They called it the Miracle of Eibar. The tale of this tiny Basque club that not only defied history, odds and expectations to reach Spain’s top division but stayed there for seven seasons. Now, Fran Garagarza is attempting something just as ambitious.

Garagarza was Eibar's sporting director when their transfer dealings were the envy of Europe, spotting Marc Cucurella's talent before anyone believed. But if Eibar was a nimble sailboat carving its path through the ocean, Espanyol, where he has been for the past two seasons, was a tanker in need of turning around.

"They are very different clubs," he tells Sky Sports. "Neither better nor worse, just different. The magnitude of Espanyol is huge."

A founder member of LaLiga, no team has competed in its top division more times without winning the title. But there have been Copa del Rey triumphs, most recently in 2006, and two European finals. The stadium houses 40,000 fans. This is a big club.

Garagarza arrived in 2023 following a brief period in the Premier League with Wolves. "Learning to live with the brutal demands for improvement in a league that is the best in the world." He recalls the fans at Molineux. "They sang even...