RCD Espanyol (women)

RCD Espanyol Femení (Real Club Deportivo Español) is the women's football section of RCD Espanyol and was founded in 1970.

Espanyol Femení

Full name	Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona SAD Femenino
Nickname(s)	Periquitos, españolistas
Founded	1970; 54 years ago (1970)
Ground	Ciutat Esportiva Dani Jarque
Capacity	1,520
President	Joan Collet i Diví
Head coach	Jordi Ferrón
League	Primera Federación
2021–22	Segunda División, 2nd
Website	http://www.rcdespanyol.com
Home colours Away colours Third colours

History

RCD Espanyol was one of the pioneering teams in women's football in Spain, playing its first match as early as 1970.^[1] In 1971 they were one of the four major Catalan teams to take part in the Catalan Pernod Cup, playing to over 40,000 at Sarrià Stadium and 30,000 at the Camp Nou; Espanyol lifted the cup by defeating rivals Barcelona in the final.^[2][3] By 1979 Espanyol had won the (Catalan) league six times and the cup twice.^[4]

The team's first national success came in 1989, when they first reached the national cup's final, losing it against Añorga. They won the competition for the first time in 1996, and successfully defended the title the following year.

2006 was their most successful season to date as they won their first (and for now only) league title and their third Queen's Cup. Thus Espanyol took part in the UEFA Women's Cup the following season.

Espanyol players celebrating the 2010 Copa de la Reina title.

In the late 2000s to the early 2010s, Espanyol consolidated itself as one of Spain's top teams. It has been most successful in the Copa de la Reina, winning three titles in 2009, 2010, and 2012, tying with Levante UD as the competition's most successful team.^[5] In the late 2010s, they consistently finished in the middle/bottom half of the league table and flirted with relegation multiple times.

Espanyol had its worst-ever finish in the league when they ended the 2019–20 season in 16th place, winning none of their 21 matches and losing 16. They avoided relegation to the Reto Iberdrola when the RFEF decided that there would be no relegations for the season due to suspension of the league brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.^[6] The 2020–21 season marked Espanyol's 50th year of existence for their women's team.^[7] That season, Espanyol were relegated to the Reto Iberdrola for the first time in their history, finishing 16th out of 18 in the league table.^[8] They failed to be promoted back immediately on the final matchday of the 2021–22 season, losing 3–0 to fellow Catalan club Levante Las Planas, who took the title instead.^[9]

Competition record

Season to season

Main article: List of RCD Espanyol Femenino seasons

Season	Div.	Pos.	Copa de la Reina	Champions League
1988–89	1ª	3rd	Quarterfinals
1989–90	1ª	3rd	Runner-up
1990–91	2ª	5th	Round of 16
1991–92	2ª	3rd
1992–93	2ª	1st	Round of 16
1993–94	1ª	5th	Round of 16
1994–95	1ª	3rd	Semifinalist
1995–96	1ª	3rd	Champion
1996–97	1ª	3rd	Champion
1997–98	1ª	3rd	Semifinalist
1998–99	1ª	3rd
1999–00	1ª	2nd	First round
2000–01	1ª	2nd	Quarterfinals
2001–02	1ª	3rd	Runner-up
2002–03	1ª	7th	Quarterfinals
2003–04	1ª	8th
2004–05	1ª	3rd	Quarterfinals
2005–06	1ª	1st	Champion
2006–07	1ª	2nd	Runner-up	Group stage
2007–08	1ª	4th	Quarterfinals
2008–09	1ª	4th	Champion
2009–10	1ª	2nd	Champion
2010–11	1ª	2nd	Runner-up
2011–12	1ª	3rd	Champion
2012–13	1ª	5th	Quarterfinals
2013–14	1ª	11th
2014–15	1ª	7th	Quarterfinals
2015–16	1ª	9th
2016–17	1ª	13th
2017–18	1ª	14th
2018–19	1ª	9th	Round of 16
2019–20	1ª	16th	Round of 16
2020–21	1ª	16th
2021–22	2ªP	2nd	Round of 16

Record in UEFA competitions

Main article: Spanish women's football clubs in international competitions

Season	Competition	Stage	Opponent	Result	Scorers
2006–07	UEFA Women's Cup	Qualifying Stage	Hibernian LFC FCF Juvisy KÍ	4–1 1–0 7–0	Adriana 2, Cubí, Serna Rubio Cubí 4, Adriana 2, Diéguez
		Group Stage	Kolbotn IL Umeå IK Lehenda Chernihiv	2–4 0–3 5–0	Adriana + 1 o.g. 0 Serna 2, Adriana, Cubí, Rubio

Titles

Official

• Primera División
  • 2005–06: 1
• Copa de la Reina
  • 1995–96, 1996–97, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12: 6
• Copa Catalunya
  • 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013: 5

Invitational

• Pyrénées Cup
  • 2006, 2007: 2

Players

For all former and current RCD Espanyol players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:RCD Espanyol (women) players.

Current squad

As of 21 March 2022^[10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ESP Montse Quesada 2 DF  ESP Irene Corral 3 DF  ESP Marta Turmo 4 DF  ESP Maite Albarrán 5 DF  ESP Xènia Pérez 6 MF  CHI Nayadet López 7 MF  ESP Cristina Baudet 8 MF  JPN Maya Yamamoto 9 MF  UKR Tamila Khimich 10 FW  ARG Marianela Szymanowski

No. Pos. Nation Player 11 DF  ESP Sara Extremera 12 DF  DOM Manuela Lareo 13 GK  FIN Paula Myllyoja 16 FW  ESP Anair Lomba 17 MF  ESP Carolina Marín De la Fuente 18 MF  ESP Judit Pablos 19 FW  ESP Clara de Clemente 21 DF  ESP Júlia Guerra 22 DF  COL Daniela Caracas 24 FW  ESP Nora Fernández Parra

See also

• Women's Derbi barceloní

References

1. "La historia del RCD Espanyol Femení" [The history of RCD Espanyol Femení] (in Spanish). Sexto Anillo. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
2. Molero, Iván (2019-04-17). "El fútbol femenino ya abarrotó Sarrià y el Camp Nou en 1971". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-03-04.
3. "49 years since first women's football final in Catalonia". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
4. Amaro, F.J. (5 December 1979). "El futbol femenino necesita ayuda y comprensión". El Noticiero Universal (in Spanish). p. 25.
5. Mari Paz dresses herself as queen to give Espanyol its sixth title. Marca
6. Menayo, David (6 May 2020). "La RFEF da por suspendida la temporada y apuesta por una Primera Iberdrola de 18 equipos". marca.com. MARCA. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
7. "50 years of RCD Espanyol Femení". rcdespanyol.com. RCD Espanyol. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
8. ""The objective is to get the team back to the first division"". rcdespanyol.com. RCD Espanyol. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
9. El Levante Las Planas Regresa a primera división [Levante Las Planas return to the Primera division], Marca, 29 May 2022 (in Spanish)
10. "First Team - Team 2021-2022". RCD Espanyol. Retrieved 21 March 2022.

External links

• RCD Espanyol Official website (in Spanish)