Brigadas Blanquiazules in the stands

RCD Espanyol · Cornellà

Brigadas Blanquiazules

Brigadas Blanquiazules, RCD Espanyol's ultra group since 1985: the Gol Sud of Sarrià, Irreductibles, the rivalry with Boixos Nois, friendship with Ultras Sur, expulsion by the club and a residual presence in 2023–2024.

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At a glance

Brigadas Blanquiazules in 30 seconds

Brigadas Blanquiazules is RCD Espanyol's historic ultra group, founded in 1985 in the Gol Sud of Sarrià. The press has described it as far right, a rival of Boixos Nois and an ally of Ultras Sur; in the nineties it shared the Irreductibles banner with the Peña Juvenil. The club expelled it before 2007 and El País declared the group finished in 2010, although the 2022 to 2024 press still describes a residual presence of its members within La Curva RCDE.

Club
RCD Espanyol
City
Cornellà
Stadium
RCDE Stadium
Stand
Gol Sud of Sarrià (1985–1997) · residual presence in La Curva RCDE, Cornellà goal end (2023)
Founded
1985
Situation
Residual presence within La Curva RCDE (Metrópoli Abierta, May 2023)

Documented history

Brigadas Blanquiazules: Espanyol's historic ultra group

Brigadas Blanquiazules was born in 1985 in the Gol Sud of the old Sarrià stadium, according to La Soga's retrospective, which presents it as Espanyol's most important ultra group of that era. Its history spans the rivalry with Boixos Nois, the animation shared with the Peña Juvenil in the nineties, the expulsion decided by the club and an increasingly reduced presence at Montjuïc and Cornellà.

1985–1991: Sarrià and the rivalry with Boixos Nois

In the late eighties and early nineties, Boixos Nois and Brigadas Blanquiazules were involved in frequent clashes in Barcelona, according to Metrópoli Abierta's retrospective. On 13 January 1991, Barça radicals attacked Espanyol fans near Sarrià and killed a 20-year-old; Crónica Global describes him as a well-known blue-and-white ultra, and Metrópoli Abierta speaks of young people wearing Espanyol and Brigadas insignia.

See this section's source ↗

Irreductibles: a shared banner in the nineties

La Soga places in the mid-nineties a period in which Brigadas Blanquiazules and the Peña Juvenil shared a location and a banner in the Gol Sud under the name Irreductibles, with tifos and scarf displays. The Juvenil, born in 1991, kept its own identity. Espanyol's last official match at Sarrià was played on 21 June 1997 against Valencia, and with it ended the group's time in its original stand.

See this section's source ↗

The expulsion by the club and the Montjuïc period

According to La Vanguardia (October 2016), Espanyol's fight against Brigadas Blanquiazules culminated in its expulsion from the club before the measures provided for in the 2007 law against violence. Club sources cited that same month by El País recalled how they had dealt with the problems with the group at the time, and explained that La Curva was born in the Montjuïc period with official support.

See this section's source ↗

2010–2014: the end of the group according to the sources

El País wrote in December 2014 that Brigadas had gradually disappeared and that its end was declared in 2010. That same week, RTVE described it as greatly weakened and located in La Curva alongside the Juvenil, and 20minutos noted that it was banned from entering as an organised group, but that its members kept entering individually. The sources do not agree on whether the group ceased to exist or only ceased to exist as an organisation recognised in the stadium.

See this section's source ↗

Later groups in the Espanyol stands

In April 2018, Espanyol identified Curva RCDE, Peña Juvenil Espanyolista 1991 and Grada Canito separately in its meetings on animation, and in January 2021 it presented Objectiu21, a commission with the Federació Catalana de Penyes, Curva RCDE and Penya Juvenil 1991. These are groups with their own names and histories, not new names for Brigadas.

See this section's source ↗

2021–2024: residual presence in Cornellà

In May 2022, the Mossos d'Esquadra arrested three members of Boixos Nois for attacking in November 2021 a bar in Cornellà where members of Brigadas Blanquiazules were gathering, according to EFE. The Mossos placed the attack within the historic rivalry between the two groups. In May 2023, Metrópoli Abierta described Brigadas's presence at the ground as residual, with former members inside La Curva RCDE, in the Cornellà goal end, and ElDesmarque repeated in October 2024 that the few who remain are concentrated in that stand.

See this section's source ↗

Key dates

Timeline of Brigadas Blanquiazules

  1. 1985 · Founded at Sarrià

    Born in the Gol Sud of the Sarrià stadium.

  2. 1991 · Attack next to Sarrià

    On 13 January, Barça radicals attack Espanyol fans and kill a 20-year-old.

  3. 1997 · Farewell to Sarrià

    The last match at the stadium is played on 21 June.

  4. 2010 · End according to El País

    El País places the end of the group in 2010; other sources later describe a residual presence.

  5. 2021 · Attack in Cornellà

    Boixos Nois members attack a bar where Brigadas members were; three arrested in 2022.

  6. 2023 · Residual presence

    Metrópoli Abierta places former members within La Curva RCDE.

Ideology and identity · Brigadas Blanquiazules

RTVE, 20minutos and El País described Brigadas Blanquiazules as a far-right group in December 2014. In 2022, the Mossos d'Esquadra placed Brigadas and Boixos Nois in the same ideological current linked to the far right, according to EFE, and Metrópoli Abierta noted in 2023 that the openly fascist symbolism of other times had disappeared from the stadium. These descriptions refer to the group, not to La Curva RCDE or to Espanyol supporters as a whole.

Source of this description ↗

Frequently asked questions

Getting to know Brigadas Blanquiazules

What year was Brigadas Blanquiazules founded?

In 1985, in the Gol Sud of the Sarrià stadium, according to La Soga, 20minutos and Metrópoli Abierta.

Which team is Brigadas Blanquiazules from?

RCD Espanyol. It was born at Sarrià and followed the club to Montjuïc and Cornellà.

What is Brigadas Blanquiazules's ideology?

Far right, according to RTVE, 20minutos and El País (2014). In 2022, the Mossos placed it alongside Boixos Nois in the same far-right current.

Which stand was Brigadas Blanquiazules in?

In the Gol Sud of Sarrià until 1997. In 2023, Metrópoli Abierta placed its former members within La Curva RCDE, in the Cornellà goal end of the RCDE Stadium.

Who are Brigadas Blanquiazules's rivals?

Boixos Nois, of FC Barcelona. The most serious clash ended with the death of a young Espanyol fan in January 1991, and in November 2021 there was a new attack at a bar in Cornellà.

Which group are they friends with?

With Ultras Sur, of Real Madrid, according to 20minutos and RTVE (2014), Metrópoli Abierta and Crónica Global (2023).

Do Brigadas Blanquiazules still exist?

With a residual presence. El País declared the group finished in 2010, but the 2022 to 2024 press still mentions its members, mostly within La Curva RCDE.

What was Irreductibles at Espanyol?

The banner that Brigadas Blanquiazules and the Peña Juvenil shared during a period in the nineties in the Gol Sud of Sarrià, according to La Soga.

Sources

The documents behind this history

Each source keeps its date and scope. Titles appear in their original language. An insider account, an announcement and an official decision document different facts.

Documentary review: 18 October 2026. English edition: 21 October 2026. Editorial team: Mundo Ultras.

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