Espanyol Football Club - a team from Barcelona, more precisely, from the province of the same name. This club is the first in Catalonia, which was founded by citizens of Spain. He appeared in response to the creation of the famous Barcelona. Espanyol Football Club got its name, which translates as "Spanish", in order to emphasize its belonging to this country. Throughout its history, he scored a huge number of points in the national championship and ranks sixth in this indicator.
Base
In October 1900, a simple student, Angel Rodriguez decided to create his own football club - “Hispaniol”. Initially, the team consisted only of students who were very interested in a game that had recently come from the UK.
At first, the club had a different name and only a year later it was named differently. The football shirts were yellow, but each player’s underpants were different. A happy day for the team is the moment when the teammates created a sewing factory. Since then, players have been provided with the same form.
In 1910, another change of team name followed. In the same period, the players' uniforms turned blue with a white stripe. It was she who became traditional for the club.
The first serious successes came back in 1903. Espanyol football club managed to win the Catalan Championship that season.
Decline and rise
In 1906, the team began to have serious financial problems. Many famous football players began to leave the football club “Hispaniol”. Some decided to go to the team, which at that time shone in the championship of Catalonia. For three years, she was able to take the title of champion three times. In 1909, the rise of the team took place. It was during this period that the traditional colors that accompanied the players so far were adopted.
Espanyol Football Club, whose stadium is located in the town of Sarria-San Gervasi, is one of the few teams in Spain that enjoys the patronage of the king. In 1912, the club was awarded the prefix to the name - "real", which translates as "royal". At the same time, the image of the crown appeared on the team logo. Only some teams in Spain received such privileges. Since that time, the club began to be called the “Real Club Deportivo Espanyol”.
Development
Espanyol Football Club, the current roster of which cannot boast famous players, at that time began to show significant progress. Every year, the team’s piggy bank replenished with some kind of trophy. 1928 was the year the team entered the country's main league. The next season turned out to be successful for the club, and the players raised the Spanish Cup over their heads. In the final of this tournament, the team was able to beat the famous “Real Madrid”. That season the football club Espanyol, whose famous coaches were the mentors of many teams, finished in seventh place in La Liga.
The beginning of the 30s of the last century for the club went pretty well. Espanyol Football Club, whose trophies are known to every fan, showed an excellent game and remained one of the leading teams in Spain. They even managed to finish one of the seasons on the third line of the national championship.
The end of the Civil War was marked for the club by another Spanish Cup. Once again, in the final, they were able to beat Real Madrid. “Espanyol” from the very inception of Spanish football, although it was not a clear favorite, but clearly it is impossible to call him a complete outsider.
The performances in the cup matches were especially good, but the team mostly finished the national championship in the middle of the table. For the 40-50s, the club constantly became a contender for the title of holder of the Spanish Cup. During this period, he got into the semifinals four times and three - fought in the final part.
The second half of the twentieth century
The 1961/62 season for Espanyol was very unsuccessful. This year the team first flew to Segunda. However, a year later she again returned to the first division. Nevertheless, he could not play at the previous level for the next several years. Only in 1967 the team was able to win the bronze of the Spanish championship, which surprised many football fans.
The following decades, the Spanish club was mainly in the middle of the standings. Only occasionally did he manage to go upstairs and gain access to international tournaments. By the way, the first glory in the international arena came to “Espanyol” in the 1987/88 season. The Spanish team reached the finals, simultaneously knocking out the legendary “Inter” from the tournament. In the final part, the Spaniards opposed Bayer. The first match was confidently won by Espanyol 3-0. It seemed that the trophy was already in the hands of the Spaniards, but the German team was able to score three goals and beat Espanyol in the penalty shootout.
Today
The first trophy in modern times, the Spanish team was able to get in 2000. For the first time in sixty years, the club was able to take the Spanish Cup. Six years later, they repeated this success. In 2007, the Spaniards managed to reach the final of the UEFA Cup, where they again lost in the penalty shootout.
At the moment, the club is a serious middle peasant who is able to impose a struggle on many giants. However, the team cannot get serious trophies.
Famous trainers
Espanyol boasts world-famous mentors. Mostly Spanish team trained the team.
- Javier Clemente. The Spaniard rose to the post of head coach of the team three times. The last contract is from 2002 to 2003.
- Marcelo Bielsa. A coach from Argentina who worked with the team in 1998.
- Juande Ramos. A well-known trainer. He instructed Espanyol in 2004.