Retro Espanyol Shirt – Barcelona's Proud Underdogs

RCD Espanyol was founded on 28 October 1900, making it one of the oldest football clubs in Spain. The club's origins are closely tied to Spanish students and workers who wanted an alternative to the foreign-dominated clubs then taking root in Barcelona — in particular, the Swiss and English expatriates who had founded FC Barcelona just a year earlier. This tension between the two clubs would define much of Catalan football for the next century.

Espanyol's early decades were spent establishing themselves in the Spanish football pyramid, and they became a founding member of La Liga in 1929. Their first golden era arrived in the 1940s, when the club won back-to-back Copa del Generalísimo titles in 1940 and 1941 — trophies that remain among the most celebrated achievements in the club's history. It was a period that confirmed Espanyol as a genuine force in Spanish football, not merely Barcelona's supporting act.

The club played their home matches at the iconic Estadi de Sarrià from 1923 to 1997, a ground that became synonymous with some of the most dramatic moments in Espanyol's history. It was there, in 1982, that Espanyol came within a whisker of reaching the UEFA Cup final, before falling to Real Sociedad. Then came the unforgettable 1988 UEFA Cup final — a two-legged tie against Bayer Leverkusen that ended goalless over both legs, sending the tie to a penalty shootout. Espanyol missed three of their four penalties and lost the trophy in heartbreaking fashion. It remains one of the great near-misses in Spanish football history.

Espanyol reached the UEFA Cup final again in 2007, this time facing Sevilla — a Spanish club that had become Europe's cup specialists. Again, the match went to penalties. Again, Espanyol lost. Two UEFA Cup finals, two penalty shootout defeats: it is the kind of cruel symmetry that only football can produce, and it has only deepened the club's cult status among neutral fans worldwide.

The club moved from beloved Sarrià to the Olimpic Lluís Companys stadium in 1997 and then to their current home, the RCDE Stadium in Cornellà-El Prat, in 2009 — a state-of-the-art 40,000-capacity ground that gave the club a modern identity while honouring its roots.

Relocation and Europa League adventures aside, Espanyol have also endured their share of relegation battles and dramatic survival stories. A spell in the Segunda División in the early 1990s tested the club's resolve, but they bounced back with characteristic determination. The club was relegated again in 2021 after a difficult season but won immediate promotion back to La Liga, demonstrating the resilience that has always defined them.

Espanyol has produced and attracted some truly remarkable footballers across its history, players who understood what it meant to wear the blue and white with conviction.

In the modern era, no player embodies Espanyol more than Raúl Tamudo — a Catalan striker who spent the majority of his career at the club and became its all-time top scorer. Tamudo had a flair for the dramatic, none more so than his last-minute equaliser against Real Madrid in 2007 that effectively handed the La Liga title to Barcelona. It was a goal celebrated wildly across Catalonia, and it cemented Tamudo's legendary status not only at Espanyol but in Spanish football folklore.

Dani Jarque was another figure of enormous importance to the club — a captain of tremendous character whose tragic death in 2009 at the age of 26 from a heart attack deeply affected Spanish football. His number 21 shirt was retired by the club in his honour, and his memory continues to inspire everything Espanyol does.

In earlier eras, goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta played for Espanyol before becoming Spain's most-capped goalkeeper, while Sergio García was a tireless forward who gave years of devoted service to the blue and whites. Manager Luis Aragonés — later to become Spain's World Cup-winning coach — also had a stint at the club.

Foreign stars have also left their mark: Brazilian midfielder Sandro, Moroccan international Nayef Aguerd, and Argentine striker Darío Silva all brought international flavour to the squad at various points. The club has also produced homegrown talents through their academy, reinforcing their identity as a club with genuine Catalan roots despite playing in the shadow of their famous neighbours.

The Espanyol retro shirt is one of the most recognisable in Spanish football — blue and white vertical stripes that have remained largely consistent throughout the club's history, giving their kits a timeless quality that collectors treasure.

The 1980s kits are among the most sought-after, characterised by bold blue and white stripes with classic collar designs and early sponsor logos. These shirts from the Sarrià era carry an unmistakable charm — thick cotton, simple typography, and a rawness that modern kits simply cannot replicate. The period surrounding the 1988 UEFA Cup final run is particularly prized, as collectors seek to own a piece of that agonising near-triumph.

The 1990s brought more adventurous design elements, with some kits featuring shadow patterns within the stripes or asymmetric detailing that reflected the era's fashion-forward approach to football kit design. Kelme was a notable kit supplier during parts of this decade, giving Espanyol shirts a distinctly Spanish aesthetic.

The 2000s kits under Umbro and then Nike brought a sleeker, more professional look, but the stripes remained central to the identity. The 2007 UEFA Cup run generated significant collector interest in kits from that campaign.

Modern retro Espanyol shirt designs often feature the club's traditional crest alongside clean stripe execution — elegant in their simplicity. Condition is everything for serious collectors, with unworn or lightly worn original shirts from the 1980s commanding premium prices.