# 1996–97 RCD Espanyol season

The 1996–97 season was the 97th season in the history of RCD Espanyol and the club's third consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football. In addition to the domestic league, Espanyol participated in this season's edition of the Copa del Rey and UEFA Cup.

## First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ESP | Toni Jiménez |
| 2 | DF | ESP | Cristóbal |
| 3 | DF | ESP | Víctor Torres Mestre |
| 4 | DF | ESP | Sebastián Herrera |
| 5 | DF | ARG | Mauricio Pochettino |
| 6 | MF | ESP | Adolfo Aldana |
| 7 | MF | ESP | Alberto Toril |
| 8 | MF | ESP | Luis Cembranos |
| 9 | FW | FRA | Nicolas Ouédec |
| 10 | MF | YUG | Branko Brnović |
| 11 | FW | ESP | Jordi Lardín |
| 12 | MF | CRO | Nenad Pralija |
| 13 | GK | ESP | Raúl Arribas |
| 14 | MF | ESP | Àlex Fernández |
| 14 | GK | FRA | Pascal Olmeta |
| 15 | MF | YUG | Goran Bogdanović |
| 16 | MF | ARG | Favio Fernández |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | FW | ROU | Florin Răducioiu |
| 17 | MF | ESP | Pacheta |
| 18 | DF | ESP | Nando |
| 19 | MF | ESP | Arteaga |
| 20 | FW | PAR | Miguel Ángel Benítez |
| 21 | DF | ESP | Miguel |
| 21 | MF | BEL | Dominique Lemoine |
| 22 | FW | ESP | Javi García |
| 23 | DF | ESP | Jaime Molina |
| 23 | MF | YUG | Miodrag Anđelković |
| 24 | MF | ESP | Francisco (captain) |
| 25 | DF | FRA | José Cobos |
| 26 | MF | ESP | Ángel Morales |
| 28 | DF | ESP | Toni Soldevilla |
| 29 | FW | ESP | Raúl Tamudo |
| — | DF | ESP | Pedro Nieto |

## Competitions
### Overall record

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| La Liga | 2 September 1996 | 21 June 1997 | Matchday 1 | 12th | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 51 | 57 | −6 | 033.33 |
| Copa del Rey | 8 January 1997 | 12 March 1997 | Third round | Quarter-finals | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 016.67 |
| UEFA Cup | 10 September 1996 | 29 October 1996 | First round | Second round | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 050.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 52 | 17 | 15 | 20 | 64 | 68 | −4 | 032.69 |
Source:

### La Liga
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 10 | Valencia | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 63 | 59 | +4 | 56 |
| 11 | Compostela | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 52 | 65 | −13 | 53 |
| 12 | Espanyol | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 51 | 57 | −6 | 51 |
| 13 | Racing Santander | 42 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 52 | 54 | −2 | 50 |
| 14 | Zaragoza | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 58 | 66 | −8 | 50 |
* ↑ VAL 2–1 TEN; TEN 2–1 VAL
* 1 2 RAC: 9 pts; ZAR: 6 pts; SPG: 3 pts

#### Matches

| Date | Venue | Opponent | Score |
| 2 September | H | Sporting de Gijón | 2–3 |
| 7 September | A | Barcelona | 1–2 |
| 15 September | H | Real Valladolid | 1–0 |
| 21 September | A | Athletic Bilbao | 2–2 |
| 28 September | H | Extremadura | 5–1 |
| 1 October | A | Real Madrid | 0–2 |
| 12 October | H | Celta de Vigo | 0–0 |
| 19 October | A | Deportivo de La Coruña | 0–2 |
| 23 October | H | Hércules | 2–1 |
| 26 October | A | Real Betis | 2–1 |
| 3 November | H | Rayo Vallecano | 0–0 |
| 10 November | A | Real Oviedo | 1–3 |
| 16 November | A | Atlético Madrid | 1–2 |
| 24 November | H | Racing de Santander | 0–0 |
| 1 December | A | Real Sociedad | 0–1 |
| 8 December | H | Real Zaragoza | 3–0 |
| 22 December | A | Tenerife | 1–5 |
| 5 January | H | Compostela | 0–2 |
| 12 January | A | Logroñés | 0–1 |
| 20 January | H | Sevilla | 1–0 |
| 25 January | A | Valencia | 1–1 |
| Date | Venue | Opponent | Score |
| 2 February | A | Sporting de Gijón | 3–4 |
| 9 February | H | Barcelona | 2–0 |
| 16 February | A | Real Valladolid | 1–2 |
| 19 February | H | Athletic Bilbao | 0–2 |
| 23 February | A | Extremadura | 0–3 |
| 3 March | H | Real Madrid | 0–2 |
| 9 March | A | Celta de Vigo | 2–2 |
| 15 March | H | Deportivo de La Coruña | 0–1 |
| 23 March | A | Hércules | 2–1 |
| 30 March | H | Real Betis | 0–0 |
| 6 April | A | Rayo Vallecano | 1–0 |
| 14 April | H | Real Oviedo | 2–0 |
| 17 April | H | Atlético Madrid | 0–0 |
| 20 April | A | Racing de Santander | 1–1 |
| 4 May | H | Real Sociedad | 3–0 |
| 11 May | A | Real Zaragoza | 0–1 |
| 18 May | H | Tenerife | 1–0 |
| 25 May | A | Compostela | 1–3 |
| 1 June | H | Logroñés | 5–1 |
| 15 June | A | Sevilla | 1–3 |
| 21 June | H | Valencia | 3–2 |

### Copa del Rey

| Round | Opponent | Aggregate | First leg | First leg | First leg | Second leg | Second leg | Second leg |
| Round | Opponent | Aggregate | Date | Venue | Score | Date | Venue | Score |
| Third round | Sporting de Gijón | 6–3 | 8 January | H | 4–1 | 15 January | A | 2–2 |
| Round of 16 | Deportivo de La Coruña | 2–2 (a) | 28 January | A | 2–2 | 5 February | H | 0–0 |
| Quarter-finals | Las Palmas | 1–1 (a) | 27 February | A | 0–0 | 12 March | H | 1–1 |

### UEFA Cup

Espanyol won 3–2 on aggregate.
Feyenoord won 3–1 on aggregate.