RCD Espanyol

Espanyol was founded on 28 October 1900 by Ángel Rodríguez Ruiz (1879–1959), an engineering student at the University of Barcelona. The club's original home was in the well-off district of Sarrià; Espanyol was the first club in Spain to be formed exclusively by Spanish fans of the game, with the other early clubs having links to Britain or central Europe.

• 
  CD Espanyol de Barcelona, Catalan champions in 1904
• 
  RCD Español in 1912

Ricardo Zamora with Español

The club originally played in bright yellow shirts, with the colour of the shorts being left to the individual player. A friend of the club founder owned a textile business and happened to have an abundance of yellow material left over from a job. In 1910, the club changed its name to the Club Deportivo Español and chose blue and white stripes as shirt colours and as the central colours of the club badge. Blue and white were chosen in homage to the colours appearing on the shield of the great Sicilian-Aragonese Admiral Roger de Lluria, who sailed the Mediterranean protecting the interests of the Crown of Aragon in the Middle Ages. The club was successful from the very beginning, winning the first Campionat de Catalunya in 1903 and subsequently playing in the very first Copa del Rey in 1903.

In 1906 Club Español de Football had to suspend its activities due to a lack of players, since most of them were university students who enrolled to study at universities outside Catalonia. X Sporting Club took advantage of this as most of the remaining Español players joined them, which meant a big leap in quality for the club, and as a result, the X won the Catalan championship three times in a row between 1905 and 1908, beating the likes of FC Internacional and FC Barcelona for the title.[3] This historic side had the likes of Pedro Gibert, José Irízar and Santiago Massana. It was not until 1909 that X and Español were restructured again, when several of the former university students returned to Barcelona with the idea of refounding Club Español de Football, which they achieved on 27 December 1908, when X merged with the Spanish Jiu-Jitsu Club.[3]

In the 1910s, they won the Campionat de Catalunya three times, in 1911–12, 1914–15 and 1917–18, winning later largely thanks to their backline led by Ricardo Zamora. They also reached the final of the Copa del Rey twice in 1911 and 1915, but lost to Athletic Bilbao on both occasions.[4]

In 1994, Espanyol created its reserve team, Espanyol B,[5] currently playing in the Segunda División B.

Javier Clemente was hired in 1986. In his first season, he took the team to a joint-best 3rd place, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. They defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach, A.C. Milan, Inter Milan, TJ Vitkovice and Club Brugge KV to reach the final, losing on penalties to Bayer 04 Leverkusen after a 3–3 aggregate draw.[6] Two relegations followed, but the club remained in La Liga from winning the 1993–94 Segunda División until relegated at the conclusion of the 2019-20 COVID pandemic impacted season.

President from 1989 to 1993, Juli Pardo oversaw the transformation of the club into a Sociedad Anónima Deportiva.[7] In the wake of the accumulated debt, the club were forced to sell the Sarrià Stadium, which was eventually demolished in 1997.[7]

Paco Flores' Espanyol won the 2000 Copa del Rey Final 2–1 against Atlético Madrid at Mestalla, a first cup win since 1940.[8] Six years later, under Miguel Ángel Lotina, the club won again, this time 4–1 against Real Zaragoza in Madrid, with goals by Raúl Tamudo, Luis García (two) and Coro.[9]

Chart of RCD Espanyol league performance 1929–2023

With this cup win, Espanyol entered the UEFA Cup. They won all their group games, before dispatching Livorno, Maccabi Haifa, Benfica, and Werder Bremen to reach the final. In the final, held on 16 May at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Espanyol fell to fellow La Liga side Sevilla, losing 3–1 in a shootout following a 2–2 draw.[10] They became the only football team in UEFA Cup history to remain unbeaten in the tournament, yet not take home the trophy. Walter Pandiani, who would leave the club at the end of the season, was the UEFA Cup's top goalscorer that season. On 9 June 2007, Tamudo became Espanyol's highest-ever goalscorer after surpassing the 111 goals scored by Rafael Marañón, and ended the night with 113.

On 31 May 2009, Espanyol played its last match at the Estadio Olímpico de Montjuic, a 3–0 defeat of Málaga. Espanyol had played in the Estadi Olímpic after moving from their previous ground in Sarria. With the move, club talisman Raúl Tamudo had the unique distinction of having played in three different home stadiums with his club: Sarrià, Montjuïc and, beginning in the 2009–10 season, the Cornellà-El Prat.

