Espanyol based themselves in the affluent district of Sarrià, with the team becoming Campionat de Catalunya in 1903-04 before going on to lift the title in three consecutive seasons; 1905-06, 1906-07 and 1907-08.
Another name change was instigated in 1910, with the club being known as Club Deportivo Español as they chose blue and white as their club colours.
In 1911-12 another Campionat de Catalunya title was collected by Español, before King Alfonso XIII gave the club royal patronage and the club subsequently became known as Real Club Deportivo Español.
Further regional championships were won in 1914-15 and 1917-18, with the club moving into the new Estadi de Sarrià; which was opened with a 4-1 victory over UE Sants on February 18th 1923 as Scotsman Edward Garry became the first official head coach.
Español became founder members of the first national league in 1928-29, as well as winning the Campionat de Catalunya once again under coach, Jack Greenwell. Rafael Oramas was top scorer in the Primera División; as La Liga was known at the time.
The team went on to win the Copa del Rey following a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid at Mestalla in Valencia; with Tena II and Crisant Bosch. The King abdicated in 1931 and the second Spanish Republic was declared. The club had to change titles yet again, with the Catalan friendly, Club Esportiu Espanyol, being chosen.
The team became Campionat de Catalunya twice more in 1936-37 and 1939-40 as the Spanish Civil War prevented the running of La Liga. The Catalan language was prohibited by the Franco regime so the club reverted to Real Club Deportivo Español in 1940.
The 1939-40 campaign saw Patricio Caicedo lead ‘Periquitos’ to a second Copa Del Rey (or Copa del Generalísimo as it had been renamed) triumph as Real Madrid were overcome 3-2 at Campo de Vallecas in the capital. Gabriel Jorge netted twice with Mas scoring the other goal.
Español returned to the final in 1941 and 1947 before going down to Valencia CF and then Real Madrid, with Ángel Calvo the Sarrià goalscoring hero of the day. The team continued to finish towards the bottom of the La Liga table.
Victories over local rivals FC Barcelona were very occasional. Español were defeated 1-0 by Barcá in the Copa del Generalísimo final at Montjuïc in 1957, before the team was relegated to Segunda División for the first time in 1960-61.
The club went through three coaches; going down despite the goals of Antonio Camps. RCDE regained their top flight status at the first attempt; with Julián Arcas in place as the third coach of the season when promotion was sealed.
The goals of José María helped Español achieve a third place finish in 1966-67 under coach Jenő Kalmár. The Hungarian had departed by the 1968-69 season as the team were demoted to the second tier, with Cayetano Ré topping the scoring charts.
Rafael Iriondo was in charge of the team as the side finished third and returned to La Liga twelve months later. The Uruguayan, José Santamaría was appointed as head coach in July 1971 as the club entered into a period of stability.
A third place finish in 1972-73 saw Español qualify for European football for the first time through the UEFA Cup. A fourth place in 1976-77 saw a return to the same competition. Marañón finishes as top scorer for the first of six occasions.
The team finished in mid table for the ensuing ten seasons with following head coaches overseeing the side; Heriberto Herrera, José Antonio Irulegui, Vicente Miera, José María Maguregui, Milorad Pavić and Xabier Azkargorta.
Javier Clemente took Español to another third place finish in 1986-87 leading to another UEFA Cup campaign, in 1987-88. Borussia Mönchengladbach, Internazionale, TJ Vítkovice and Club Brugge were all seen off as Periquitos reached the final.
Two goals from Sebastián Losada and one from Miquel Soler gave Español a 3-0 lead in the first leg at Sarrià against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. However, the Germans won the return leg by the same score before eventually winning 3-2 on penalties.
Clemente departed during the 1988-89 campaign, with two other coaches also failing to see off another relegation. The goals of Gabino and coaching from Benito Joanet and then Juanjo Díaz saw the team return to La Liga after just one season away.
