The eternal trauma of the parakeet team. From the mark to Ruud Gullit to the pyrrhic goal of 'Pichi' Alonso, to the damned penalties.
Summarizing here what happened to Espanyol in the 1987-88 UEFA Cup would be equivalent to trying to cure the trauma of that final in a single couch session. It was, not in vain, a historical season, which began before a Borussia Mönchengladbach that many within the club already saw as the beginning and the end of the road.
Nothing is further from reality. Espanyol left Germany with a victory (0-1, goal by Pineda) and applause. And he walked in the round: 4-1 (Valverde, Iñaki, Golobart, Pineda). But the sensation repeated itself: it played the Milan, the great Milan of Sacchi in the making: Baresi, Maldini, Ancelotti, Donadoni, Van Basten, Gullit ... Whom Gallart dried with a marking the man in exile of Lecce, with a 0-2 (Zubillaga and 'Pichi' Alonso), which would be reaffirmed in Sarrià: 0-0. The feat was celebrated in La Rambla.
And from Milan to Inter, with a 1-1 at Giuseppe Meazza (Lauridsen) and a 1-0 (Orejuela) at home, N'Kono through. The Cameroonian was injured for the return of the next tie, when he had to manage Espanyol 2-0 first-leg against Vitkovice (Lauridsen and Pineda) at Bazely Stadium: 'Macario' Meléndez did the rest for the 0-0 .
And in the semifinals and final euphoria crossed. In semis, he came back Espanyol 'in extremis', in 119', 2-0 in the first leg against Brujas with a historic 3-0 'Pichi'. And against Bayer Leverkusen, wasted in the return match, and in the penalty shootout, the whole parrot the 3-0 that came from Sarrià, with goals from Losada (two) and Soler. Dramatic.