RCD Espanyol

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Espanyol

Full name

Reial Club Deportiu
Espanyol de Barcelona

Nickname(s)

Periquitos (Parakeets)
Blanquiazules (White and Blues)

Founded

1900 as Club Español de Fútbol

Ground

Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys,
Barcelona, Catalonia,
Spain

Capacity

55,926

Chairman

Daniel Sánchez Llibre

Manager

Ernesto Valverde

League

La Liga

2005-06

La Liga, 15th





Home colours





Away colours

RCD Espanyol de Barcelona (Catalan: Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona) is a Spanish sports club based in Barcelona. It is best known for its football team. Espanyol currently play in the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, which also hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics. The stadium, which seats 55,926 spectators, is also known as Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc. Despite being overshadowed by FC Barcelona, they are the sixth most successful football team in Spain.^[1] On 13th January 2007, Espanyol recorded their first derby win over neighbours FC Barcelona since 2001. The score was 3-1 to Espanyol.

[edit] History

[edit] Foundation

The team was founded on October 28 1900 by Angel Rodriguez, an engineering student at Universitat de Barcelona. Its original home was in the district of Sarrià, the same as their local rivals, FC Barcelona. The club was initially known as the Sociedad Española de Football. It was the first in Spain to be formed by Spanish fans of the game as opposed to foreigners who formed other clubs such as FC Barcelona.

Traditionally the club has been supported by those from the right of the political spectrum, particularly during the period of dictatorship, where considered a symbol of compliance.

The club originally played in bright yellow shirts, the colour of the shorts been 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 RCD Espanyol chose blue and white to be the colors that would adorn its jersey and shield, because the blue and white color combination appeared on the shield of the great Catalan Admiral Roger de Lluria, who sailed the Mediterranean protecting Catalonia’s interests in the Middle Ages and were known as Club Español de Futbol. The club did well from the start, winning the Campionat de Catalunya in 1903 and subsequently playing in the Copa del Rey.

[edit] Development of the Club 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 the present day colours in honour of Admiral Roger de Llúria, a Catalan naval hero.

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 a republic, clubs dropped the Real from their name. During the time of the Second Spanish Republic 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.

Finally even this bastion of royalism and centralism has take the catalan spelling for its name in February 1995. The word "Deportiu" in Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona means sport for fun; while "Esportiu" is reserved to professional sport. The correct word would have been "Esportiu"; because of tradition, "Deportiu" has been kept.

[edit] Other Information

In 1928 the club became a founding member of La Liga and in 1929 won their first Copa del Rey. Ricardo Saprissa, a player from this era, later emigrated to Costa Rica where he helped form Deportivo Saprissa.

Espanyol has qualified nine times for the UEFA Cup (including the 2006-07 qualification following the 2006 Copa del Rey win) and reached the final in 1988, losing to Bayer Leverkusen of then-West Germany on penalty kicks (2-3) after a memorable home-and-away final (3-0 in Barcelona, 0-3 in Leverkusen).

In 1994, RCD Espanyol created its reserve team, RCD Espanyol B that currently plays in the Segunda B.

Nowadays, Espanyol is building a new own stadium; which will be one of the best of Europe.

The Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys

[edit] Trophies

[edit] Football

Copa del Rey
- 1928/29, 1939/40, 1999/00, 2005/06: 4
Campionats de Catalunya
- 1903 , 1903-04, 1905-06, 1906-07, 1907-08, 1911-12, 1914-15, 1917-18, 1928-29, 1932-33, 1936-37, 1939-40: 12
Copa Catalunya
- 1994-95, 1995-96, 1998-99, 2005-2006: 4

[edit] Women’s Football

Liga España
- 2005/06
Copa de la Reina
- 2005/06

[edit] Men’s Basketball

Copa de España
- 1941: 1

[edit] Women’s Basketball

Copa De España
- 1943: 1
Lliga Catalana EBA
- 1981: 1

[edit] Hockey

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

[edit] Women’s Volleyball

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

7 Participations on UEFA Cup
2 Participations on Intertoto Cup
70 seasons on La Liga
4 seasons on Segunda División

[edit] Current squad 2006/07

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

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Gorka Iraizoz
2	DF	Javier Chica
3	DF	David García
4	DF	Lacruz
6	MF	Eduardo Costa
7	FW	Walter Pandiani
8	MF	Pablo Zabaleta
9	MF	Iván de la Peña
10	FW	Luis García
11	MF	Albert Riera
12	DF	Juan Velasco
13	GK	Carlos Kameni

No.	Position	Player
14	MF	Ito
16	MF	Jônatas
17	MF	Moha
18	MF	Francisco Rufete
19	DF	Marc Torrejón
20	FW	Ferran Corominas
21	DF	Daniel Jarque
22	MF	Moisés Hurtado
23	FW	Raúl Tamudo (captain)
27	MF	Julián
31	MF	Angel
32	DF	Serrán

[edit] Captains

[edit] Loaned players

No.		Position	Player
-		MF	Fredson (to São Paulo until June 2007)

[edit] Foreign players 2006/2007

[edit] Statistics 2005/06

Top Scorers:
- Luis García - 10 goals
- Tamudo - 10 goals
- Fredson - 4 goals
Top Goalkeepers
- Iraizoz - 34 goals In 21 Matches
- Kameni - 22 goals In 17 Matches

[edit] Recent history

Season		Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	Europe		Notes
1997/1998	1D	10	38	12	17	9	44	31	53
1998/1999	1D	7	38	16	13	9	49	38	61		UC	preliminary round
1999/2000	1D	14	38	12	11	15	51	48	47	winner
2000/2001	1D	9	38	14	8	16	46	44	50		UC	3rd round
2001/2002	1D	14	38	13	8	17	47	56	47
2002/2003	1D	17	38	10	13	15	48	54	43
2003/2004	1D	16	38	13	4	21	48	64	43
2004/2005	1D	5	38	17	10	11	54	46	61	2nd round
2005/2006	1D	15	38	10	11	17	36	56	41	winner	UC	3rd round
2006/2007	1D	11	28	9	11	8	31	31	38		UC	quarter-final	ongoing