Marash Kumbulla (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)
It has been an inauspicious return to life in the Spanish top-flight for RCD Espanyol. Six months after beating Real Oviedo in the promotion play-off final, Espanyol find themselves in LaLiga’s relegation zone – one point away from safety – with 15 points from 18 matches. However, one player who has emerged as a bright spark is Marash Kumbulla.
Born in Peschiera del Garda, Italy, Kumbulla joined Hellas Verona’s academy in 2008 and made his professional debut on August 12, 2018, in a 2-0 away loss to Catania in the Coppa Italia. Having managed just two appearances in 2018-19, it seemed unlikely that Kumbulla would explode onto the scene after their promotion to Serie A. Instead, he emerged as one of the first names on Hellas’ team sheet under new manager Ivan Jurić, registering 25 appearances in Italy’s first division.
“Out of all the coaches who I’ve worked with, Jurić has had the biggest influence on me as a player,” said Kumbulla in an exclusive RG interview. “He took a chance on me when I was just 19. I will be thankful for him every single day because he helped change my life.”
For the first time in his life, he was playing regular senior football – not just at the club level, but the national level as well. Despite growing up in Italy, Kumbulla elected to play for the nation of his parents: Albania.
Having emerged as one of the revelations in Serie A, it wasn’t long before some of Europe’s biggest clubs started to pursue his signing, with Lazio, Inter, and Tottenham Hotspur putting out feelers for him. However, it was Roma who ended up signing him on a two-year loan with a €30 million obligation to buy, whilst Mert Cetin, Matteo Cancellieri, and Aboudramane Diaby headed the other way.
“I wasn’t thinking about the price tag at first, I just wanted to play football. There was a lot of pressure – Roma is a big team in Italy whose fans demand a lot – but I really enjoyed my time in Roma, and the pressure, even in the bad times, helped me mature.”
After spending his first season in Rome under Paulo Fonseca, Kumbulla’s second season would see him work under a different Portuguese manager: José Mourinho. Just like he did in his maiden season in the Italian capital, Kumbulla participated in 28 matches, including 8 in the Europa Conference League, UEFA’s new competition. Roma made it all the way to the final in Tirana, Albania, where Nicolò Zaniolo’s early goal saw them beat Feyenoord 1-0 to secure the club’s first trophy in 14 years as well as their first European silverware in 31 years.
“I grew up a lot under Mourinho in terms of my character and mentality – he tells you the truth to your face. He helps you see football in another way, and that makes it easier to play at a higher level.”
Unfortunately, the 2022-23 season proved to be the most challenging period of his career. Kumbulla managed just 12 appearances for Roma, and on April 29, he tore his ACL in a match against Milan.
“It’s tough. When you play football every day and train every day and feel really good, it’s very difficult to stop that for eight months. Even after these eight months, you will feel good, but your body isn’t doing the things it was before the injury. You need a lot more time to get back to 100%. I was sure I would return to my best, but the only question was when.”
A New Beginning
Desperate for a new opportunity, he was sent out on loan to Sassuolo in January 2024, where he played just seven times. It was abundantly clear that Kumbulla needed to leave Roma in order to get back to his best. Various Italian teams like Parma, Empoli and Cagliari pursued his signing, but instead, he chose to head west for Spain, joining 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. “They didn’t promise that I would play every game, but they made me feel very confident by the way they talked to me. At the beginning, I was a little afraid because this was my first time outside of Italy. However, after one week, it seemed like I had already been there for months.”
Rather than undergo a gradual, bedding-in period, Kumbulla was immediately given a chance to prove himself on 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 90 minutes in a 2-1 comeback win vs. Rayo Vallecano. It was good enough to earn the attention of Albania 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 – a 2-1 win vs. Ukraine and a 1-0 loss to Georgia – before making his 22nd cap in a 2-0 defeat to Czechia in October.
“Compared to where I was two years ago, I’ve grown up a lot mentally.
I enjoy each day more, I go to training with a smile on my face, and I’m happy to be with my teammates and just laugh and enjoy everything even more,” said Kumbulla. “I was always playing for Albania before my ACL injury, but after that, the coach had no other choice but to play other people in my position. I had to get back to top form, so it was very important for me to play these three matches. I’m very happy to be playing for Albania again.”
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, losing 4-1 at Real Madrid.
“Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior are the toughest players I’ve played against in my entire career,” said Kumbulla of his recent match with Real Madrid. “When you play against them in real life, you understand why they are so good – they’re at another level. It was incredible playing at the Santiago Bernabéu, it’s the best stadium I’ve played at.”
Since arriving at Espanyol, Kumbulla has been 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, whilst 13 of them have seen him play the full 90.
“In Espanyol, I’ve found an atmosphere where I only have to think about what’s happening on the pitch and can concentrate on every single detail. I train every day to prepare myself for each game,” said Kumbulla. “After a year and a half of recovering from injury, I was a little bit in doubt, but now, I feel very good both physically and mentally. I finally feel like myself again as a footballer.”
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 Espanyol’s system. Above all, he never backs down from a fight and excels at 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 now accustomed to Espanyol fans stopping him on the street to ask for an autograph or a selfie or pass along words of encouragement. Although 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.
“Being a father gives you a lot more power and makes you feel happier. Sometimes, you can lose games and feel sad, but as soon as you come home and see your daughter, you forget all your worries.”
Last season, Kumbulla found himself as an extra 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 LaLiga and dropping down to the second tier.
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Zach Lowy
