How minnows Girona upstaged Spanish football giants to set sights on Europe
Al Jazeera
Can Catalan club Girona finish their astonishing season by taking their grand history to the top of Spain’s La Liga and force their way into European football?
Girona, Spain – Decked out with Girona’s flags, signed shirts and banners, the Graner bar is home to the Penya Gironina, the club’s biggest fan club.
Wearing the team’s red-and-white shirts, a mix of greying heads, middle-aged women and young boys and girls gathered here to watch their team playing away to Celta Vigo in La Liga.
All relishing their improbable rise to the summit of Spanish football.
The Graner is in a drab suburb of this northeastern city, whose centre boasts beautiful medieval architecture which attracted 8.5 million tourists last year.
In the same suburb is Estadio Montilivi, the club’s pocket-sized stadium which fits only 14,000 fans, about a sixth of the size of neighbouring Barcelona’s Nou Camp home.