Xavier Escaich’s goals weren’t enough to prevent Español from going down once again in 1992-93 as coaches Luis Aragonés, Ljupko Petrović, Jaume Sabaté, a returning Clemente, José Manuel Díaz Novoa and Juanjo Díaz all had spells at the helm.
José Antonio Camacho restored some stability as he led the team to the Segunda División title of 1992-93 as Velko Yotov banged in the goals. The Spaniard took Español to fourth place in 1995-96 before moving on. The club reverted to the Catalan title of Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol in 1995.
Once again Espanyol resorted to sacking head coaches at the slightest sign of a bad run. Pepe Carcelén, Vicente Miera, Paco Flores, Camacho, Marcelo Bielsa and Miguel Ángel Brindisi were all employed.
During that period, the club sold their beloved Estadi de Sarrià owing to financial problems. The final game came on June 21st 1997 with a 3-2 win against Valencia CF. Espanyol moved into Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Montjuïc hill, which can be read about here.
Brindidi took the team to the final of the Copa Del Rey in 1999-00; where Espanyol defeated Atlético de Madrid 2-1 at the Mestalla in Valencia, with Raúl Tamudo and Sergio scoring the goals.
Flores returned to Espanyol in January 2000 as Tamudo continued on a run of several seasons of goals. The coach was succeeded by Juande Ramos, Ramón Moya, a third spell from Clemente and Luis Fernández before Miguel Ángel Lotina arrived at the club.
Lotina’s side would pick up Espanyol’s fourth Copa Del Rey in 2005-06, as Real Zaragoza were dispatched 4-1 at Santiago Bernabéu. Luis García scored twice, with the other goals coming from Tamudo and Coro as Iván de la Peña pulled the strings in midfield.
Ernesto Valverde arrived as the new coach for the 2006-07 UEFA Cup campaign. Espanyol progressed through the group stages before knocking out Livorno, Maccabi Haifa, SL Benfica and Werder Bremen to reach the final.
The showpiece was held at Hampden Park in Glasgow and pitched Espanyol against fellow Spanish side Sevilla. Albert Riera and Jônatas scoring as the game ended 2-2 after extra time. Sevilla went on to lift the cup 3-1 on penalties; as RCDE lost their second UEFA Cup final on spot kicks.
Valverde was succeeded by Tintín Márquez, Mané and then Mauricio Pochettino in a period where Pablo Osvaldo came to the fore. Espanyol opened their new RCDE Stadium in August 2009 on the outskirts of Cornellà de Llobregat and El Prat de Llobregat.
However, the celebrations were marred as club captain Dani Jarque died of a heart attack while on pre season preparations a few days after the stadium had been inaugurated with a game against Liverpool.
However, the celebrations were marred as club captain Dani Jarque died of a heart attack while on pre season preparations a few days after the stadium had been inaugurated with a game against Liverpool.
Pochettino departed to Southampton in November 2012, to be replaced by Javier Aguirre; whose side finished just below mid table for a couple of seasons. Sergio González and then Constantin Gâlcă were the next incumbents of the job, while Sergio García netted regularly.
Quique Sánchez Flores arrived to take charge of the team in the summer of 2016; taking the team to an eighth place finish in 2016-17 with Gerard Moreno ending as top scorer.
Quique Sánchez Flores arrived to take charge of the team in the summer of 2016; taking the team to an eighth place finish in 2016-17 with Gerard Moreno ending as top scorer.
RCD Espanyol will play in La Liga in the 2017-18 season.
My visit
RCD Espanyol 0 Sevilla FC 3 (Saturday 20th January 2018) La Liga (att: 19,607)
The La Liga fixtures were kind to me, after I sat in London praying for anything than a Friday night game at RCDE Stadium. I’d arrived the previous evening in time for a few beers so the 1pm Saturday kick off suited me perfectly.
I'd visited Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on a couple of occasions when Espanyol had been hosts without seeing a game, which can be read about here. However, the clubs relatively new home had been on my radar for quite a while.
