The legendary Estadio Sarría is no more, RCD Espanyol plays at a hypermodern stadium at the west end of Barcelona. Still you feel the soul of the this proud at more spots in Barcelona than you'd probably expect.
When you approach Barcelona on the Autovia del Nord-Est, from the side of Cornellà de Llobregat, you see a stadium on your left hand. From the outside, it looks a bit like a crossover of a space ship and a shopping mall, but from the inside it's quite decent. On the facade, you can read RCDE, an abbreviation of the club's name RCD Espanyol.
Espanyol is the most 'Spanish' club of Barcelona (unlike the bigger FC Barcelona, Espanyol has nothing to do with the Catalan culture) and plays in a hypermodern stadium, opened in 2009. Not a stadium for football romantics, but quite comfortable and atmopheric when it's packed to the rafters.
Adjacent to the stadium you'll find one of the largest shopping malls of Barcelona: Splau. It has any kind of shops, so relatives who aren't into football can spend their time there before or during a game. It has a store of Fútbol Emotion, a Spanish chain of football stores. They have an extensive range of replica's and retro shirts of brands like COPA Football.
On the other side of the stadium is a small ground too, the Camp Municipal de Cornellà, home of UE Cornellà. A brand new stadium - even with artificial turf - but the main stand is suprisingly cool.
For football romantics, there's nothing more left than just a little sign that refers to the famous Estadio Sarrià, lovingly called Ca Rábia or La Bombonera as well. On the place where the great stadium of Espanyol once stood is now a garden (Jardines del Campo Sarrià at the Passatge Ricard Zamora 5), between some luxurious tower blocks. No tourist highlight on itself, but nearby you can still find the restaurant Sarria 82, which refers to the stadium and the 1982 World Cup. In Sarrià, one of the most beautiful football matches ever took place, between Brazil and Italy. For some fans still reason to visit the original place and to be fair, the towers blocks who used to surround the stadium and saw it all, are still there.
Espanyol had to leave Sarrià in 1997 and found shelter on the famous hill of Montjuïc. The fans never felt home there and it was barely half full, but the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc from 1927 is still worth a visit. The monumental facade and square of the stadium (that was used for Barcelona's Olympics in 1992) are beautiful, and it offers you an amazing view of the entire city. If you're not afraid of heights, you'll find big fun in taking the funicular to the top.
The RCDE Stadium might be very far from the city center, the Ciutat Esportiva Dani Jarque is surprisingly close. The training complex of Espanyol, named after their former player who died - aged 26 - suffering a cardiac arrest, is close to the beaches of Badalona en harbour area Port Fórum. Next to the gates, there's a beautiful statue of Dani Jarque.
In the lovely coastal town Sitges you'll find probably the best Espanyol bar there is. In the Penya Espanyolista de Sitges (Carretera de les Costes 26) you can eat good tapas or drink a cold beer. The murals are beautiful and the place drowns in football memorabilia. The fan community is close-knit, but tourists are welcome too.
At the Carrer Joan Maragall 8 in Sant Feliu de Llobregat is a funny small Espanyol bar too: Cosal Penya Blanc Blava.
It's not hard to buy tickets for Espanyol, easily buyable on their official website. Complete against the habit in Spain, you can buy tickets for home matches that are still months away, even for the derby against FC Barcelona.
Because of its site next to the motorway, the RCDE Stadium is easy accessible by car, but public transport is a good alternative. From the central Plaça d'Espanya, several trains and metro's (under which metroline 8) to the stadium, getting off at Cornellà Riera.
Beeld: Shutterstock, BSR Agency
