RCD Espanyol de Barcelona are a Spanish football club based in the historic Catalan city of Barcelona. They are generally considered as the second team of Barcelona after FC Barcelona. They currently compete in Segunda Division.

History

Angel Rogriguez, who was then an engineering student at the University of Barcelona, founded Espanyol on October 28, 1900. The club was initially christened as Sociedad Espanola de Football and was the first club in Spain to be formed exclusively by fans.

In 1928 Espanyol became a founding member of La Liga and the very next year they won the Copa del Rey. They would go on to win the Spanish Cup three more times in the history but haven’t won La Liga so far. In spite of this, Espanyol are the sixth most successful club in the history of Spanish football.

In 2006-07, Espanyol made the UEFA Cup final but lost on penalties to Sevilla after a 2-2 draw. Espanyol also made the 1988 UEFA Cup final but lost on penalties after a 3-3 aggregate draw with Bayer Leverkusen, having won the first leg at home 3-0.

Country Spain Spain
City Barcelona
Founded 1900
Ground RCDE Stadium
Nickname Periquitos
Captain Leandro Daniel Cabrera Sasia
Coach Luis Garcia
Website rcdespanyol.com

In 1909 the club changed its name to Club Deportivo Espanol and in 1910, the club altered its name to Club Espanol de Futbol. In 1912 the club was granted the title of Real (or Royal) by King Alfonso XIII.

Espanyol finished seventh in the 2018-19 La Liga season but were relegated in 2019-20, marking the first time they had dropped to the second tier since 1994. Espanyol were instantly promoted back to La Liga, but were relegated again in 2022-23.

Stadium

They play their home matches at the 55,926 capacity Olimpic Lluis Companys but shall move into a new stadium from next season.

Nickname

Espanyol bear the nicknames Periquitos (Parakeets) and Blanquiazules (White and Blues).

Honours

  • Copa del Rey Winners (4): 1928–29, 1940, 1999–2000, 2005–06
  • Segunda Division Winners (2): 1993–94, 2020–21
  • Supercopa de Espana Runners-up: 2000, 2006
  • UEFA Cup Runners-up: 1987–88, 2006–07

Latest Forum Posts

Topic Replies
Losing Dani Jarque 3
Renaming Espanyol's new stadium 9
Big win dedicated to Daniel Jarque's daughter 3