The ‘rookie wall’ is a concept coined in American sports, which expresses the difficult adaptation of first-year rookies in their jump to major league professionalism. An imaginary wall against which young athletes collide metaphorically, having overcome the initial effervescence after their university journey. The accumulation of matches, the tension and the demandcoupled with a lack of experience, take a toll on the competitive performance of fledgling players.
Perhaps something similar is happening to Espanyol at this stage of the season. After a hesitant start and a meteoric autumn, Vicente Moreno’s men have run into a psychological barrier in 2022, once the return of the Second Division has been digested. It is not that the club or the footballers are rookies in the First Division, just five years out of almost 122 have failed in their commitment to the elite. However, it is true that the team is seen blocked, both mentally and physicallyand the situation, given the heights of the championship, is beginning to be worrying.
A derby to believe
The defeatist atmosphere has settled in the RCDE Stadium, although in the distance there is a glimpse of a match that, if won, would resurrect parakeet pride. Espanyol adds four consecutive league slips, with three defeats, Elche, Betis and Athletic, and a draw against Cádiz. Apart from the elimination in the Cup against Mallorca.
A sour time of the year that resembles the istart of the course, where Moreno’s team only added three points in five days. Of course, if they stumbled again against Barcelona, the Blue and Whites would overcome those lousy records and go into a tailspin, with a point or two out of a possible fifteen. So, everything that is not to break the citizen nemesis next Sunday will be considered a new step backwards in Espanyol’s aspirations, halfway between salvation and continental competitions.
In the imaginary of the pericada still they sting the last two clashes against Barcelona. On July 8, 2020, Espanyol consummated the fifth relegation in its history at the Camp Nou. A painful lace to a season to be forgotten. More recently, in November 2021, the Blue and Whites were the guests at Xavi Hernández’s debut on the culé bench, and they were about to make the Egarense’s debut bitter. Raúl de Tomás and Dimata forgave the unforgivable.