The manifesto that refutes the historical refrain about Espanyol

BarcelonaWhere does the image of Espanyol as come from? anti-Catalan clubWhen does political Spanish nationalism take hold? Does this deeply ingrained narrative have a historical basis? Or is it just a stereotype? These are some of the questions that David González and Javier Robles, historians and Espanyol fans, asked themselves a few months ago before starting their latest academic study.Football and national identities in Catalonia: the role of RCD Espanyol in the 1918-1919 autonomist campaign, recently published in the magazine Materials for the History of Sport.

If they focus on the Statute of Autonomy of 1918-1919One of the first Catalan nationalist movements for self-government, this event "is one of the foundational pillars" of the narrative surrounding the historical link between Espanyol and anti-Catalanism. "The campaign transcended the political sphere and received social, cultural, and sporting support; among them, that of FC Barcelona, ​​which was the only football club to explicitly and with documented support," explains González. And what did Espanyol do? "It didn't take a stand. The same as the rest of the teams except for Barça. It maintained a decidedly neutral stance, but in no way anti-Catalan," adds Robles.

In any case, at a time when football became a generator of political and social identities as soon as it became a mass phenomenon, "some Catalan nationalist media outlets aligned with FC Barcelona" portrayed Espanyol as opposed to the autonomy movement. He was identified as "the antithesis of Barça" and stereotyped as "anti-Catalan" because a strong sporting rivalry already existed between the two clubs, which eventually led to a "conflict of political identities." The scientific study by González and Robles reveals that the main instigator of this media campaign was the controversial and radicalized journalist—the Espanyol club even took him to court—of the Voice of Catalonia Daniel Carbó, known by the pseudonym Correcuita, a fervent Catalan nationalist and Barça member, who "tendentially caricatured Espanyol": he accused them of vetoing political debate, of opposing Catalan, of defending unitarism, of wrapping themselves in the Spanish flag and even of being.

The manifesto of the Catalanist partners

In early 1919, a group of 125 Espanyol members issued a manifesto—published in two newspapers—to defend the compatibility of their Catalan identity with their membership in Espanyol, asserting the political neutrality and pluralism of their club—there were also factions closer to Spanish nationalism. One of the signatories was Josep M. Tallada Paulí, vice-president of the club and leader of the youth wing of the Regionalist League. "It was a reaction to the pro-Barcelona press, which portrayed Espanyol as opposed to Catalan nationalism, and a very significant act because it demonstrates how aggressive the political climate was at the time. They came out publicly to say, 'Listen, what's being said about Espanyol isn't true; everyone is welcome here and we are all respected,'" states David González, a historian at the University.

The response from Espanyol members did not change the preconceived image of the club, which, according to Robles of the Terrassa Center for Historical Studies, "still plagues the club today." "There is a significant lack of historiography related to Espanyol because all the studies done on sport and politics in Catalonia focus on Barça. Never on Espanyol. And the primary source for these studies is Carbó, whose work has been taken as a reference despite being a radical and subjective narrative," he points out.

An example of this is the work Barça, Barça, Barça (1972), by Joan Josep Artells, which presents Espanyol as a club opposed to regional autonomy, and which is a reference and inspiration for much of the subsequent research. "Despite being a questionable interpretation, no one has reviewed it with scientific and methodological rigor, perpetuating a biased view that has persisted to this day," concludes González, who through RCDE History Lab, a research group focused on the club's history, in which Robles also participates, investigates elements of Espanyol's social and political history to answer questions such as the narrative of the link between the club and anti-Catalanism.