Real Club Deportivo España, Real España, or simply España is a Honduran professional football club, which plays in the Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Honduras. With 12 championships, Real España is one of the most accomplished Honduran football clubs, and its popularity is recognized outside of Honduras' boundaries. Their title of Real (Royal) was awarded by King Juan Carlos I of Spain in 1977. They are based in San Pedro Sula, Cortés, and their home venue is the Estadio General Francisco Morazán. History Real España was founded on 14 July 1929 at Escuela Ramón Rosa, de San Pedro Sula by Pastor Reyes, Juan Banegas, "Teco" Lardizábal, Hugo Escoto Soto and Leonardo Muñoz as Club Deportivo España. Their professional history begins in 1965–66, with the founding of the Honduran national league. For most of the league's first decade, Los Aurinegros were a mid-table side. However, in the early 1970s, things began to change. The team was anchored by defender Jaime Villegas, who would play for Real España from 1970 to 1986, and make a club record 306 appearances. In 1974, the addition of two new faces, keeper Julio César Arzú and striker Jimmy James Bailey, turned the team into title contenders for the first time. The team finished third in the regular season's table, which was good enough to qualify them for a quadrangular tournament, a round robin with the league's top four teams. Real España won this phase, forcing a championship playoff with regular season champions Motagua. Antonio Pavón Molina scored the lone goal of their 1–0 victory, making Los Aurinegros champions of Honduras for the very first time. In 1975, la Máquina got even stronger. They added a defensive midfielder named Gilberto Yearwood, who would eventually be considered one of the greatest Honduran players of all team. On the pitch, they enjoyed similar results, finishing third in the regular table, winning the quadrangular playoff, and earning a championship playoff with Olimpia. The teams drew the first leg 0–0, but Real España won the second leg 2–0, with goals from Alberto Ferreira da Silva and Gilberto Yearwood. 1976 saw the club climb to an even higher level. They won the regular season championship with 38 points (15 wins in 27 matches) and only narrowly finished second to Motagua in the quadrangular (had they won, there would have been no need for a championship playoff). In the resulting playoff, the teams