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Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional
sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
based in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
, the top tier of
Spanish football Football is the most popular sport in Spain, with 61% of the population interested in it. Spain has some of the most influential teams in Europe (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia, and others) as well as many playe ...
. Founded in 1900 in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, Espanyol currently play their home games just outside the city at the
RCDE Stadium RCDE Stadium, also known as Estadi Cornellà-El Prat (; ), is an all-seater football stadium on the outskirts of Cornellà de Llobregat and El Prat de Llobregat, in the wider Barcelona urban area (Catalonia, Spain). It took three years to bui ...
, which holds up to 40,000 spectators. Domestically, Espanyol has won the
Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
four times, most recently in
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
. In international competitions, the club reached the
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
final in
1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...
and
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
. It has a long-standing local rivalry with FC Barcelona.


Name

Initially known as the Sociedad Española de Football on its foundation, the name was changed to Club Español de Fútbol in 1901. In 1906, the club folded due to financial reasons and most of the players joined the X Sporting Club, which came to win the Campionat de Catalunya three times in a row before disappearing in 1908 to merge with the Spanish Jiu-Jitsu Club to be effectively relaunched as the Club Deportivo Español, and in 1910, they adopted their present-day colours. Espanyol is one of several Spanish football clubs granted patronage by the
Spanish crown The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...
and thus entitled to use ''Real'' in their names and the royal crown on their badge. This right was granted to Espanyol in 1912 by
Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...
and the club subsequently became known as the Real Club Deportivo Español. Following the abdication of the same king in 1931 and the declaration of the
Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...
, due to prohibition of royal symbols, the club adopted the more Catalan/republican friendly name, Club Esportiu Espanyol. After the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, the name was reverted. The club took the Catalan spelling for its name in February 1995. The word "''Deportiu''" in Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona is a Catalanised form of the original word "''Deportivo''" ( Castilian), despite the correct word being "''Esportiu''" in the Catalan language. This choice was made in order to retain the initials "RCD" in the club's name.


History


Foundation and club culture

Espanyol was founded on 25 October 1900 by Ángel Rodríguez Ruiz, an engineering student at the
University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. With 76,000 students, ...
. The club's original home was in the well-off district of
Sarrià Sarria is a municipality in the province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain. Sarria or Sarrià may also refer to: *Sarrià, Barcelona, a neighbourhood in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain **Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, the Barcelona district containing Sarrià **Sarrià ...
; Espanyol was the first club in Spain formed exclusively by Spanish fans of the game, with the other early clubs having links to Britain or central Europe. File:RCD Espanyol campions 1904.jpg, CD Espanyol de Barcelona, Catalan champions in 1904 File:RCD Espanyol 1912.jpg, RCD Español in 1912 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 at the proposal of
Eduardo Corrons Eduardo Corrons was a Spanish designer, who was the number one member of football club RCD Espanyol for many years. He is best known for choosing the club's current colours, blue and white, and subsequently designing the club's crest (1910) that ...
, the club's number one partner for many years, the club agreed to choose 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 on the shield of the great Sicilian-Aragonese Admiral
Roger de Lluria Roger of Lauria (''c''. 1245 – 17 January 1305), was a Calabrian knight who served the Crown of Aragon as admiral of the Aragonese navy during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. He was probably the most successful and talented naval tacticia ...
, who sailed the Mediterranean protecting the interests of the Crown of Aragon in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. The club was successful from the very beginning, winning the first Campionat de Catalunya in 1903 and subsequently playing in the first
Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
in
1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 10 – The Aceh Sultanate was fully annexed by the Dutch forces, deposing the last sultan, marking the end of the Aceh War that have lasted for al ...
. 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 Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
. 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 The Futbol Club Internacional, commonly referred to a was as FC Internacional, was a football team based in Barcelona, Spain. Founded in 1901, FC Internacional had an "impasse" in its activities after the 1905–06 academic year, resuming them in ...
and
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
for the title. This historic side had the likes of Pedro Gibert,
José Irízar José Marcelino Yrízar Urbizu (5 October 1882 - 23 March 1935), better known as José Irízar was a Spanish footballer who played as a defender for Athletic Club and FC Barcelona. Although he always appeared as Irizar in the sports press, on h ...
, and
Santiago Massana Santiago Massana Urgellés (5 June 1889 – Unknown), nicknamed Tiago, was a Spanish footballer who played as a defender. He was best known for his height, which he imposed on his opponents. His brother, Alfredo Massana, was also a footballer. ...
. It was not until 1909 that X and Español were restructured again, when several of the former university students returned to
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
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. 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 Ricardo Zamora Martínez (; 21 January 1901 – 8 September 1978) was a Spanish footballer and manager. He played as a goalkeeper for, among others, RCD Espanyol, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. As an international he played for Spain. As a man ...
. They also reached the final of the Copa del Rey twice in
1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...
and
1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...
, but lost to
Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...
on both occasions. In 1994, Espanyol created its
reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...
, Espanyol B, currently playing in the
Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...
.


