man City last year. He is very effective at creating and scoring goals and on his day a match winner. Moha has average stats, Hector is a good prospect and Peixoto is on loan from Porto, although he is injured for the 6 months. Espanyol do not pay toward any wage contribution for him.
Centre midfield is covered by Ito, Eduardo Costa, Fredson and Jonatas from Brazil, Hurtado and De La Pena, the ex Barcelona player nicknamed the Little Buddha. All but De La Pena are defensive midfielders, Ito is a work horse with a good work rate, Eduardo Costa has very good stats but doesn’t play as well as they would imply, Jonatas is a very good all round player and Fredson an average player, in spite of his stats. Hurtado is a good prospect with pace, good tackling and a high work rate and De La Pena is a quality playmaker, with good technical and set piece stats and is rated at 4 stars, unfortunately he is 30 years old meaning scouting for a suitable replacement is important.
Right midfield is covered by the Argentinian Zabaleta who is solid but not spectacular. He is more a defensive player and his creative stats are not very high. He is very dependable but does not set up or score many goals. Rufete has a good balance of stats and likes to hug the touchline and cross the ball, being more attacking that Zabaleta. Rufete is rated with 4 stars and has a high work rate, plenty of stamina and is very determined.
Strikers:
Raul Tamudo is the Captain and talisman of Espanyol, having scored over 100 La Liga goals for them, making him their second highest goalscorer, he also scored in both the 2000 and 2006 Copa del Rey wins Tamudo is often in the Spain squad and needless to say the main goalscorer and highest valued player. He has plenty of flair and all the abilities of a top striker. Tamudu is rated at 4 stars and is on the list of the clubs most favoured personnel. Pandiani, who spent a brief unsuccessful time on loan at Birmingham is a far more effective player in La Liga, and despite being 30 is a valuable and prolific goalscorer. Coro is a lightweight striker and very inconsistent, at 23 there is time for improvement but the much better prospect is Soriano who grows in to a very good player with healthy goal returns while he progresses in stature. Luis Garcia is the second most valuable player at the club and is also a very consistent goal scorer, rated at 4 stars. None of the strikers are particularly blessed with pace but they can put the ball away once in the box.
Raul Tamudo
Overview :
Espanyol are a good strong, solid and hard working side however they do not have much flair or pace. There is a solid base to start from and they are easily better than the media prediction of 15th – or the Assistant Manager’s view that the team has absolutely no chance of avoiding relegation unless the squad is strengthened in every department. Despite the competitive nature of La Liga with a few additions Espanyol can push for a European place and do well in the EURO Cup, the pessimistic view of the board and media means that you are not under pressure and can easily surprise the fans, press and the board by doing well whilst not being under pressure unless you are in the relegation zone.
The 4 non EU players, Fredson, Zabaleta, Eduardo Costa and Jonatas are taking up the non EU places, in fact you have one too many at the start of the season. It is important to look closely at them and decide if any of them are worthy of taking up your valuable quota of non EU players.
The squad is sizeable and contains a number of defensive midfielders but not too much in the creative department, meaning that you can raise revenue by selling some of the team. A lot of the Spanish teams cancel player contracts at the start of the season and you can pick up some good players in this way and teams in Spain seem to loan players to clubs in the same division more than they do in the Premiership. Unfortunately your biggest rivals, Valencia and Barcelona have some very good B team or under 19 players but are unwilling to loan them to you, however Real Madrid, who also have some great young players, are more than happy to loan their players and sometimes without any wage contribution.
