Tonny Vilhena is fully enjoying the new chapter in his career: Espanyol. The LaLiga club rented the midfielder from FK Krasnodar in January, with a mandatory option to buy. The Russia as Vilhena got to know it in Krasnodar is no more. The ex-Feyenoord player never thought it would come to a war between Russia and Ukraine. “The Russia that people see now is not the country I have come to know. Russia was good to me. (…) I never thought such a thing could happen.”
Vilhena, 27, has now played seven matches for Vicente Moreno’s team. His entry into a top European competition is everything he imagined it to be. “This is LaLiga, just football, tiki-taka,” he told on Saturday The Telegraph† “Every club here wants to play football and has quality players. Everyone can beat each other and that is what makes this competition so beautiful.”
Vilhena’s third match for Espanyol was a special one: the city derby against Barcelona (2-2). “In that week you noticed that there was really something at stake, at the stadium we drove to meet the supporters with their torches. We should have won, but Luuk de Jong headed in that 2-2 in the 96th minute. That evening you noticed the connection here. It’s a very warm club and really feels like a small family. Everyone is ready to help me.”
Memphis Depay also makes Vilhena quickly feel at home in Barcelona. The two have known each other since the Dutch youth teams. “We have always been good together and became friends,” he says of his compatriot, who has been wearing the Barcelona uniform since last summer. Dutch lady for my Spanish lesson. He is there when I need him.”
A selection for the Dutch national team remains in mind. He played a total of fifteen A-international matches. “I have to let my feet do the talking here, focus on that and then it’s up to the national coach whether he selects me,” said Vilhena, who played at Krasnodar as a left wingback in a 5-3-2 system. At Espanyol, he has a free roll from the left in a 4-4-2 formation. “People now think I’m a wingback, but I’m still a midfielder. I can play there. If a trainer needs me there: of course! But everything starts with how I do it here at Espanyol.”