Iván Alonso in action during a La Liga fixture in August 2009

In January 2009, former Espanyol defender Mauricio Pochettino was hired as manager with the club in the relegation zone – his first senior job.[11] He won 2–1 against rivals Barcelona at the Camp Nou in February to help keep the club up; Barcelona, under Pep Guardiola, won the treble that season.[12]

After 12 seasons playing at the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc, Espanyol moved to the Estadi de Cornellá-El Prat. The new stadium was officially inaugurated on 2 August 2009 with a match between Espanyol and Liverpool; Espanyol won 3–0, with Luis García scoring the first goal at the ground, followed by a Ben Sahar double.[13] Six days later, Espanyol captain Daniel Jarque died from a cardiac arrest aged 26 in the Florence neighbourhood of Coverciano, where the club was at the time after playing several fixtures in Italy.[14] Since then, in the 21st minute – his former shirt number – of every Espanyol match, an ovation is made in his honour for a full minute.

After Pochettino left in 2012, the club maintained themselves in the top flight under a series of other managers. In January 2016, Chinese businessman Chen Yansheng took over the club by acquiring a 54% stake.[15] In the 2018–19 season, Espanyol finished 7th, thus returning to the Europa League for the first time since their final run in 2006–07.[16] However, the club suffered relegation for the first time since 1994 the following season, after a 1–0 loss at Barcelona.[17][18] On 3 August 2020 the club published an official statement urging La Liga to suspend relegation; nevertheless relegation was not avoided.[19] Espanyol won promotion back to La Liga at the first attempt on 8 May 2021 following a 0–0 draw against Zaragoza, with four matches to spare in the 42-game season.

Since 2022，Espanyol has achieved a strategic cooperation with LEYU SPORTS. And LEYU became Official Asian Partner of RCDE.[20] On 28 May 2023, Espanyol relegated to the Segunda División after two seasons in La Liga.

In the first half of the 20th century during the Miguel Primo de Rivera dictatorship (1923–1930), FC Barcelona was seen as a symbol of Catalan identity. This contrasted with RCD Espanyol which cultivated a kind of compliance with the central authority.[21]

In 1918, the municipalities of Catalonia promoted a campaign to ask the Spanish Government for a Statute of Autonomy. FC Barcelona joined that request and the Catalan press recognized FC Barcelona as a major cultural arm of the Catalan independence movement. The city's other team, RCD Espanyol, dissociated itself from the claim due to the former's success on the European stage.[22][23]

Today FC Barcelona is the club that is closer to the political powers in Catalonia. Its last presidents have linked the club with the Catalan independence movement and the holding of a referendum, even though this causes discomfort among some Catalan fans and those in the rest of Spain who feel neglected and think the team is biased against them.[24] Although some of RCD Espanyol's directors have expressed pro-independence stances, the club stays out of politics. It is believed that most of the team's fans are against the independence of Catalonia.[25]

On numerous occasions RCD Espanyol has complained of unfavourable and sometimes directly offensive treatment towards the club in favour of FC Barcelona by some Catalonian public media like TV3.[26][27][28]

Despite these differences in ideology, the derbi (derby) has always been more relevant to Espanyol supporters than those of Barcelona (who hold El Clásico in higher regard instead) due to the difference in objectives.

Though it is the most played local derby in the history of La Liga, it is also the most unbalanced, with Barcelona overwhelmingly dominant. In the league table, Espanyol has only managed to finish above Barça on three occasions in almost 70 years and the only all-Catalan Copa del Rey final was won by Barça in 1957. Espanyol has the consolation of achieving the largest margin win with a 6–0 victory in 1951.

Espanyol achieved a 2–1 win against FC Barcelona during the 2008–09 season, becoming the first team to defeat Barcelona at Camp Nou in their treble-winning season.[29]

Espanyol lost 0–1 to FC Barcelona on 8 July 2020, to be relegated to the Segunda División.[17][18]

• In 1928, Espanyol became a founding member of La Liga, and in 1929, the team won their first Copa del Rey. Espanyol has completed the highest number of seasons in La Liga without winning the title.
• The team has qualified for the UEFA Cup/Europa League eight times (including the qualifications following their 2000 and 2006 Spanish Cup wins, which in earlier eras would instead have granted entry to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup) and reached the final in 1988,[30][31][32][33] losing to Bayer Leverkusen of then-West Germany on penalty kicks (3–2), after a two-legged final of contrasts ended level (3–0 in Barcelona, 0–3 in Leverkusen)[34][35] and in 2007, losing to compatriots Sevilla, again on penalties (3–1) after a memorable match at Hampden Park, Glasgow ended 1–1 after normal time, and 2–2 after extra time.

