CLUB HISTORY
RCD Espanyol de Barcelona is one of the oldest and most important football clubs in Spain.
In October 1900 Angel Rodríguez founded the “Sociedad Española de Football” a club for university students keen to play a new sport that had been recently imported from England. He chose this name to differentiate it from other Barcelona-based clubs which were both founded and dominated by foreign players.
After several minor name changes, the club became known as “Real Club Deportivo Español” in 1912, when King Alfonso XIII bestowed the royal title upon the Club alter beating the other Barcelona club in a thrilling decider.
OUR COLOURS
In 1910, RCD Espanyol chose blue and white to adorn its jersey and shield. The colour combination appears on the shield of the great Catalan Admiral of Almogravars “Roger de Lluria”, who sailed the Mediterranean Sea during the Middle Ages defending Catalan interests.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CLUB CREST
1901 - 1910 1910-1912 1931-1936 1912-1998* 1998-2005 2005 +
*During the Second Republic (1931 to 1936) the Crown and the word "Real" (Royal) were removed from the Club crest.
MAIN SUCCESSES
The first major trophy for RCD Espanyol was the Macaya Cup in 1901. In 1929 the team won its first Spanish Cup, a title it won again in 1941, 2000 and 2006.
Espanyol has participated nine times in the UEFA Cup and reached the Final on 2 occasions (1988 and 2007).
Furthermore, RCD Espanyol has one of the best womens football teams in Spain. They are the current Spanish Cup Champions and also won the double (Spanish “Superliga” and Spanish Cup) in 2006 adding to their earlier cup successes in 1996 and 1997.
 SPANISH CUP / COPA DEL REY
GREAT PLAYERS
For over one hundred years RCD Espanyol has produced many talented and well-known players. Possibly the first and greatest idol was the goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora. After him, memories of other great players remain in our mind: Ricardo Saprissa, Rafael Marañón, Thomas N’Kono, John Lauridsen, Mauricio Pochettino, etc.
We’re also very proud of some players that have risen up from the Club’s youth and B team ranks. Amongst these Daniel Solsona has probably been the most emblematic player during the last quarter of a century. Currently, Raúl Tamudo is the flagship player of the club’s youth team. He is the Club’s all time top scorer with 129 goals in the first division.
Solsona - Lauridsen - Marañón - N'kono
RCD Espanyol started out playing in a big barren field, near the Sagrada Familia. In 1923 the Club moved to the glorious Sarriá Stadium, a mythical place for all Espanyol supporters and one of the stadiums used during the Spain ’82 World Cup. However in 1997 Espanyol was forced to sell Sarriá due to mounting Club debts and they have been playing at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium ever since.
On August 2nd 2009, Espanyol will play a friendly match against Liverpool F.C. in its brand new purpose-built stadium at Cornellá-El Prat.
 Sagrada Familia field (c.1920's)
 Sarriá Stadium (1923-1997)
 Montjuïc Stadium (1997-2008)
 EstadiRCDE Stadium (2009)
OUR MASCOT - The Parakeet / Budgie
Shortly after its foundation, RCD Espanyol fans gained the nickname of the “periquitos” or “pericos” (parakeet or budgie). There are different explanations for this:
A possible one is that there were flocks of “periquitos” that resided around the area where the former stadium, Sarriá, was.
It is also said that it is related to a cartoon character called “Gato Perico” (little Peter the cat) that a journalist once associated with Espanyol supporters.
In any case, the “periquito” or “perico” became the mascot of Espanyol. And now, this friendly and sociable bird is one of our main symbols and the way most people identify us.
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