Espanyol sign Argentinian starlet

Negotiations in Argentina
Espanyol president, Daniel Sánchez Llibre, and general manager, José Luis Marcó, have been in Argentina to negotiate with the player and Newell's directors, and completed the transfer yesterday after 72 hours of talks.

Four-year contract
The 21-year-old midfield player will join the Barcelona-based team from the start of the 2002/03 season, having agreed a four-year contract. Nicknamed 'La Fiera' (The Fierce One), Rodríguez, an Argentinian Under-20 international, will travel to Spain next week to sign the contract and undergo a medical.

'I wanted to go to Spain'
Rodríguez said: "Although I received some offers from England and France, I wanted to go to Spain. Finally, it will now become possible. I would like to thank Espanyol for having shown so much interest for me and having worked so hard to reach an agreement on my transfer."

Graffiti at training ground
It was not all good news for Espanyol, however, after a minority section of the club's supporters, the 'Brigadas Blanquiazules', daubed the walls of the club's Parc del Migdia training ground with threats and slogans directed at coach Paco Flores, the players and the directors of the club.

Uncertainty over coach
Flores's position at Espanyol is uncertain. The coach said on the radio yesterday that he had been offered a one-year extension to his contract rather than the two-year deal he has been seeking.