RCD Espanyol

Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (Catalan pronunciation: [rəˈjaɫ ˈkɫub dəpurˈtiw əspəˈɲɔɫ də βərsəˈɫonə], English: Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona) is a sports club based in Barcelona, Spain. It is best known for its football team. Espanyol currently play in the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat with seats for 40,500 spectators. It was inaugurated on 2 August 2009. Espanyol has previously played at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, which also hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics, and at Estadi de Sarrià, which hosted 1982 FIFA World Cup.

History

Foundation and club culture

Espanyol was founded on 28 October 1900 by Ángel Rodríguez, an engineering student at the University of Barcelona. The club's original home was in the well-off district of Sarrià and was initially known as the Sociedad Española de Football. One year later, the club changed its name to Club Español de Fútbol. Espanyol was the first club in Spain to be formed exclusively by Spanish fans of the game.

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 Club Deportivo Español and chose blue and white stripes as shirt colours and as the central colours of the club badge. Blue and white was 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 were successful from the very beginning, winning the Campionat de Catalunya in 1903 and subsequently playing in the Copa del Rey.

Development of club's name

In 1906, the club folded due to financial reasons and most of the players joined the X Sporting Club. This club won the Campionat de Catalunya three times between 1906 and 1908. In 1909, this club was effectively relaunched as Club Deportivo Español, and in 1910, they adopted their present day colours. Espanyol are one of several Spanish football clubs granted patronage by the Spanish crown 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 and the club subsequently became known as Real Club Deportivo Español.

Following the abdication of Alfonso XIII in 1931 and the declaration of the Second Spanish Republic, due to prohibition of royal symbols, the club adopted the more Catalan/republican friendly name, Club Esportiu Espanyol. After the Spanish Civil War, and the subsequent prohibition of the Catalan language, the name reverted to Real Club Deportivo Español.

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.

UEFA Cup 2006–07

With their win in the Copa del Rey the previous season, Espanyol entered the UEFA Cup. Following a 5–3 aggregate success against Artmedia Bratislava they were drawn in Group F, along with Dutch giants Ajax, Belgian minnows Zulte Waregem, Czech side Sparta Prague, and Austrian side Austria Wien. Espanyol were group winners, victorious in all four of their ties.

Their opponent in the Round of 32 was Italian side Livorno, who had just scraped into the knockout stages. Espanyol were 4–1 victors on aggregate, recording a 2–1 win in Tuscany and finishing the job 2–0 in Barcelona. Next up was Israeli side Maccabi Haifa, and after a dour 0–0 draw in the away leg, Espanyol thrashed their Israeli counterparts 4–0 in the second leg. Many were starting to see Espanyol as favourites to go all the way to the final in Glasgow's Hampden Park.

However, if that were to be the case, Espanyol would have to defeat Portuguese giants Benfica, two-time European Cup winners. Espanyol did not seem fazed by this, as they raced into a 3–0 lead in Spain. However, Benfica fought back and scored two away goals to leave the tie firmly in the balance. Nevertheless, Espanyol survived a daunting trip to Lisbon, coming away with a 0–0 draw, which was enough to book them a place in the semi-finals.

Germans Werder Bremen lay in wait for the Catalan side in the last four, but once again, Espanyol produced a brilliant home performance to virtually seal the tie on the night. A 3–0 rout of the Germans put the Spanish firmly in control, and any real doubts about their passage to the final disappeared, with a 2–1 win in Bremen. In the final, held on 16 May in Glasgow, Scotland, Espanyol fell to fellow La Liga side Sevilla, 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 didn't take home the trophy. Walter Pandiani, who would leave the club at the end of the season, was the top goal scorer of the UEFA Cup of that season.

Miscellaneous information

• In 1928, Espanyol became a founding member of La Liga, and in 1929, the team won their first Copa del Rey.
• The team has qualified nine times for the UEFA Cup (including the 2006–07 qualification following the 2006 Spanish Cup win) and reached the final in 1988, losing to Bayer Leverkusen of then-West Germany on penalty kicks (3–2), after a memorable home-and-away final (3–0 in Barcelona, 0–3 in Leverkusen), and in 2007, losing to Sevilla on another penalty kicks round (3–1), after a memorable match (ended 1–1 after normal time, and 2–2 after extra time).
• In 1994, Espanyol created its reserve team, Espanyol B, currently playing in the Segunda División B.
• Espanyol collaborates with Panionios and Swansea City. Espanyol has the first choice to buy players from those teams and may also loan them young players. Espanyol also collaborates with Halmstad. The deal between the clubs gives Halmstad the right to loan up to three players from Espanyol B. Espanyol have no first choice option in this cooperation.
• In 2009 the club was affected by the sudden death by heart attack of club captain Daniel Jarque, who died during a pre-season training session in Italy.^[1]

Trophies

Football

• Copa del Rey
  • 4 – 1929, 1940, 2000, 2006

• UEFA Cup
  • Runner-up (2): 1987–88, 2006–07

• Segunda División
  • 1 – 1993–94

Women’s football

• Liga España
  • 2008-09

• Copa de la Reina
  • 1996, 1997, 2006, 2009: 4

Men’s basketball

• Copa de España
  • 1941: 1
• Campionat de Catalunya
  • 1931, 1932: 2
• Lliga Catalana EBA
  • 1981: 1

Women’s basketball

• Copa de España
  • 1943: 1

Hockey

• Copas de España
  • 1944, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1961, 1962: 11

Women’s volleyball

• Liga España
  • 1985, 1988, 1991: 3
• Copas de España
  • 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992: 4

Baseball

• División de Honor de Béisbol
  • 1944, 1953: 2

Competition summary

• 7 participations in UEFA Cup
• 2 participations in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
• 2 participations in Intertoto Cup
• 75 seasons in La Liga
• 4 seasons in Segunda División

Current squad

The numbers and players are established according to the official website: www.rcdespanyol.com and www.lfp.es

As of 25 July 2011^[2] Season 2011–12

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

Out on loan

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

Foreign players

• Cristian Álvarez
• Jesús Dátolo
• Juan Forlín
• Felipe Mattioni
• Carlos Kameni
• Héctor Moreno
• Juan Albín
• Adrián Luna

Stadia

From 1923 until 1997, Espanyol played their home games in Estadi de Sarrià in the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district of Barcelona. In 1997, they moved to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Montjuïc. For the beginning of the 2009–10 season, Espanyol moved into the newly constructed Estadi Cornellà-El Prat in Cornellà de Llobregat

Retired numbers

21 – Daniel Jarque, 2002–2009 Defender

Former players

See Category:RCD Espanyol footballers

Notable coaches

see also Category:RCD Espanyol managers

See also

• RCD Espanyol B
• Ciutat de Barcelona Trophy

References

External links

• Official website (Catalan)/(Spanish)/(English)
• Espanyol at La Liga (English) (Spanish)
• Futbolme team profile (Spanish)
• Women's team official website (Spanish)
• Espanyol youth team goalkeeper's official website (Spanish)
• Stadiums & Club featured on Blog (English)