There is far more to Catalan football than Barcelona. Espanyol are first-division mainstays, while Gimnastic Tarragona, Lleida and CE Europa have all played top-flight football.
Girona, from a wealthy city of 97,000 situated 100 kilometres north of Barcelona near the French border, are in a superb position to enjoy a first promotion to the Primera Liga for next season.
Currently second in the second division behind Levante, Girona are 11 points clear of third place and a play-off spot. The team with links to Manchester City, from whom they have loaned two players, are winning every week.
But they will not get too carried away just yet.
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Though they have played in Spain’s regional third and fourth divisions for the majority of their 87-year history, Girona have been in the second tier for nine seasons.
In three of the past four seasons they have reached the play-offs, each time ending in failure.
In 2012, they were second before, inexplicably, losing at home to bottom-of-the-table and the already relegated Xerez. It was Xerez’s first win in seven months and there were credible claims they had been paid extra monies to perform against their high-flying opponents, a legal but unethical tactic which stains Spanish football.
In 2015, second-placed Girona were heading to the Primera Liga before they conceded a late goal in their final game allowing Sporting Gijón to go up on goal difference after winning at already promoted champions Real Betis.
More heartache would follow in the play-offs, as it would in 2016.
The current team, under Pablo Machin, has had a stronger sense of purpose since holding part of their pre-season training camp at City’s Etihad Campus in north-west England.
Their latest victory came at fellow Catalan side Reus on Sunday, a team who themselves are playing at their highest level this season.
Before kick off, many of the 4,178 crowd watched Barcelona’s surprise defeat to Deportivo La Coruna.
Most fans of Reus and Girona also support Barca, the flagship Catalan club, whose global appeal makes attracting fans to watch their neighbours even more difficult.
Barca also take the pick of local players, with Sergi Roberto, scorer of last week’s dramatic winner against Paris Saint-Germain in the Uefa Champions League, from Reus.
Girona, featuring two Pablos on loan from City — Maffeo and Mari (the former played for City in October’s Manchester derby against United) — were too strong and organised for Reus.
Girona has never been a big football city and the atmosphere at home games would never be described as passionate.
It has, however, produced several players who went on to represent Barcelona.
Average crowds of 5,000 means there is still plenty of space in their 9,300-seater Montilivi home. The club intend to expand that capacity should they go up and stay in the Primera Liga beyond one season.
The city is big enough to support a top-flight club, especially if they can attract armchair Barca fans to matches.
And if they do not, Gerundense will remain largely happy with their lot. They could dine at nearby El Celler Can Roca, in central Girona, voted the best restaurant in the world for 2013.
Girona is also home to several of the world’s leading cyclists who appreciate the climate, decent air and rail connections, the nearby Pyrenees for climbing and the beautiful coastal roads of the Costa Brava.
Soon they may have a top-flight football club to call their own and as Jose, a fan of 40 years, said in Reus as he queued alongside 500 away fans to get in the away end while waving a red and white flag: “This is the best team we’ve ever had and next season we’ll play Barca and [Real] Madrid.”
“We’ll beat them too!” added his friend Toni, indicating the exuberance around Girona.
Beating third-place Cadiz this Sunday will go a long way towards achieving that top-flight status.
Atletico are no PSG
Even the most optimistic comment from Bayer Leverkusen’s new Turkish manager Tayfun Korkut sounded defeatist.
“We’re not going to lose in the Calderon,” said the man who played and managed in Spain with Real Sociedad and Espanyol, who knows the likelihood of overturning a 4-2 home defeat from the first leg in Wednesday’s Uefa Champions League last-16 second leg is minute.
Barcelona rated their chances of doing what most considered impossible last week — coming back from a 4-0 deficit to Paris Saint-Germain — because they are so good at home.
Unfortunately for Leverkusen, so are Atletico Madrid.
Diego Simeone’s side have won nine, drawn two and lost two (against Barca and Real Madrid) this season.
They have also won every Champions League game at home, including against Bayern Munich, and have won 28 of their past 33 European matches at the Vicente Calderon, losing only twice.
Recent history hardly gives the German side hope either.
Atletico knocked Leverkusen out of the Champions League in 2015 and the on the way to winning the Europa League in 2010.
They also eliminated Bayern Munich, Germany’s dominant team, from the competition last season. Atletico are on a seven-match unbeaten home run to German teams.
Only twice in Champions League history has a team overturned a defeat at home in the first leg to win the tie — European champions Ajax, against Panathinaikos in 1995/96, and European champions Inter Milan, against Bayern Munich in 2010/11.
In both cases, the home side had lost the first leg 1-0.
It is highly unlikely that Atletico will need a penalty shoot-out to reach the last eight, as they required at the same stage last season against PSV Eindhoven.
Bayer Leverkusen may have Javier Hernandez, the man whose dramatic late goal for Real Madrid knocked Atletico out of the 2014/15 quarter-finals, in their ranks, but they have been disappointing this season. They sit 10th in the Bundesliga with only two wins from seven games in 2017, and no win in any competition for a month.
Atletico have reached the final in two of the past three seasons. Goals from each of their formidable front line of Saul Niguez, Antoine Griezmann, Kevin Gamiero and Fernando Torres at the Bayer Arena in the first leg put Atletico firmly in control, and increased the likelihood of Spain having four representatives in the last eight of the Champions League for the first time.
Tonight’s game will also allow Atletico mainstays Felipe Luis and Gabi to serve a one-match ban.
Atletico are 10 points off neighbours Real Madrid in the race for the Primera Liga and a repeat of their 2014 title triumph is as implausible as Leverkusen’s progress to the last eight tonight.
Atletico’s focus is the Champions League and finally winning a final, at the fourth attempt.
Though not the best team in Europe, they deserve it.
Player of the week
• Joselu was Deportivo La Coruna's star performer in their shock 2-1 win against Barcelona. Luis Enrique's side had been unbeaten since October — when they also lost in Galicia, against Celta Vigo. Depor are finding form under new manager Pepe Mel and are now eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Game of the week
• Athletic Bilbao v Real Madrid will be a real test for the league leaders. Ernesto Valverde's side have only lost one of their 14 home games this season, and enjoyed an excellent 2-0 away win in the Basque derby at Real Sociedad on Sunday. Fourth-place Atletico Madrid v third-place Sevilla is another huge game. Barcelona are at home to Valencia.
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