Deportivo Espanol

The beginnings

The club is a social, cultural and sporting organisation founded on 12 October 1956 by a group of Spaniards living in Argentina, under the name Club Deportivo Español de Buenos Aires. The date was specially selected to commemorate the Spanish National day.

The aim was to bring together under a single footballing body all those passionate about the game who were of Spanish origin or descendants of those immigrants who, alongside other significant communities, had contributed so much to the development of Argentina.

Its first headquarters were in the basement of "Bar La Mezquita" in Buenos Aires, and barely a year after its creation it already had approximately two thousand members, which led to the move in 1957 to the Centro Ribadumia premises. Its first president was Luis Soler Camino.

Entering to AFA competitions

In 1957 affiliated to the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and the football team began to participate in the fourth division ("Tercera de Ascenso", equivalent to Torneo Promocional Amateur) chaining a meteoric promotion row in the upper tiers.

Just a year after joining the AFA Español won the amateur championship promoting to "Segunda de Ascenso" (today Primera C) and only 3 years after, Español won the league being promoted to the second-tier league Primera B (Nacional was introduced in the 80').

Amid this successes, the team embraced a tour to Spain, where they played teams as Pontevedra, Real Oviedo, Espanyol de Barcelona, Athetic Bilbao, Elche and Real Madrid, with Alfredo Di Stéfano and Puskas among their main squad.

The 1960 squad which were promoted to Primera B Metropolitana.

In 1967, only ten years after its foundation, Deportivo Español got promoted to the Argentine Primera División, the top tier in Argentine football.

Institutional growth and sporting decline

Deportivo Español not only developed a competitive football squad but also became the most popular Spanish club in Argentina. In the 1960s the Municipality of Buenos Aires granted the club 16 hectares in the south suburbs, where the club began to build its training complex.

The members themselves involved to the point where they filled in the marshy land in the Bajo Flores area of Buenos Aires with rubbles and dirt and laid the foundations for the current building complex. Meanwhile, the first team played their home matches at various stadiums along the city.

There was no shortage of setbacks on the pitch, as the first team was unable to maintain its place in the First Division status and was relegated two tiers, reaching back to Tercera de Ascenso (Primera C) back in 1972, where they will remain for 7 years.

Back in the spotlight

Under the new presidency of Francisco Ríos Seoane, who had also served as president of the iconic Cervecería San Carlos, Deportivo Español were crowned Primera C champions once again in 1979, marking the beginning of the club's golden age. In the late 1970s, Español purchased the land that had previously been granted by the local council.

On 11 February 1981, the Estadio España was inaugurated in a match against Deportivo La Coruña. It had an initial capacity of 18,000 spectators and was built on the club's grounds

In 1984, following a record-breaking season, Español won the Primera B championship with a 16-point lead over the runners-up, Defensores de Belgrano, and were promoted to the First Division for the second time in their history.

The 1984 championship-winning team was led by the coaching duo Oscar López and Oscar Cavallero, who had selected a squad of experienced players mixed with promising young talents and valuable club players. The main squad was led by Pedro Catalano in goal; Guillermo Zarate, Noberto D'Angelo, Héctor Clide Díaz and Lorenzo Ojeda on defense; Julio Crespo, Luis Alberto Correa and Fernando Donaires in midfield; and Cesár Lorea, Luis Moreno and José Luis "Puma" Rodríguez up front.

Glorious years

In 1985, Español began its second spell in Primera Division, where it remained for 14 consecutive years. During the 1985–86 season Español finished 2nd along with Newell's Old Boys, defeating Independiente, San Lorenzo de Almagro, former champion River Plate in the Estadio Monumental and remained unbeaten against Boca Juniors. In the next seasons, Español finished 3rd in 1988–89 season and 2nd in the 1992 Clausura.

Among its most notable achievements were participation in the Copa CONMEBOL (in 1992 and 1993) and in the Pre-Libertadores Play-offs in 1989 and 1992, and the club was invited on an international tour to Korea to compete in the President's Cup in 1987.

In social terms, the club had as many as 25,000 active members. The Spanish community's most important celebrations took place at Deportivo Español's facilities, making it the go-to meeting place for prominent figures from Spain, such as former Prime Minister Felipe González.

In 1996, the club refurbished its stadium and installed a state-of-the-art lighting system for its time. Meanwhile, various sports teams, including figure skating, roller hockey and basketball, were crowned champions.

The problems began

Between 1995 and 1996, under the presidency of Francisco Ríos Seoane, it was decided to merge Club Deportivo Español with two other organisations within the community such as the Hospital Español de Buenos Aires, to form a new organisation called Unión Española, under which name Deportivo Español competed in AFA tournaments during a brief period. The merge was dissolved on suspicion of tax fraud, each organisation went its separate way, and Deportivo Español reclaimed its name.

Crisis and seizure of the club

During 1998 a series of financial disputes led to a financial crisis at the club, and following an order from judge Juan Gariboto, the club was forced to close its doors due to the large number of bankruptcy claims. This initial closure lasted only a few days, but it served as a major wake-up call for the club.

That same year, the team was relegated to the Nacional B and the following year, the club closed for three months, being withdrawn from the First Division promotion play-offs it was competing in.