More than 40 players were snatched by Barcelona from their city rival,
Espanyol, for their first team, but only a few eventually thrived.
Barcelona and RC Espanyol have been rivals for years, but it does not stop
both sides from swapping players. Blaugrana did release more of their stars to
their fellow Catalan side, but not exactly the opposite. Former Danish
international Martin Braithwaite was the last one to play regularly for
Espanyol in the 2022/23 season.
This season, however, Hans Flick’s side does the opposite by signing
Espanyol’s brightest talent last season, Joan Garcia. He was La Liga’s best
shot stopper last season despite only helping his team finish at the lower
table. In fact, Garcia is seemingly prepared to take up the number one spot
from the club’s captain, Marc Ter Stegen. The German goalie has fallen out of
favour under Hans Flick since his attitude ahead of the second leg of the UCL
semifinal against Inter Milan last season.
Should Garcia be able to prove his worth, he is tipped to be the next
Barcelona star between the sticks. He could be following the same footpath of
these figures who rose to become Blaugrana’s key men during their stints in
Camp Nou. Two of them were goalkeepers too.
Ricardo Zamora (1919-1922)
He was the top goalkeeper of his time and a legend in Spanish football.
Zamora’s name is even adapted for the best goalkeeper award in La Liga. He was
well known during his spell in Barcelona and Real Madrid.
However, very few were not aware that he began his career with RCD Espanyol
before moving to their local rival. Zamora began his career in 1916 before
switching sides to Camp Nou in 1919, where he stayed for only three years.
During his stint in Barcelona, he contributed to their Copa del Rey glory in
1920 and 1922 plus three Catalan championship titles. One of his memorable
performances was in the 1920 Spanish Cup final when he was able to keep a clean
sheet in a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao with their legendary striker,
Rafael Moreno, widely known as Pichichi.
Zamora surprisingly was keen on returning to Espanyol after his higher salary demand was not approved by the Barcelona board. Such a dispute with the
club management led him to move back to his boyhood side and even reunite with
his former boss in Blaugrana, Jack Greenwell, in 1928. Both worked together to
deliver Espanyol’s first Copa del Rey title in the following year.
|
Matches (clean sheet) |
Silverware |
Notable games |
|
38
(??) |
Copa del Rey 1920, 1922 |
vs Bilbao 2-0 (1920 Copa del Rey final) vs Real Union 5-1 (1922 Copa del Rey final.) |
Alejandro Morera (1933-1935)
He was the first Costa Rican in La
Liga history. Morera joined Barcelona in 1933 although he initially did a trial
with Espanyol and made three appearances with Blaugrana’s local rival. Thanks
to his relation with the Catalan giant’s directors, Sr. Esteban Sala and Sr.
Gispert who facilitated his move there.
Morera turned out to be the prolific
goalscorer as expected in Camp Nou. He managed to notch up 63 goals in 83
matches. He was also the club’s top scorer in his first season with 41 goals.
Unfortunately, during his time there, the former Alajuelense’s forward failed
to win any major titles there. The only trophy he lifted with Blaugrana was the
Catalan championship 1934.
Morera was eventually sold to Hercules
Alicante despite the fans’ opposition. The Alajuela-born striker was forced to
return to his home soil with a brief spell in France’s Le Havre beforehand due
to his financial hardship.
|
Matches (goal ; assists) |
Silverware |
Notable games |
|
83
(63 ; ?) |
- |
vs
Espanyol 5-0 (H) – La Liga 1933/34 (scoring 2 goals) vs
Athletic Bilbao 2-1 (H) – La Liga 1933/34 (1 goal) |
Pepito Ramos (1976-1982)
He was the former Barcelona’s right
back in the late 1970s to early 1980s, when he had a chance to play alongside legendary
Johan Cruyff and under the tutelage of the top managers such as Rinus Michels
and Udo Lattek.
Pepito played regularly for the
Catalan giant and lifted four major trophies, two Copa del Rey and two UEFA Winners
Cup. He made 158 appearances in total and registered only one assist throughout
his stint there.
Prior to his move to the cross town
contender, the full back with only four international caps was already an
important player for Espanyol. He signed for them in 1971 and stayed for five
years. Overall, he played 129 games for Pericos but without a single silverware
in hand.
|
Matches (goals ; assists) |
Silverware |
Notable games |
|
158
(0; 1) |
Copa del Rey 1978, 1981 ; UEFA
Winners Cup 1979, 1982 |
vs
Tottenham 1-1 (A) –Winners Cup semifinal in 1982 vs
Real Madrid 3-1 (H) – La Liga 1976/77 vs
Real Madrid 2-1 (H) – La Liga 1980/81 |
Javier Urruticoechea (1981-1988)
He was the important figure in the Catalan giant in
1980s, especially at the beginning and the mid of the decade. Urruti was
instrumental when Barcelona won their first La Liga in almost a decade back in
1985, reached European Cup final in 1986, plus clinched Winners’ Cup 1982 and
Copa del Rey 1983. He had a luxury working under top managers from Udo Lattek,
Cesar Luiz Menotti, Terry Venables and Luis Aragones.