Two UEFA Cup finals (1988–2009)

Javier Clemente Javier Clemente Lázaro (; born 12 March 1950) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Forced to retire from playing in his early 20s through injury, he embarked on a coaching career with his first managerial ...
was hired in 1986. In his first season, he took the team to a joint-best third place, qualifying for the
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
. They defeated
Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...
,
A.C. Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...
,
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...
,
TJ Vitkovice TJ may refer to: Fictional characters * T.J. Detweiler, the protagonist of '' Recess'' * T.J. Hammond, a character in the miniseries ''Political Animals'' * ''T. J. Hooker'', an American television show and title character * TJ Wagner, a comic b ...
, and
Club Brugge KV (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional Association football, football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capac ...
to reach the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
, losing on penalties to
Bayer 04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. ...
after a 3–3 aggregate draw. Two relegations followed, but the club remained in La Liga from winning the
1993–94 Segunda División The 1993–94 Segunda División season saw 20 teams participate in the second flight Spanish league. RCD Español, Real Betis and SD Compostela were promoted to Primera División. CD Castellón, Real Murcia, Real Burgos and Cádiz CF were re ...
until relegated at the conclusion of the 2019-20 COVID pandemic impacted season. Juli Pardo oversaw the transformation of the club into a
Sociedad Anónima Deportiva Sociedad anónima deportiva ("Public limited sports company") is a special type of Spanish public limited company (known as in Spain). The new legal status was introduced in 1990 to improve financial management and transparency in sports clubs ...
. In the wake of the accumulated debt, the club were forced to sell the
Sarrià Stadium Sarrià Stadium (in Catalan: Estadi de Sarrià ; in Spanish: Estadio de Sarrià) was a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium was the home of RCD Espanyol from 1923 to 1997, and was located in the district of Sarrià. Begi ...
, which was eventually demolished in 1997.
Paco Flores Francisco "Paco" Flores Lajusticia (born 26 November 1952) is a Spanish retired football forward and coach. His career was closely associated with Espanyol, as both a player and manager. Playing career Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Flores wa ...
' Espanyol won the 2000 Copa del Rey Final 2–1 against
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
at
Mestalla Mestalla Stadium ( , ) is a football stadium in Valencia, Spain. The stadium is the home of Valencia and has a capacity of 49,430 seats, making it the 8th-largest stadium in Spain, and the largest in the Valencian Community. The stadium's name o ...
, a first cup win since 1940. Six years later, under
Miguel Ángel Lotina Miguel Ángel Lotina Oruechebarría (; born 18 June 1957) is a Spanish professional manager and former footballer who played as a striker. His playing career was spent mostly with Logroñés, whom he represented in the Segunda División, also ...
, the club won again, this time 4–1 against
Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...
in Madrid, with goals by Raúl Tamudo, Luis García (two) and Coro. With this cup win, Espanyol entered the
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
. They won all their group games, before dispatching
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...
,
Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football, Basketball, Weightl ...
, Benfica, and
Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...
to reach the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
. In the final, held on 16 May at
Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...
in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, Espanyol fell to fellow La Liga side
Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...
, losing 3–1 in a shootout following a 2–2 draw. They became the only football team in UEFA Cup history to remain unbeaten in the tournament, yet not take home the trophy.
Walter Pandiani Walter Gerardo Pandiani Urquiza (born 27 April 1976) is a Uruguayan football manager and former player who played as a striker. His performances for Peñarol earned him a move to Deportivo in Spain, where he remained for the vast majority of ...
, 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 Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California Fiction * ''Rafael'' (TV series), a Mexican telenovela * ''Rafaël'' (film), a 2018 Dutch film People * Rafael (footballer, born 1978) ( ...
, 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 Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...
. 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.


