Two weeks after the dismissal of Domingo Catoira and two weeks after the return to work of Luis García's men, Espanyol has announced the hiring of Fran Garagarza (57 years old) as the new sports director. The Basque born in Mutriku, who until now belonged to Wolverhampton, signs for four seasons and will have the task of working against the clock to build a team that is capable of returning to the First Division this year.
The agreement with Garagarza took place weeks ago, in parallel with the departure of the Catoira club, but it has not been able to be announced until now because he had to disassociate himself from Wolverhampton, where he arrived as technical adviser to Julen Lopetegui last November. The Basque was the main creator of Eibar that rose and remained in the First Division for several seasons, he was between 2007 and 2021 at the Ipurúa club. And he was the architect of the signings of Joan Jordan, Cucurella, Rubén Peña or Pedro León.
With the signing of Garagarza, Espanyol seeks to stabilize the hitherto troubled waters of its sports management. Since Chen Yansheng became president of the entity, in January 2016 Ángel Gómez, Lardín, Perarnau, Rufete, Domingo Catoira and now Garagarza have already passed through the position. The four-year contract seeks to provide the club with stability in that area. But it remains to be seen what is the profile of the players he wants to bet on and the harmony with the current coach.
For the time being, his duties include ensuring the continuity of Sergi Darder, who is currently waiting for the club to explain what the new sports project will be. Also the renewal of Nico Melamed and of course the signings, such as those that could come from Real Madrid B once the white subsidiary has not been promoted to the First Division.
