Espanyol was established as a student football society first and dates back to 1900 when a student of one of the universities in Barcelona decided to create a football club. The team was playing in yellow shirts but the shorts differed from player to player. But then the club opened its own clothes factory so that the players could wear the same uniform.
In 1910 the club got its present name and colours – blue with white stripes.
The club won their first tournament in 1903 obtaining a trophy of the Macai Cup and Copa Catalunya.
In 1906 most of the players abandoned the club due to financial issues and the team was affiliated by the champion of Catalonia Sporting. Espanyol is one of the few teams in Spain that is under the auspices of the Crown. This privilege was granted to the club in 1912.
In 1928 the club started to play in La Liga and the following year they managed to win the Copa del Rey.
After such a success the club either was stressed by downfalls and rose from the ashes. In 1962 the club was relegated to the Segunda but a year after they were back to the first division. All in all Espanyol got relegated to the Segunda four times throughout its history but never stayed there for more than one season.
Espanyol took part in the UEFA Cup tournament 9 times out of which 2 times they went through to the final but never obtained the trophy losing to Bayer Leverkusen and Sevilla.
They were more successful in the tournament of the Copa del Rey. The club won it 4 times but the latest achievement dates back to 1987.
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