My morning had been spent with a nice walk around the Barri Gotic district of the city and visiting three local football clubs to take in some junior action and grab photo opportunities while the grounds were open.
I’d walked down the hill from Cornellà Centre, had a stronger than expected dark beer and then called in at Camp Municipal de Cornellà, the home of Segunda B side UE Cornellà; which was adjacent to Espanyol’s home.
RCDE Stadium really was impressive from the outside. I thought that naming each turnstile after a famous former player was a nice touch. The far side bordered a large retail and entertainment complex. Many fans looked like they’d been in there for pre-match food.
The club also put on a large family area, which was being well patronised. The whole event seemed pretty family orientated, without being too over the top and putting off adults. I found my gate for the upper tier and climbed several flights of stairs.
The concourses were pretty good; especially by Spanish standards, with decent catering and toilet facilities along with TVs for fans to catch the build up outside and half time highlights. I indulged in a bocadillo filled with a Spanish omelette for €4.
My seat, costing €35 when bought online, gave me a perfect view of a tremendous arena, which had a continuous two tiers of seating, with corporate facilities in between the two decks. The roof was square and open in the corners. Fortunately, the weather was good and there was no danger of getting wet.
Sevilla had brought a decent following with them, who made plenty of noise up behind the glass in the corner along from me. Their side was pushing for a European spot and were still involved in the current season’s Champions League.
Espanyol were in the bottom third of the table, with head coach and former Watford boss Quique Sánchez Flores having turned down the overtures of Stoke City. I was slightly surprised at the small sized crowd that the game had attracted.
The hosts started brightly and put one or two moves together. Gerard Moreno missed a guilt edged chance when a tried to volley in an inch perfect cross for his side foot, only to miss the target.
It would be the Andalusians who went ahead on fifteen minutes when Carlos Correa was set up in the area, but he saw his shot bring out a good save from Diego López in the home net. However, the ball came back out to Franco Vázquez who lashed home.
A minute later both sets of fans joined in a minute’s applause in honour of Sevilla Antonio Puerta. The twenty-two-year-old wore the number 16 shirt during his career with the club before dying in 2007 after suffering multiple cardiac arrests in a game against Getafe.
A similar tribute followed on twenty one minutes. This time it was for the former Espanyol skipper Daniel Jarque who died in 2009 from a heart attack. The club had since named their training ground in his memory.
Sergio Escudero and Éver Banega saw long range efforts easily gathered, as the visitors pressed forward. Luis Muriel then went agonisingly close after a fine run. Javi Fuego responded for Espanyol with a lazy shot that drifted over the bar.
Pablo Sarabia worked his way past some weak defending and fired into the top corner of the net across López to make it 2-0 to Sevilla with ten minutes of the first half remaining. Espanyol continued to attack and win corners without really looking like scoring.
At the interval I decided to walk round and take a seat high up directly behind the goal. The stewards seemed pretty relaxed, and it was far from a full house. I was in a perfect position to see the home side miss an absolute golden opportunity to get back into the game.
Moreno pounced on a defensive error and squared the ball to Léo Baptistão in front of an unguarded net. Somehow the Brazilian side footed well over the bar. Half time substitute Sergio García then shot wide when he should have at least forced Sergio Rico into a save.
Sevilla began to take control once again after the couple of warnings. Espanyol broke sporadically, but it was becoming evident that it wasn’t going to be their day. Former Manchester City forward Jesús Navas came on for the visitors.
He created plenty of problems for the Espanyol defence before Muriel charged through in the final minute before slotting the ball home to make it 3-0. The score had been a little harsh on Espanyol, Sevilla looked a very decent side.
At full time I trooped off and took rather more awkward walk than I anticipated through industrial estates, on roads without footpaths and under motorways to reach the Estadi La Feixa Llarga home of CE l'Hospitalet.
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