Elche’s top assistant responds to the name of Gerard Gumbau, a Barcelona youth squad who will complete 100 games in LaLiga
When he was a member of the Barça subsidiary, Rivaldo advised Gumbau in training and shortly after he scored a goal to remember
After the national team break, La Liga returns and does so with an Elche-Barça team at the Martínez Valero clearly marked by the Copa del Rey. The culés, outstanding leaders, are already thinking more about the duel against Real Madrid to settle their pass to the final, than about the regularity championship. The azulgranas will travel to Elche to play matchday 27 with a clear objective, to maintain the 12-point lead achieved after the victory in the other Clásico, the league on March 19 (2-1).
The blaugranas are on their best run without losing to Elche. And it is that Barça has not lost to the Elche team since 1974. That day, the team led by Rinus Michels lost 1-0 at the old Altabix stadium. Since then, there have been 20 games between Catalans and French-greens, with a record of 16 Barca wins and four draws. In front, a team that counts the days to mathematically know its relegation with the motivation that one of its starting players may have had an important Barca past.
This is Gerard Gumbau who made his First Division debut with the Barça shirt on September 20, 2015, against Levante at the Camp Nou (4-1). If there is no problem, this Saturday, seven and a half years later, and against Barça, who saw him born in the top flight, he will reach 100 games in LaLiga. At 28, Gumbau divides his career in the top flight between three teams: Barça itself, Leganés and Elche, with Girona he did it in the Second Division. As a blaugrana he played three games in the 2015-16 academic year. With the cucumber team there were 41 distributed between the years 2017-18 (25) and 2018-19 (16). And in his second season in the First Division at the Martínez Valero, he has made 55 games: 31 last and 24 in the present.
Rivaldo, the master
During his time as a Barcelona squad player, Gumbau has a curious anecdote with Rivaldo, the culé legend. Rivaldo attended a training session for the Barcelona subsidiary when the current Elche player was a member of La Masía. Same touch as when he threw free kicks. Rivaldo dedicated himself to launching and revealing his secrets among the players led by Gerard López, the Brazilian’s former teammate in his Blaugrana days.
It was January 2017 and Gumbau was one of the students. It turned out to be his last year at Barça. At that time the second team culé was active in Second B. Now the midfielder meets ‘his’ Barcelona again in a very different situation. In those years Gerard was in charge of the free kicks in the subsidiary, the following weekend, after meeting Rivaldo, Gumbau scored against Alcoyano. Yes, missing. He nailed it to the square. “Barça put together a report saying that they had taught me to shoot free-kicks. It turned out well… but I think I knew something before too& rdquor ; Gumbau joked.
According to Betfair forecasts, for Gumbau to score at any time during the match against Barcelona is paid €16 per euro bet, a not-so-high fee if we take into account that he has not yet made his debut this season as a goalscorer in LaLiga but as a great pin. Elche’s top assistant of the season is him, with four assists.
without collar
In addition, Gumbau is accompanied by Álex Collado in the squad. The winger from Sabadell is on loan to the Franjiverde team, but since the beginning of January he has been injured. Collado had played nine games, scoring one goal and providing one assist before being injured. It is curious how Elche is the Primera team that has the best goal percentage in the first 15 minutes of the game.
Of the 19 goals they have scored this season, five were in the first quarter of an hour, 26%. On the other hand, it is the First Division team that has scored the fewest goals (19), while Barça is the one that conceded the fewest goals (9).. The people from Elche are also the team with the most goals conceded in the League, with 51. Although it does not free them from relegation, a victory would give the locals some happiness in a very dark year.