{"id":265,"date":"2025-01-05T17:30:32","date_gmt":"2025-01-05T18:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/plasmascreenart.com\/?p=265"},"modified":"2025-01-21T16:09:12","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T16:09:12","slug":"espanyols-marash-kumbulla-a-lot-of-teams-were-interested-in-me-but-gonzalez-and-garagarza-convinced-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plasmascreenart.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/05\/espanyols-marash-kumbulla-a-lot-of-teams-were-interested-in-me-but-gonzalez-and-garagarza-convinced-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Espanyol\u2019s Marash Kumbulla \u2013 \u2018A lot of teams were interested in me, but Gonzalez and Garagarza convinced me\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Guest Piece by Zach Lowy<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

On June 23, 2024, Espanyol edged Real Oviedo 2-0 in the promotion playoffs. With Javi Puado scoring two goals on the cusp of halftime, Los Pericos were able to overcome a 1-0 deficit from the first leg and secure an immediate return to the top-flight. Whilst thousands of supporters poured into the streets to bask in the spectacle, sporting director Fran Garagarza had little time to celebrate their promotion to La Liga. They had dropped down to the Segunda a year earlier with practically the same backline \u2013 if Espanyol were going to avoid another relegation, they needed to bring in a superior defender.<\/span><\/p>\n

Enter: Marash Kumbulla.<\/span><\/p>\n

Born in Peschiera del Garda, Italy to Albanian parents, Kumbulla<\/a> made his way through the youth ranks at Hellas Verona\u2019s academy before eventually breaking into the first team under current Southampton manager Ivan Juric in the 2019\/20 season. He emerged as a key figure on the left side of defense, helping them finish ninth in their return to Serie A, and earning the interest of various top clubs. However, it was Roma who won the race for him and signed him on a two-year loan with a \u20ac30m obligation to buy, with Mert Cetin, Matteo Cancellieri, and Aboudramane Diaby heading the other way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kumbulla was able to hone his skills under Paulo Fonseca and Jose Mourinho and even won the maiden edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League, but his playing time took a turn for the worse in the 2022\/23 season. It reached a nadir on April 29, 2023, with Kumbulla suffering an ACL injury against Milan. He would have to wait another 10 months before returning to the football pitch, only this time, with Sassuolo. Kumbulla registered just seven appearances during his loan spell, but he was unable to keep them afloat in the top-flight. In need of a fresh new start, Kumbulla elected to leave Italy for the first time in his life and head to Spain, joining Espanyol on loan for the 2024\/25 season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Lo so\u00f1\u00e9 as\u00ed: primer gol con estos colores ante nuestro p\u00fablico. Una emoci\u00f3n que llevar\u00e9 conmigo para siempre. \"\ud83e\udd29\"
Tres puntos m\u00e1s, \u00a1vamos Pericos! \"\ud83d\udcaa\"\"\u26aa\"\"\ud83d\udd35\" pic.twitter.com\/W4RHhzSySg<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Marash Kumbulla (@KumbullaMarash) October 5, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI had a lot of other teams interested in signing me, but after speaking with the club\u2019s coach and director, I immediately wanted to go to Espanyol<\/a>,\u201d stated Kumbulla in an <\/span>RG interview<\/span><\/a>. \u201cThey didn\u2019t promise that I would play every game, but they made me feel very confident by the way they talked to me. At the beginning, I was a little afraid because this was my first time outside of Italy. However, after one week, it seemed like I had already been there for months.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of gradually being phased into the team, Espanyol manager Manolo Gonzalez elected to throw him into the deep end and start him in his first available match \u2013 a 1-0 defeat vs. Real Sociedad. It hasn\u2019t taken long for him to evolve into an indispensable figures in Espanyol\u2019s defence: he\u2019s played 17 matches in all competitions, 16 as a starter, whilst 13 of them have seen him play the full 90.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kumbulla has evolved into a mature, skillful defender in Spain\u2019s top-flight, becoming far less rash and more measured on and off the ball \u2013 having received a booking in each of his first four matches, Kumbulla has been cautioned just three times since then \u2013 a 3-1 win vs. Celta de Vigo, a 0-0 draw with Osasuna, and a 2-0 defeat to Barbastro in the Copa del Rey. He\u2019s formed a promising duo in central defence alongside Uruguayan veteran Leandro Cabrera, towering over defenders with his 6\u20194 stature and squeezing the opponent with his aggressive marking and fearless defending.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"\u2b50\" \u00a1@KumbullaMarash<\/a> en el 1\u20e31\u20e3 \ud835\uddf6\ud835\uddf1\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddee\ud835\uddf9 de la jornada de @laliga<\/a>!
\"\ud83d\udcca\" @WhoScored<\/a> #RCDE<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/a1ID2GdhIz<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 RCD Espanyol de Barcelona (@RCDEspanyol) October 7, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Just like his footballing idols Thiago Silva and Giorgio Chiellini, Kumbulla is someone who never shies away from a fight and is capable of holding his own in physical duels. He\u2019s remained poised and confident in high-pressure situations, leading Espanyol in clearances per game (5.0) and helping to distribute the ball out of the first phase of build-up and into advanced areas.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn Espanyol, I\u2019ve found an atmosphere where I only have to think about what\u2019s happening on the pitch and can concentrate on every single detail, \u201c said Kumbulla. \u201cI train every day to prepare myself for each game. After a year and a half of recovering from injury, I was a little bit in doubt, but now, I feel very good both physically and mentally. I finally feel like myself again as a footballer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At 24 years of age, Kumbulla has gone from surplus to requirements at Roma to essential at Espanyol. He\u2019s delivering the same performances that saw him named as one of <\/span>UEFA\u2019s<\/span><\/a> 50 men\u2019s players to watch for 2021, excelling in defense and impressing against some of the finest attackers in LaLiga. Espanyol currently find themselves in the relegation zone with a mere 15 points from 18 matches, but in Kumbulla, they have a seasoned defender who might very well be the key to them avoiding relegation and staying up in Spain\u2019s top-flight.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The post Espanyol\u2019s Marash Kumbulla \u2013 \u2018A lot of teams were interested in me, but Gonzalez and Garagarza convinced me\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Football Espa\u00f1a<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guest Piece by Zach Lowy On June 23, 2024, Espanyol edged Real Oviedo 2-0 in the promotion playoffs. With Javi Puado scoring two goals on the cusp of halftime, Los Pericos were able to overcome a 1-0 deficit from the first leg and secure an immediate return to the top-flight. Whilst thousands of supporters poured […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/plasmascreenart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/plasmascreenart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/plasmascreenart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plasmascreenart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plasmascreenart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/plasmascreenart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":266,"href":"https:\/\/plasmascreenart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265\/revisions\/266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plasmascreenart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/plasmascreenart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plasmascreenart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plasmascreenart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}