Espanyol have appointed veteran midfielder Ivan De la Pena as their new captain following the death of previous skipper Daniel Jarque.
Jarque had only recently inherited the club captaincy from Raul Tamudo when he suffered a fatal heart-attack during Espanyol's pre-season tour of Italy.
Team coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed on Wednesday that 33-year-old former Spain international De la Pena will wear the captain's armband during the upcoming campaign.
De la Pena enjoyed spells at Barcelona, Lazio and Marseille before he signed for Espanyol seven years ago.
The Catalan team have also moved to fill the gap left by Jarque's tragic death by signing Argentine defender Juan Forlin from Boca Juniors.
The 21-year-old will join on a five-year contract after a transfer fee thought to be in the region of €4million was agreed.
"The tragic loss of Jarque has forced the club to seek out a young player of proven ability to reinforce the defence," the club said in a statement.
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