Espanyol spurred by ghost of '88

RCD Espanyol are on a mission. They were one of only two teams to progress through the UEFA Cup group stage with a perfect record and confidence is high that the winning run will continue at AS Livorno Calcio this evening.

Shock defeat
It certainly needs to be if they are to finally put to rest the ghost of 1988, when the Catalan club came so close to claiming their first piece of European silverware. After winning the first leg of the UEFA Cup final 3-0 against Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Javier Clemente's side looked to have a firm grip on the trophy. It tightened further after a goalless first half in the second leg in Leverkusen, but disaster struck after the interval. Three unanswered Leverkusen strikes sent the final into extra time, before Los Periquitos lost on penalties.

'Debt'
Espanyol's hopes of briefly emerging from the shadow of city rivals FC Barcelona were extinguished. This season, though, there is once more reason to believe. "I'm convinced football gives you what you deserve in the end," Espanyol striker Luis García told uefa.com. "The UEFA Cup has been in debt to Espanyol since that final. We're very excited, so why not dream of going far in the competition?"

Spanish flavour
That dream was given a hard dose of reality on Monday when the influential Iván de la Peña and Raúl Tamudo pulled out of the squad with injuries. That pair, along with Luis García, have been the driving force behind Espanyol's run to the knockout rounds and are a major reason why Ernesto Valverde's side have climbed to the relative safety of mid-table after a slow start to the season.

Hat-trick
Luis García has played his part with six league goals and the former Real Madrid CF youth player has found his feet in Europe too. He scored a hat-trick against SV Zulte Waregem during the group stage, and at 26, still harbours hopes of playing for Spain. For the moment though he is focused on one thing in particular. "After several years fighting to avoid relegation, our first objective is safety. We’re looking forward to playing in the UEFA Cup, but at the moment our priority is the league. The team though is physically fit and enthusiastic. We're a young squad well suited to playing such tough competitions."

Motivation
He dismissed suggestions that Espanyol would benefit from playing the first leg in Livorno - a match being played behind closed doors because of the new security measures in Italy - and pointed out that the hard work was only just beginning. "It's difficult to say who are favourites. What I do know is that the teams that have come in from the [UEFA] Champions League are at an advantage because they have better players than the rest." They might not, however, have the same motivation. With the memory of 1988 in the minds of Espanyol supporters, nearly 20 years on Los Periquitos still have something to prove.