Marash Kumbulla’s Spanish Renaissance: From Injury Setbacks to Espanyol’s Defensive Anchor | OneFootball

Marash Kumbulla was 18 years old when he made his professional debut for boyhood club Hellas Verona. He was 19 when he represented the Albania senior team for the first time, and 20 when he joined Roma for a fee of €30 million. And at 24, Kumbulla decided to leave Italy for the first time in his career and move to Spain, joining RCD Espanyol on a season-long loan.

“I had a lot of other teams interested in signing me, but after speaking with the club’s coach and director, I immediately wanted to go to Espanyol,” said Kumbulla in an exclusive RG interview.

“They didn’t promise that I was going to play every game, but they made me feel very confident by the way they talked to me. At the beginning, I was a little bit afraid because this was my first time outside of Italy. However, after one week, it seemed like I had already been there for months.”

A New Chapter in Spain

When Kumbulla first joined Espanyol, he found himself at a crossroads in his career. He had fallen down the pecking order at Roma and needed a new team to get his career back on track, a place where he could restore his confidence and showcase the same skills that saw him emerge as one of the top prospects in Italy and be named amongst UEFA’s 50 players to watch for 2021.

He’s managed to do just that in Catalunya, solidifying himself as one of the first names on the team sheet at Espanyol.

Differences Between Serie A & LaLiga

Rather than undergo a gradual, bedding-in period, Kumbulla was thrown into the deep end and immediately given a chance to prove himself in defense. He made his debut in Spanish football in his first available match, playing the entirety of their 1-0 defeat vs. Real Sociedad, before lasting 65 minutes in their 0-0 draw at Atlético Madrid and following that up with another 90-minute performance in a 2-1 comeback win vs. Rayo Vallecano.

It was good enough to earn the attention of national team manager Sylvinho, who called him up for their UEFA Nations League matches in September. An unused substitute in each of Albania’s three Euros matches in the previous summer, Kumbulla played every single minute of their two fixtures as the Kuqezinjtë edged Ukraine 2-1 before losing 1-0 to Georgia, whilst he also participated in the whole of their 2-0 defeat to Czechia in October—his 22nd cap for Albania.

Rebuilding Confidence & National Team Comeback

Kumbulla returned from the September international break and didn’t miss a beat, excelling in central defense as Espanyol edged Alavés 3-2 thanks to a Javi Puado hat-trick.

However, they found themselves overwhelmed in the following match against the reigning Spanish and European champions, with Real Madrid winning 4-1 via goals from Dani Carvajal, Rodrygo, Vinícius Júnior, and Kylian Mbappé.

Marash Kumbulla’s Toughest Opponents & Career Milestones

Bit by bit, Kumbulla has managed to transition to life in LaLiga and become a vital figure in defense, adding layers to his game and evolving into a more mature, patient center back. After receiving a yellow card in each of his first four matches, Kumbulla has been cautioned just three times since then: a 3-1 win vs. Celta de Vigo on November 30, a 0-0 draw to Osasuna on December 14, and a 2-0 defeat to Unión Deportiva Barbastro on December 3 in the Copa del Rey.

Evolving as a Player Under Manolo González

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and that’s certainly been the case with Kumbulla. After spending a year and a half gradually working his way back from an ACL injury, the 24-year-old defender is back to full fitness and flourishing at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat.

He’s making an impact on both ends of the pitch, opening the scoring in their 2-1 victory against Mallorca on October 5 and staking a claim as one of the most indispensable players for the Periquitos. Having made just 7 appearances in the entire 2023/24 campaign, Kumbulla has already played 17 matches for Espanyol this season. Out of those 17 appearances, 16 have been as a starter, while 13 of them have seen him play the full 90.

Partnering Uruguayan veteran Leandro Cabrera in central defense, Kumbulla has had to put out fires and remain poised in an Espanyol side that typically sits deep and soaks up pressure and that sits bottom of LaLiga for average possession (40.2%).

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Whilst they don’t usually have possession, when they do, they can count on Kumbulla to progress the ball from the first phase of the build-up to the second phase. Kumbulla leads Espanyol’s squad for 33.4 accurate passes per 90, completing 86% of them, while his 2.4 accurate long balls per 90 put him third in their roster.

Life Off the Pitch

The Albanian international has excelled not just on the ball but off it. He makes his presence known by getting tight to the attacker and using his physical prowess to his advantage in order to prevent the rival attacker from advancing into dangerous areas. Similarly to his footballing idols Thiago Silva and Giorgio Chiellini, he’s a seasoned defender whose imposing stature and broad shoulders enable him to gain the upper hand over his opponents and whose work ethic, versatility, and aggression have dovetailed incredibly well into his new team’s system.

Above all, he’s someone who never backs down from a fight and who’s more than capable of riding out the storm and dealing with wave after wave of attacking onslaughts, leading his team in clearances per game (5.0). It’s why Espanyol manager Manolo González hasn’t hesitated in giving him a starting spot in central defense.

Kumbulla is relishing his new lease on life in Spain. He enjoys walking through the parks, playing tennis with his spouse, and sampling Barcelona’s culinary scene, and he’s becoming accustomed to Espanyol fans stopping him on the street to ask for an autograph or a selfie, or just to pass along words of encouragement. And whilst he misses certain things about Italy—specifically, the mouth-watering pizzas and carbonara pasta—he isn’t homesick at all. With his wife and one-year-old daughter by his side, Kumbulla is happier than ever.

Last season, Kumbulla found himself surplus to requirements at Sassuolo and helpless to stop them from suffering relegation. Today, though, he has established himself as a vital cog in Espanyol’s backline, and he may just be the difference between them staying afloat in La Liga and dropping down to the second tier.