Espanyol has announced the death of Diego Orejuela, at 62 years old, a footballer who played for the Catalan team for nine seasons (from 1983 to 1991). The Sevillian player played a total of 303 official matches with the blue and white shirt, scoring 23 goals. A regular midfielder in the lineups of Javier Azkagorta and Javier Clemente, he played in both matches of the UEFA final against Bayer Leverkusen, an unpleasant memory for parakeet fans (the German team came back from 3-0 down with which the Catalans had closed the first game of the final). Throughout this competition he wore the captain’s armband
Diego Orejuela was also social ambassador of Espanyol since in 2018 Chen Yansheng chose him along with ‘Coco’ Bertomeu, Rafa Marañón and Iñaki Pérez de Arrilucea to represent the club in different institutional events. The four met with the Chinese president and took office for the first time at the Aplec de Penyes on June 2 and 3 of that same year in Blanes. In a statement at the time, Espanyol explained that the entity had chosen these four former footballers for their “transcendence within Espanyolism.” «‘Coco’ Bertomeu He played more than 100 games in 11 seasons with Espanyol and was an advisor in the Sánchez Llibre and Condal presidencies while Rafa Cashew, president of the Veterans Association, is the top scorer in parakeet history. Orejuela, coming from the youth team and captain for many years, can boast 303 games under his belt and a UEFA runners-up finish. Furthermore, once retired he spread the parakeet sentiment through different campuses and schools in Girona. IñakiFinally, he was also in Leverkusen. “He was a sports advisor under the mandate of Joan Collet,” the club said.
Orejuela was international with the Spanish under-21 and amateur team. He was known as Appendage IIsince he was the brother of the footballer Jesús Orejuela I, who also played for Espanyol as well as other clubs such as Sabadell, Salamanca, Osasuna and Zaragoza. Debuted in the 1982-83 season and in the following season he took over the title, a condition that he would maintain until 1990, with Espanyol in the Second Division. In the 1990-91 season, with the team back in First Division, he only played 12 games, which led him to look for a way out. He found it at Palamós, in the Second Division, where he retired in 1993.