• Copa del Rey[36]

Winners (4): 1928–29, 1940, 1999–2000, 2005–06

Runners-up (5): 1911, 1915, 1941, 1947, 1957

• Segunda División[37]

Winners (2): 1993–94, 2020–21

• Supercopa de España

Runners-up (2): 2000, 2006

• Copa de los Campeones de España

Runners-up (1): 1940

• Copa de la Gran Peña

Runners-up (1): 1902

• UEFA Cup

Runners-up (2): 1987–88, 2006–07

• Campionat de Catalunya[38]

Winners (11): 1903–04, 1905–06, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1911–12, 1914–15, 1917–18, 1928–29, 1932–33, 1936–37, 1939–40

• Supercopa de Catalunya

Winners (1): 2016[39]

• Primera División

Winners (1): 2005–06

Runners-up (3): 2006–07, 2009–10, 2010–11

• Copa de la Reina

Winners (6): 1996, 1997, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012

Runners-up (4): 1990, 2002, 2007, 2011

As of 22 September 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ESP Joan García 2 DF  ESP Óscar Gil 3 DF  ESP Sergi Gómez 4 DF  ESP Víctor Ruiz 5 DF  ESP Fernando Calero 6 DF  URU Leandro Cabrera (captain) 7 MF  ESP Javi Puado 8 MF  ALB Keidi Bare 9 FW  SEN Keita Baldé (on loan from Spartak Moscow) 10 MF  ESP Pol Lozano 11 FW  ESP Pere Milla

No. Pos. Nation Player 12 DF  BRA Ramon (on loan from Olympiacos) 13 GK  ESP Fernando Pacheco 14 DF  ESP Brian Oliván 15 MF  ESP José Gragera 16 MF  ESP José Carlos Lazo 17 FW  ESP Jofre Carreras 18 MF  ESP Álvaro Aguado 19 MF  ESP Salvi Sánchez 20 MF  ESP Edu Expósito 21 MF  ESP Nico Melamed 22 FW  DEN Martin Braithwaite

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 26 DF  ESP Joan Puig 27 MF  ESP Roger Martínez 28 MF  ESP Javier Hernández

No. Pos. Nation Player 29 FW  ESP Antoniu Roca 31 DF  MAR Omar El Hilali 33 GK  ESP Ángel Fortuño

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  ESP Rubén Sánchez (at Mirandés until 30 June 2024) — FW  ESP Joselu (at Real Madrid until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  SWE Max Svensson (at Osasuna B until 30 June 2024)

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 DF  ESP Daniel Jarque (2002–09) – posthumous honour)[lower-alpha 1]

Notes

As of 12 September 2020
Competitive, professional matches only.

#	Name	Years	La Liga	Segunda División	Copa del Rey	Copa de la Liga	UEFA Cup	Other	Total
1	Raúl Tamudo	1996–2010	340	—	26	—	14	9[lower-alpha 1]	389
2	Antonio Argilés	1950–1964	301	14[lower-alpha 2]	38	—	—	4[lower-alpha 3]	357
3	José María	1965–1976	269	31	33	—	2	11[lower-alpha 4]	346
4	Thomas N'Kono	1982–1990	241	33[lower-alpha 5]	30	19	10	—	333
5	Mauricio Pochettino	1994–2006	275	—	30	—	13	2[lower-alpha 6]	320
6	Fernando Molinos	1974–1984	264	—	43	6	6	—	319
7	Manuel Zúñiga	1979–1988	259	—	29	18	9	—	315
8	Marañón	1974–1983	261	—	43	4	6	—	314
9	Arteaga	1993–2003	238	28	32	—	10	2[lower-alpha 7]	310
10	Diego Orejuela	1982–1991	216	33[lower-alpha 8]	27	15	12	—	303

Notes

• Copa del Rey

Winners (1): 1941

• Catalan championship

Winners (2): 1931, 1932

Runners-up (3): 1941, 1943, 1954

• Copa de la Reina

Winners (1): 1943

Runners-up (1): 1944

• Copa del Rey

Winners (11): 1944, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1961, 1962

Runners-up (4): 1946, 1952, 1953, 1958

• Superliga

Winners (3): 1985, 1988, 1991

• Copa de la Reina

Winners (5): 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992

• División de Honor

Winners (2): 1946, 1953