RCD Espanyol Femení

Espanyol Femení
Full nameReial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona SAD Femenino
NicknamesPeriquitos, españolistas
Founded1970 (1970)
StadiumCiutat Esportiva Dani Jarque
Capacity1,520
PresidentAlan Pace
Head coachSara Monforte
LeagueLiga F
2025–2611th
Websitercdespanyol.com/femenino

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

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

SeasonDiv.Pos.Copa de la ReinaChampions League
1988–891ª3rdQuarterfinals
1989–901ª3rdRunner-up
1990–912ª5thRound of 16
1991–922ª3rd
1992–932ª1stRound of 16
1993–941ª5thRound of 16
1994–951ª3rdSemifinalist
1995–961ª3rdChampion
1996–971ª3rdChampion
1997–981ª3rdSemifinalist
1998–991ª3rd
1999–001ª2ndFirst round
2000–011ª2ndQuarterfinals
2001–021ª3rdRunner-up
2002–031ª7thQuarterfinals
2003–041ª8th
2004–051ª3rdQuarterfinals
2005–061ª1stChampion
2006–071ª2ndRunner-upGroup stage
2007–081ª4thQuarterfinals
2008–091ª4thChampion
2009–101ª2ndChampion
2010–111ª2ndRunner-up
2011–121ª3rdChampion
2012–131ª5thQuarterfinals
2013–141ª11th
2014–151ª7thQuarterfinals
2015–161ª9th
2016–171ª13th
2017–181ª14th
2018–191ª9thRound of 16
2019–201ª16thRound of 16
2020–211ª16th
2021–222ªP2ndRound of 16
2022–232ªP9th
2023–242ªP3rd (PO winner)
2024–251ª11thSecond round

Record in UEFA competitions

SeasonCompetitionStageOpponentResultScorers
2006–07UEFA Women's CupQualifying StageScotland Hibernian LFC
France FCF Juvisy
Faroe Islands KÍ		4–1
1–0
7–0		Adriana 2, Cubí, Serna
Rubio
Cubí 4, Adriana 2, Diéguez
Group StageNorway Kolbotn IL
Sweden Umeå IK
Ukraine Lehenda Chernihiv		2–4
0–3
5–0		Adriana + 1 o.g.

Serna 2, Adriana, Cubí, Rubio

Titles

Official

Invitational

Players

Current squad

As of 2 July 2026.[10]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  FRA Romane Salvador
5 DF  ESP Lucía Vallejo
6 MF  ESP Mar Torrás
10 MF  ESP Cristina Baudet
11 FW  ESP Ona Baradad
13 GK  ESP Meri Muñoz
15 MF  ESP Laura Martínez
17 MF  ESP Naima García
19 FW  ESP Paula Arana
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF  ESP Anna Torrodà
21 DF  ESP Júlia Guerra
23 FW  SKN Phoenetia Browne
26 GK  ESP Paula Coba
29 FW  ESP Ainhoa Domènech
30 MF  ESP Aina Durán
32 MF  ESP Camila Reinaldo
34 FW  ESP Lucía Loras
35 DF  ESP Ariadna Domènech

See also

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 - Teams". RCD Espanyol. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.