Will Espanyol lose intentionally to Real?

[Leo_Messi]

So the followers/fans of Espanyol in Barcelona are Castilian Spanish as opposed to Catalans for Barça?

Not really. Espanyol JUST like FCB has plenty of local fans of Catalan origin as well as plenty of fans among locals with ancestral ties to other regions of Spain. Historically it was slightly differently though.
FCB is not the only football club based in Catalonia or who identifies with Catalonia, you know.

Don't forget that around 25-30% of all Spaniards support FCB. Hardly confined to Catalonia alone. Same story with RM obviously vis-á-vis Madrid and the immediate regions.

Andalusians or people of Andalusian (partial or full - most are partial) origin are very numerous in Catalonia but you have people from all over Spain just like you have people from all over Spain in all major cities and most regions.

You really have to be a local (Spaniard) to know about all of those finer details. Anyway we are quite off-topic.

As others already wrote then even if Espanyol wanted to take points from RM they would find that very difficult as they are simply a much more inferior team compared to RM. Same story when they are playing against us in recent years. They always want to beat us but it rarely happens.

 

[Luftstalag14]

Not really. Espanyol JUST like FCB has plenty of local fans of Catalan origin as well as plenty of fans among locals with ancestral ties to other regions of Spain. Historically it was slightly differently though.
FCB is not the only football club based in Catalonia or who identifies with Catalonia, you know.

Don't forget that around 25-30% of all Spaniards support FCB. Hardly confined to Catalonia alone. Same story with RM obviously.

Andalusians or people of Andalusian (partial or full - most are partial) origin are very numerous in Catalonia but you have people from all over Spain just like you have people from all over Spain in all major cities and most regions.

You really have to be a local (Spaniard) to know of all of those finer details. Anyway we are quite off-topic.

As others already wrote then even if Espanyol wanted to take points from RM they would find that very difficult as they are simply a much more inferior team compared to RM. Same story when they are playing against us in recent years. They always want to beat us but it rarely happens.

So what you are saying is, many of the Espanyol supporters and fans in Barcelona are actually Catalan and perhaps are even sympathetic to the Calatan Clause (independence etc.), but are nevertheless Espanyol fans and are anti-Barça for a variety of reasons, such as family tradition, upbringing, and other factors that define and separate fans of opposing clubs from the same city such as Real Madrid/Atletico, Arsenal/Chelsea etc.?

 

[Leo_Messi]

So what you are saying is, many of the Espanyol supporters and fans in Barcelona are actually Catalan and perhaps are even sympathetic to the Calatan Clause (independence etc.), but are nevertheless Espanyol fans and are anti-Barça for a variety of reasons, such as family tradition, upbringing, and other factors that define and separate fans of opposing clubs from the same city such as Real Madrid/Atletico, Arsenal/Chelsea etc.?

Yes. The ideological differences that were mostly based on ethnic origin and politics initially are pretty much not relevant anymore. Espanyol's official name is written in Catalan and the official hymn is in Catalan too.

Anyway my father is of mixed Andalusian/Castilian and Catalan origin like a very large number of locals so I support the integrity of Spain as do most Spaniards. The diversity of Spain is what makes the country so great and unique and I rather have a strong united democratic country than several small ones. Especially given the status of many autonomous regions. Having a Catalan (let alone Andalusian, Extremaduran, Galician, Canarian etc.) and a Spanish identity are not opposing choices. They rather (for most people that is) work in liaison. Expect for those people who are proponents of ethnocentrism.

Especially as we are talking about people who are very much alike on almost every front in the wider picture and especially given the demographics of today.

Same story in Italy, Germany etc. where there are many distinct regions and local languages/dialects although those local identities are less powerful than those found in Spain (Basque Country and Catalonia especially and to a smaller extend Galicia).