Recent years (2009–present)

In January 2009, former Espanyol defender
Mauricio Pochettino Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero (born 2 March 1972), also known mononymously by his nickname Poch, is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of the United States men's national team. Pochettin ...
was hired as manager with the club in the relegation zone – his first senior job. He won 2–1 against rivals Barcelona at the Camp Nou in February to help keep the club up; Barcelona, under
Pep Guardiola Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala (; born 18 January 1971) is a Catalans, Catalan professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player from Spain who has been the manager of club Manchester City F.C., Ma ...
, won the treble that season. 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 Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
; Espanyol won 3–0, with Luis García scoring the first goal at the ground, followed by a
Ben Sahar Ben Sahar (, changed the Hebrew spelling of his surname from ; born 10 August 1989) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as a striker for Hapoel Tel Aviv. He has also played for the Israel national team. Early life Sahar was born in ...
double. Six days later, Espanyol captain
Daniel Jarque Daniel Jarque González (1 January 1983 – 8 August 2009) was a Spanish professional footballer who played as a central defender and spent his entire career with Espanyol. He was named team captain one month before his death from a heart attac ...
died from a
cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...
aged 26 in the
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
neighbourhood of Coverciano, where the club was at the time after playing several fixtures in Italy. 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. 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. However, the club suffered relegation for the first time since 1994 the following season, after a 1–0 loss at Barcelona. On 3 August 2020 the club published an official statement urging La Liga to suspend relegation; nevertheless relegation was not avoided. Espanyol won promotion back to La Liga at the first attempt on 8 May 2021 following a 0–0 draw against
Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
, with four matches to spare in the 42-game season. Since 2022, Espanyol has achieved a strategic cooperation with LEYU SPORTS, who became the official Asian partner of the club. On 28 May 2023, Espanyol were relegated to the Segunda División after two seasons in La Liga. Following a 4th place finish in the Segunda División, the club was promoted back to La Liga following a promotion 2-0 (2-1 agg.) win against Real Oviedo on 23 June 2024.


Rivalries


''El derbi barceloní''

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. 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 recognised 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. 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 The Catalan independence movement (; ; ) is a Social movement, social and political movement with roots in Catalan nationalism that seeks the independence of Catalonia from Spain. While proposals, organizations and individuals advocating for Ca ...
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. 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. 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 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...
. Despite these differences in ideology, the ''derbi'' (derby) has always been more relevant to Espanyol supporters than those of Barcelona (who hold
El Clásico El Clásico (in Spanish, also in lowercase letters; ) or El Clàssic (in Catalan, ), both meaning "The Classic", is the name given to any football match between rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions he ...
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 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
. Espanyol lost 0–1 to FC Barcelona on 8 July 2020, to be relegated to the Segunda División.


Stadium

From 1923 until 1997, Espanyol played their home games in Estadi de Sarrià in the
Sarrià-Sant Gervasi Sarrià-Sant Gervasi () is one of the biggest districts of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the district with the highest per capita income, the largest proportion of university degrees and the lowest unemployment rate. Situated on the north-we ...
district of Barcelona. In 1997, they moved to the
Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium formerly known as the Estadi de Montjuïc and Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc and also known in English language, English as the Barcelona Olympic Stadium, is a stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Originally built ...
on
Montjuïc Montjuïc () is a hill in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Montjuïc or Montjuich, meaning "Jewish Mountain" in medieval Latin and Catalan, is a broad, shallow hill in Barcelona with a rich history. It was the birthplace of the city, and its st ...
. For the beginning of the 2009–10 season, Espanyol moved into the newly constructed
RCDE Stadium RCDE Stadium, also known as Estadi Cornellà-El Prat (; ), is an all-seater football stadium on the outskirts of Cornellà de Llobregat and El Prat de Llobregat, in the wider Barcelona urban area (Catalonia, Spain). It took three years to bui ...
(also known as Estadi Cornellà-El Prat) between
Cornellà de Llobregat Cornellà de Llobregat (; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Baix Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the left bank of the Llobregat River. It is in the south-western part of ...
and
El Prat de Llobregat El Prat de Llobregat (), commonly known as El Prat , is a municipality of Spain located in the ''comarca'' of Baix Llobregat in Catalonia. The Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport largely lies within the municipal limits. It is part of ...
. File:Sarrià.jpg, Estadi de Sarrià File:Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc - Barcelona's 1992 Olympic Stadium.jpg, Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc File:Estadicornellaelprat 3.jpg,
RCDE Stadium RCDE Stadium, also known as Estadi Cornellà-El Prat (; ), is an all-seater football stadium on the outskirts of Cornellà de Llobregat and El Prat de Llobregat, in the wider Barcelona urban area (Catalonia, Spain). It took three years to bui ...


