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African Pericos: The history of African RCD Espanyol players
Celebrating the RCDE Academy Johannesburg with the club's greatest African players
This year saw the opening of the RCD Espanyol de Barcelona Academy Johannesburg, the first LaLiga club academy of its kind in South Africa.
The academy aims to train and develop players and coaches with the club’s values, as well as discovering new talent in the country’s biggest city.
Although there has not yet been a South African player to don the blanquiazul shirt, there have been many exciting pericos players from across the African continent.
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Thomas N'Kono
N’Kono was one of the finest African goalkeepers of his generation and joined Espanyol in 1982, the same year he was named African Player of the Year. The Cameroonian played in the 1988 UEFA Cup Final as the only non-Spaniard to start in both legs.
He went on to make 240 appearances across eight years, more than any goalkeeper in the club’s history, and would help his country to the Africa Cup of Nations title during his time at the club.
N’Kono returned to Barcelona following his retirement, and is now part of Diego Martínez’s backroom staff as a coaching assistant.
Carlos Kameni
Following in N’Kono’s footsteps 14 years on, Cameroonian goalkeeper Kameni would be a worthy heir to his compatriot. He joined in 2004 and would make 228 appearances during a successful era for the club.
Kameni played in the victorious 2006 Copa del Rey final, and was on the bench for the UEFA Cup Final defeat the following year. The goalkeeper also went on to break one of N’Kono’s long-standing records, playing a record 498 minutes without conceding a goal.
Cyril Domoraud
Domoraud played all across Europe throughout his 16-year career, including a two-year loan at Espanyol. The Ivorian defender played 69 times for the club from 2002 to 2004, earning 51 international caps along the way.
Pape Diop
Diop joined Espanyol from Levante UD in 2015 having played throughout the Spanish football pyramid. In three seasons he played 58 times in the blanquiazul shirt, playing his role as a hard-working defensive midfield player.
Now 36, Diop has earned 21 caps for Senegal, playing in two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments around the time he was at the club. He is still playing football in Spain, now at second-tier side UD Ibiza.
Eric Bailly
An established Ivorian international on loan at Olympique Marseille from Manchester United, it was at the RCDE Stadium where Bailly’s career began. He joined the academy aged 17, making his first team debut in a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad.
Since then, Bailly has had international success by winning the Africa Cup of Nations with Côte D’Ivoire, as well as winning the Europa League and a century of appearances for Manchester United, with many years ahead of him at the top level of the game.