Espanyol

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 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.

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.

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