Competition summary

*87 ''seasons in Primera División'' *6 ''seasons in
Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...
'' *8 ''participations in
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
/
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
'' *2 ''participations in
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, most commonly referred to as the Fairs Cup and sometimes as the European Fairs Cup or Fairs Cities' Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The Fairs Cup was the idea of FIFA vice-presid ...
'' *2 ''participations in
UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...
''


Achievements

*In 1928, Espanyol became a founding member of
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
, and in 1929, the team won their first
Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
. 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 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
and
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
Spanish Cup wins, which in earlier eras would instead have granted entry to the
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
). *Espanyol reached the UEFA Cup final in
1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...
, losing to
Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...
of then-
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
on
penalty kicks A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. T ...
(3–2), after a two-legged final of contrasts ended level (3–0 in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, 0–3 in
Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. The city is part of the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan ...
). They reached a second final in
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
, losing to compatriots
Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...
, again on penalties (3–1) after a memorable match at
Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...
,
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
ended 1–1 after normal time, and 2–2 after extra time.


Honours


Men's football


National


League

*
Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...
**Winners (2): 1993–94,
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...


Cups

*
Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
**Winners (4): 1928–29,
1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...
, 1999–2000, 2005–06


Regional

* Campionat de Catalunya **Winners (9): 1902–03, 1903–04, 1911–12, 1914–15, 1917–18, 1928–29, 1932–33, 1936–37, 1939–40 * Supercopa de Catalunya **Winners (1): 2016


Women's football


League

* Primera División **Winners (1): 2005–06


Cups

*
Copa de la Reina Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Association * Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association * Parlia ...
**Winners (6):
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
,
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
,
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
,
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
,
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
,
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...


Players


Current squad


Reserve team


Out on loan


Retired numbers

;Notes


Players with most appearances

Notes


Coaches


Club officials


Current technical staff


Board of directors


Presidents


Historical departments of RCD Espanyol

Until the 1990s, Espanyol had several sporting sections. In March 2017, the Association of Supporters and Shareholders of RCD Espanyol boosted a project for recovering the sporting sections of the club, but this time without any economic link with the football team. The new multi-sports club was created with the name of Seccions Deportives Espanyol (''Sporting sections Espanyol''). Two months later, the association confirmed that Espanyol would start competing in the 2017–18 season, with a
roller hockey Roller hockey is a form of hockey played on a dry surface using wheeled skates. It can be played with traditional roller skates (quad skates) or with inline skates and use either a ball or puck. Combined, roller hockey is played in nearly 60 cou ...
team and women's volleyball teams. In the next season, the basketball section was refounded and a new section of handball would be created.


Men's basketball

*
Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
:Winners (1): 1941 * Catalan championship :Winners (2): 1931, 1932 :''Runners-up (3)'': 1941, 1943, 1954


Women's basketball

*
Copa de la Reina Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Association * Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association * Parlia ...
:Winners (1): 1943 :''Runners-up (1)'': 1944


Men's rink hockey

*
Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
:Winners (11): 1944, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1961, 1962 :''Runners-up (4)'': 1946, 1952, 1953, 1958


Women's volleyball

*
Superliga Superliga (''super league'') may refer to: Sports Superliga can refer to different sports leagues: Association football *Albanian Superliga, the Albanian top-flight men's division * Argentine Superliga, the Argentine top-flight men's division *D ...
:Winners (3): 1985, 1988, 1991 *
Copa de la Reina Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Association * Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association * Parlia ...
:Winners (5): 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992


Men's baseball

* División de Honor :Winners (2): 1946, 1953


See also

*
RCD Espanyol B Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona "B" is the reserve team of the RCD Espanyol, club based in Barcelona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. The team was founded in 1991 and plays in the , holding home matches at the 3,000-seat capa ...
* RCD Espanyol cantera *
Ciutat de Barcelona Trophy Ciutat de Barcelona Trophy () is a summer tournament organized by RCD Espanyol in Barcelona. Initially there used to be four participating teams, but in more recent times it was a two-team tournament. Teams are usually club-level, but in 1981 the Ho ...


References


External links

*
RCD Espanyol
at
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

RCD Espanyol
at
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Espanyol La Liga clubs Football clubs in Barcelona Copa del Rey winners Organisations based in Spain with royal patronage Association football clubs established in 1900 1900 establishments in Spain