Urruti made 183 appearances with 73 clean sheets
during his stint with Barcelona. He also helped them snatch Copa de la liga
1983 and 1986, Spanish Super Cup 1983, and Copa del Rey 1988. The shot stopper
with five international cap only was even awarded Best La Liga goalkeeper in
1984 too. Sadly, he was sidelined more often following the arrival of Andoni
Zubizarretta in summer 1986.
The goalie who began his career with Real Sociedad
found his opportunity to play regularly in the first team with Espanyol,
especially after losing the number one spot to Luis Arconada in San Sebastian
side. He spent four years with Pericos and managed to win Don Balon award in
1981 as the best Spanish player of the season. Sadly, they went trophyless and
their best finish in the league was only on eighth place in 1979. Overall,
Urruti got a nod in 121 games with 35 clean sheets.
|
Matches (clean sheets) |
Silverware |
Notable games |
|
183
(73) |
La Liga 1985, Copa del Rey 1983,
1988 ; UEFA Winners Cup 1982, Supercoppa Espana 1983, Spanish league cup
1983, 1986 |
vs
Tottenham 1-0 (H) –Winners Cup semifinal 1982 vs
Standard Liege 2-1 (H) – Winners Cup
final 1982 vs
Juventus 1-0 (H) – UCL quarterfinal 1986 vs
IFK Goteborg 3-0 (H) – UCL semifinal 1986 vs
Real Madrid 3-0 (A) – La Liga 1985 vs
Real Valladolid 2-1 (A) –La Liga 1985 |
Urbano Ortega (1982-1991)
His name might not have been on the top of the fans
head but his contribution and versatility did a great help for the Catalan
giants. The defensive midfielder can be deployed in any position in the
midfield when necessary. During his time in Camp Nou, Ortega played in 178
games, scoring 13 goals and providing one assist.
The former midfielder joined Barcelona from Espanyol
in 1982 and often came off the bench to make contribution for the team. Ortega
stayed with Blaugrana till 1991 and lifted a number of trophies such as La Liga
1991, three Copa del Rey, Spanish Super Cup 1983, Copa de la Liga 1986 and UEFA
Winners Cup 1989.
His spell with Espanyol was divided into two, before
moving to Camp Nou and returning from there. In his first stint, Ortega
appeared in 54 games and netted five times, whereas in the second spell, he played
in 65 games, including two in Segunda Division in 1992/93. Ortega failed to win
a single title with them.
|
Matches (goal ; assists) |
Silverware |
Notable games |
|
178
(13;1) |
Copa del Rey 1983, 1988, 1990, La
Liga 1991, Copa de la liga 1986, Spanish Super Cup 1983, Winners Cup 1989 |
vs
Dynamo Kiev 3-2 (A) – Winners Cup 1991 quarterfinal (1 goal) vs
Sevilla 1-0 (H) – La Liga 1986/87 (1 goal) vs
Real Madrid 2-1 (H) – La Liga 1986/87 vs
Real Madrid 3-1 (H) – La Liga 1989/90 (1 goal) |
Miguel Soler (1988-1995)
He was one of the underrated figures in the Catalan
giant. During his stint from 1988 to 1995, he totalled 109 games, netting twice
and providing two assists as well. Although he was loaned out twice too while
still being under Barcelona contract with Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, Soler
remained available to contribute well, especially in the finals. It was proven
from his two only assists with Barcelona shirt were made in two finals, Winners
Cup 1989 and Copa del Rey 1990. Apart from those two titles, he was also part
of Johan Cryuff’s squad when the team clinched La Liga 1990 and 1991. Sadly, he
missed the European Cup glory as he was on a loan spell in Vicente Calderon in
that season.
The former left back who ended his career in
Mallorca proved to be an underrated final specialist too. In the Spanish Super
Cup 1998 versus Barcelona, he was the provider for the only goal of the game as
they humiliated Rivaldo and Co 1-0 in the second leg in Camp Nou.
|
Matches (goal ; assists) |
Silverware |
Notable games |
|
109
(2;2) |
Copa del Rey 1990, La Liga 1990, 1991,
Winners Cup 1989 |
vs
Sampdoria 2-0 (A) – Winners Cup 1989 final (1 assist) vs
Real Madrid 2-0 (H) – Copa del Rey 1990 final (1 assist) |
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