RCD Espanyol

First shield of Club Español de Fútbol

CD Espanyol de Barcelona, Catalan champions in 1904

RCD Español in 1912.

Ricardo Zamora with Español

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.

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 Campionat de Catalunya in 1903 and subsequently playing in the Copa del Rey.

In 1994, Espanyol created its reserve team, Espanyol B, 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.[3] 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.

Paco Flores' Espanyol won the 2000 Copa del Rey Final 2–1 against Atlético Madrid at Mestalla, a first cup win since 1940.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6] 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.

In January 2009, former Espanyol defender Mauricio Pochettino was hired as manager with the club in the relegation zone – his first senior job.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12] However, the club suffered relegation for the first time since 1994 the following season, after a 1–0 loss at Barcelona.[13] On 3 August 2020 the club published an official statement urging La Liga to suspend relegation for the 2020-21 season.[14]

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.[15]

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.[16][17]

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 Catalonian fans and those in the rest of Spain who feel neglected and think the team is biased against them.[18] Although some of RCD Espanyol's directors have expressed their independentist ideology the club stays out of politics. It is believed that most of the team's fans are against the independence of Catalonia.[19]

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.[20][21][22]

Despite these differences in ideology, the derbi (derby) has always been more relevant to Espanyol supporters than those of Barcelona 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.[23]

Espanyol lost 0–1 to FC Barcelona on 8 July 2020, to be relegated to the Segunda División.[13]

• 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,[24][25][26][27] 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)[28][29] 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[30]

Winners (4): 1929, 1940, 2000, 2006

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

• Supercopa de Espana

Runners-up (2): 2000, 2006

• Segunda División[31]

Winner (1): 1993–94

• UEFA Cup

Runners-up (2): 1987–88, [[2006–07 nm, UEFA Cup|2006–07]]

• Campionat de Catalunya[32]

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: 2016[33]

• 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 1 February 2021[34]

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 Oier 2 DF  ESP Miguelón (on loan from Villarreal) 3 DF  ESP Adrià Pedrosa 4 DF  URU Leandro Cabrera 5 DF  ESP Fernando Calero 6 DF  ESP Lluís López 7 FW  CHN Wu Lei 8 MF  ESP Fran Mérida 9 FW  ESP Javi Puado 10 MF  ESP Sergi Darder 11 FW  ESP Raúl de Tomás 13 GK  ESP Diego López

No. Pos. Nation Player 14 MF  ESP Óscar Melendo 15 MF  ESP David López (Captain) 17 DF  ESP Dídac Vilà (Vice-captain) 18 FW  BEL Landry Dimata (on loan from Anderlecht) 19 MF  ESP Álvaro Vadillo (on loan from Celta) 20 MF  ALB Keidi Bare 22 FW  ARG Matías Vargas 23 MF  ESP Adri Embarba 26 MF  ESP Pol Lozano 27 DF  ESP Óscar Gil 33 MF  ESP Nico Melamed

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 29 FW  ESP Jofre Carreras 30 GK  ESP Ángel Fortuño 31 DF  ESP Ricard Pujol

No. Pos. Nation Player 34 GK  ESP Joan García 39 FW  ESP Max Svensson

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ESP Adrián López (at Hércules until 30 June 2021) — DF  ESP Víctor Gómez (at Mirandés until 30 June 2021)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  MAR Moha (at Mirandés until 30 June 2021)

21 Daniel Jarque (posthumous honour) (2002–09)

• Starting from 2018–19, Marc Roca would wear the number of 21.[35]

Competitive, professional matches only.

As of 12 September 2020

	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