Espanyol returned and remembered the place where it all began. The Paraninfo of the University of Barcelona, in the center of Barcelona, hosted a gala that combined history, emotion and pride. There, in 1900, a group of young university students led by Ángel Rodríguez founded the Spanish Foot-ball Society with the desire to practice the sport with local players, when Barcelona football had a foreign accent. and recognized its essence: a feeling that does not understand categories or achievements, a love for colors that has resisted defeats and relegations, always taking refuge in pride and family.
between live music and more than 300 attendees. Among them, the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, a self-confessed blue and white partner. “I belong to all the teams in Catalonia, but I’m a parakeet,” Illa started. “Espanyol is an expression of the plurality of this country. There is another very powerful team in Barcelona, and that has given the parakeets a character of perseverance, of not giving up, of unity and improvement,” he added. The president of the Parliament or the Higher Sports Council also attended, as well as the mayors of Barcelona, Cornellà, El Prat and Sant Adrià del Besòs. “It is an honor to represent the city that has seen you born, grow and succeed. The relationship between Barcelona and Espanyol is one of love and recognition. The city needs the drive and commitment of the parakeets,” added Jaume Collboni.
Among the attendees were representatives of other clubs and around sixty former players and coaches who helped build the club’s sporting story, such as John Lauridsen or Tommy N’Kono. Everyone gathered to pay tribute to history, to the yellow shirt – the first one they wore before the blue and white -, to the quarry and to the members. faced his first major institutional event. “I can only promise to say little, but to work hard to put Espanyol where it deserves. It is a moment to feel proud of what we have experienced, but also to look forward. The present and the future are yet to be written,” Pace shared.
The night closed with the Torre de Glòries illuminated and the performance of the new tribute song, Amor indestructible, by Cris Juanico. A tribute to the century and a quarter of history: the role of the founding club, the three mainly inhabited stadiums – Sarrià, Olímpic Lluís Companys and RCDE Stadium -, the four Copa del Rey won, the two lost European finals, the memory of Dani Jarque, the relegations, and the returns.
The closure was as symbolic as it was hopeful. With the team making its best start to the league in a long time, the 125th anniversary served to remind us that Espanyol is still very much alive. Because, as was repeated throughout the night, this club is, above all, an act of love. One indestructible, that of a “wonderful minority.”
