From Bus Driver to La Liga

Manolo Gonzalez has been written off his whole career but the coach has come from being a bus driver to coaching a side fighting for a European place in La Liga.

It was the 96th minute at the RCDE Stadium, the last roll of the dice as a free kick was swung into the Valencia box with even Espanyol keeper Marko Dmitrovic in the mix. Edu Exposito cushioned his header across and captain and talisman Javi Puado was the calmest man in the ground as he nonchalently glanced the ball into the net.

While Puado gave it a little fist of celebration the RCDE went wild and one fan went wilder than most running exuberantly and wildly and not for the first time he has been completely lost in the emotion, that fan is also the Espanyol coach Manolo Gonzalez.

Coaches now seem to take one of a couple of well trodden paths, they’re either ex players who turn their hands to coaching once their ilustrious careers have ended or their progidies from a young age and burst onto the scene like a Nagelsmann or Valencia coach Carlos Corberan but Manolo has taken his own path to the hot seat.

Like most of us, Manolo wanted to be a footballer but at 21 a serious knee injury ended his hopes of becoming a professional. Undeterred he began coaching first at Sant Gabriel a team who play in the lowest levels of Catalan football.

His work was mainly with youth teams, struggling to make ends meet he had to find a job and that job was as a bus driver. He moved on to Badalona, Catalunya’s third largest city a coastal resort on the edge of Barcelona. His bus driver career continued but here he helped to mentor and develop two future LaLiga strikers in Gerard Moreno and Mariano Diaz.

“Instead of training in the morning, he asked to come in the afternoon. He would get up at six in the morning, do his shift on the bus, and then train.”

After seven years at the club he moved on to his first senior coaching role taking on Montañesa, the club is based in Barcelona and he took them to their highest ever finish second in the fourth tier in his only season before a return to Badalona then in the third tier.

Badalona has a history of instability despite 14 Segunda seasons and he oversaw a solid four years despite turmoil and upheavel off the pitch. During his time there the clubs historic ground was demolished and the club had to play away from their home until a new stadium was built for them.

In 2018 after four seasons he moved out of Catalunya and to Ebro a side from Aragon who were playing in the third tier. That spell away from his home was when he finally gave up being a bus driver, he took a leave of abesence to coach full time.

A year there and an itch to return saw him come back to Badalona where his impact was highlighted by Sporting Director Antonio Rodriguez

“On the pitch, he’s capable of getting 150% out of the player,”

This spell was when he first caught the eye with his Badalona side knocking at the time Eruopa League Getafe out of the Copa del Rey. After two seasons he walked away from the club for a third time and a season in Ibiza in the fourth tier awaited before in 2023 he took the job at Espanyol B.

The first team had been relegated down to Segunda and a club the size of Espanyol promotion is expected, the club started the season with a progressive coach in Luis Garcia, he had been an iconic player making over 200 appearances for Espanyol but in his first major job had a mixed spell.

Espanyol laboured under Garcia winning just ten of his twenty six matches in charge before he was dismissed in early November. Having tried a young and coming coach the club then shifted and went for Segunda experience in Luis Miguel Ramis.

Ramis was known as a conservative coach and he lasted 18 games losing just four but winning seven. Draws were to be his undoing with Espanyol not only on track to miss out on the top two but their play-off spot looked at risk.

The club decided to part ways with Ramis with just 12 games to go of the season. The decision was made to give it to the B team coach for the rest of the season, Manolo Gonzalez.

Manolo didn’t come in and completely turn their fortunes around, while they were undefeated they drew 8 games including five 0-0s against sides such as Amorebieta who have a budget a tenth of Espanyol’s.

They did though secure a play-off spot and with attackers like Martin Braithwaite and Javi Puado they had a forward line the envy of the league.

The semi finals of the play-offs saw them pitted against Sporting Gijon who they narrowly got past winning the first leg in Gijon 0-1 then playing out another goalless draw in a nervy affair at the RCDE.

The final saw them go against Real Oviedo and in truth they were dire, the first leg in Oviedo they lost 1-0 and in the return leg at home they struggled until two goals in a minute by Javi Puado before half time gave them a one goal lead in the tie.

Having returned to La Liga, many presumed that Manolo would return to the B team but he was confirmed to stay in the role, his first day of pre-season couldn’t have gone much worse.

The club posted a photo on their social media of star striker Martin Braithwaite undergoing fitness tests, less than an hour later and the club posted a statement announcing Braithwaite had used a clause in his contract allowing him to leave the club for free.

With no notice the club had lost a player who had got them 22 goals in what had bar promotion been a disappointing season and when they limply lost their first game of the season to fellow promoted side Real Valladolid many felt the writing was on the wall in terms of their hopes to stay up.

Espanyol struggled on their return to La Liga winning just three of their first twelve matches and faced a crucial match away to Catalan rivals Girona in late November. Many felt if they lost Manolo would be gone.

Espanyol were crushed 4-1 and the away end was mutinous but not at Manolo, their ire aimed at the board and the players who the fans felt had let them and Manolo down.

Manolo himself reflected on the defeat his voice deep in emotion

“When you lose in Girona like that, it’s another moment when you feel like maybe it’s the day you can leave,”

A humiliating defeat to Barbastro in the Copa del Rey also didn’t help the coaches cause but Espanyol perserved and slowly results turned around. In February with Manolo again seemingly under pressure they recorded a famous victory at home to Real Madrid. When by April they won three in a row they looked all but safe but a late dip saw them head into the final game of the season needing a victory.

Facing an already relegated Las Palmas the RCDE was nervy, not helped by the fact Leganes their rivals for the last safe spot raced into a three goal lead by the 40th minute.

It took until the 65th minute for Espanyol to finally take the lead and a second goal in the 82nd minute confirmed their safety. While the Espanyol fans were joyous singing Manolo’s name in the stands on the touchline Manolo stood with tears in his eyes, clearly emotional at keeping his club up.

It was never lost on Manolo what Espanyol and the opportunity to coach in La Liga meant to him after a three decade journey to the top.

“In the places I’ve been so far, I’ve practically had to sweep the locker room.”

This season again could have been a hospital pass, self-proclaimed Espanyol fan Joan Garcia left the club to move to bitter rivals Barcelona but in what has turned out to be a transfer that has worked for all parties Espanyol have used the money from the transfer to provide Manolo with a strong squad full of depth.

With exciting winger Tyrhys Dolan constantly running at opponents, the physicality of players such as Pere Milla and Roberto and the ability to bring veteran forward Kike off the bench, the club is a constant threat and have made a strong start to the season picking up 11 points.

It’s Manolo’s best moment so far with his reputation at an all time high and it won’t be lost on this former bus driver that this Friday they head back to Girona the scene of his worst night in football with the journey having come full circle.