Whenever there are two football teams in close proximity there is a strong chance that there will be an intense rivalry between those two clubs, and when the clubs are as large and well followed as Barcelona and Espanyol it almost goes without saying. Whilst the most famous rivalry in Spanish football is that between Barcelona and Real Madrid, for many Barcelona fans the rivalry with Espanyol is unmatched as a result of the close proximity and history.
The history of the rivalry between Barcelona and Espanyol has a political past, with tradition stating that Espanyol were the club for those who sided with central authority, especially as the club was founded an ran by a strictly Spanish board. Barcelona fans, on the other hand, were a strictly Catalan club and run by a multinational congregation. Real Espanyol isolated themselves from many of the citizens of Barcelona even further by changing their name to include the word royal and moving away from the city centre to the affluent neighbourhood of Sarria, whereas Barcelona played in the working class area of Les Corts.
This political association has waned somewhat over time with people tending to side with one team or another due to family influence, but the close proximity in which the fans live ensures high tension and an electric atmosphere when the sides meet. Real Espanyol have just completed a new stadium in a town outside of Barcelona called Cornella, meaning that the club will for the first time lose their tag as a Barcelona team.
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