Among the multitude of operations carried out by the sports management of Espanyol last summer, led by Domingo Catoira and with the support of Diego Martínezthere is one that stood out above all. Adrian Embarba He wanted a change of scene (“he considered that his sporting stage had ended at Espanyol and we benefited,” said the sports director) and negotiated with Almería to make a barter between the winger and captain parakeet and Jose Carlos Lazowho was still beardless in the First Division and had played intermittently for Joan Francesc Ferrer Rubi’s team in the Second Division.
The team always talked about different operations. Espanyol received a figure close to 500,000 euros and Lazo, who signed until 2027, while Embarba, which had cost ten million in January 2020 and had been key in the promotion of 2022, thus breaking its link with the parakeet club after two and a half years of ups and downs. Catoira thus introduced Lazo: “It occupies one of the shortcomings of the squad, which is the band position. It has to give us overflow and imbalance, which is what makes the difference. I’m sure it will be a great success.”
LaLiga Santander 2022/2023
| Classification | pts | PG | PE | PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18Real Valladolid | 39 | eleven | 6 | twenty |
| 19Spanish | 36 | 8 | 12 | 17 |
| twentyElche | 24 | 5 | 9 | 23 |
Complete classification
| next matches | |
|---|---|
| Spanish – Almeria | Sun-04/06 21:00 |
Calendar
*Data updated as of June 1, 2023
| Statistics | EMBARBA | RIBBON |
|---|---|---|
| games played | 29 | 10 |
| starting matches | 17 | 0 |
| minutes played | 1383 | 150 |
| goals | 2 | 1 |
| assists | 3 | 1 |
| Crosses to the area | 119 | 4 |
Nine months later, Lazo has not been able to demonstrate these qualities because he has hardly had any opportunities, while Embarba has improved compared to his numbers from the previous year and has become a useful resource for Rubi. The numbers speak for themselves. Lazo has played 5% of the minutes, has never started, has accumulated 150 minutes (only 30 in the second round) and has gone unnoticed by Luis García, who has not lined up. The man from Cádiz closed with an assist for Brian Oliván in Espanyol-Real Sociedad (2-3) and a goal in Mallorca (1-1).
By your side, Adrián Embarba has scored two goals and provided an assist, while he has participated in 29 games (1,383 minutes) and has been one of the most used players in Rubi’s attack, who seeks to save himself on this last day at the RCDE Stadium. This operation has not given the expected performance for Espanyol. An example of the ill-advised summer market: only Brian Oliván and Joselu Mato, signed by Francisco Rufete, were starters in the previous Mestalla final. The rest of the players were already there last year and arrived urgently in January.