The countdown is on and the city of Richmond is buzzing while awaiting the showdown between the Richmond Kickers and RCD Espanyol. The friendly between the two sides will take place on July 25 at 7 p.m. from City Stadium.
With the Kickers playing in the USL, a league below the MLS, and Espanyol playing in La Liga, the top soccer league in Spain, it might seem unlikely that there are any similarities between the two sides. However, after a deeper dive into the roster and the history of the two clubs, there were several striking similarities which will be detailed over the next couple weeks.
ESPANYOL OPEN TRAINING SESSION
The mindset, organization and standing of any soccer team begins with one man: the head coach. Both the Kickers and Espanyol are beginning a new era with new head coaches.
David Bulow took over the reins for Richmond when former head coach Leigh Cowlishaw stepped down on June 26 to concentrate on his role as director of soccer for the Kickers. This is Bulow’s first head coaching experience and so far he is 1-1-0 on the young campaign. Bulow picked up his first career win against Penn FC and looks to keep the momentum rolling against New York Red II on July 12.
Bulow and Rubi both enjoyed successful careers as players before they ever took the helm at their respective clubs. Bulow began playing with the Cape Cod Crusaders in 2001 and finished his career with the Richmond Kickers in 2013. During his time with the Kickers, Bulow collected 45 goals and 13 assists as a forward, good for fifth place on the all-time career points list with the Kickers.
Full Strength Roster for Espanyol
Rubi began playing with his hometown team, Vilassar de Mar in 1989 and concluding his playing days with Terrassa in 1998. Rubi’s best season came in 1995-1996 when he competed for Hospitalet and tallied nine league goals as a winger.
As coaches, both Bulow and Rubi have talked about their desire to to strike a balance between being solid defensively while still wanting to get on the attack offensively.
“I think there’s a certain amount of defensive stability that needs to be brought out away from home,” Bulow told Charlie Broaddus of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “Nobody wants to watch a defensive game, so attacking is certainly going to be a part of it.”
“We want to have a brave team, one who can combine both attack and defense, to be cohesive in play and to take calculated risks,” Rubi told reporters at an introductory press conference. “This team has become renowned the past two seasons for being defensively solid – I want to continue that of course, but we must score more goals.”
Not only do Bulow and Rubi hold the same coaching style in terms of tactics, but they both have talked about a desire to be a player’s coach and really stitch a strong connection with their players.
“It is a player’s game,” Bulow told Sean Robertson of WTVR CBS 6. “Really trying to build connections with the players. I think man management is really important at the professional level. It’s less about teaching and more about getting everybody on the same page.”
“The coach is very clear that communication with the players is vital,” said M. Carmen Torres and C. Navarro of Marca.com. “Therefore, [Rubi] will hold individualized conversations with each and every one of the players to make themselves known.”
It’s clear that there’s several intriguing similarities between Bulow and Rubi.. Now, it remains to seen is how the two will fare against one another on July 25. Tickets are still available on www.richmondkickers.com.
