The yellow submarine

It's that time of the year when titles are handed out, and, yet again, Villarreal win the accolade of Europe's most over-achieving football club.

The English equivalent would be Crewe Alexandra. A club from a small town in the Potteries snubbing their noses at the footballing elite. Once they were known as El Submarino Amarillo, the Yellow Submarine, as they bobbed from the depths to the heights of Spanish football.

Villarreal didn't even reach La Liga until 1998; now they have qualified for the Champions League for the fifth time; when they compete in Europe, they really compete.

Manchester United were their victims in the 2021 Europa League final; twice they've made it to the Champions League semis. They are the eternal underdog.

It's quite an achievement, considering they offloaded 16 players last summer, including Alexander Sørloth who'd been the leading scorer in the league until the final day. The 32 million euros recouped was wisely invested. Only 4 million euros was required to sign Ayoze Pérez from Real Betis. He's followed in the Norwegian's footsteps and is the leading Spanish scoring striker in the league.

Ayoze and Álex Baena are the stars of club and country. Many experts rate Baena as the top midfielder in the country this season. It's quite a story for a player who turned down the riches of Saudi Arabia to stay in the ceramic capital of Europe.

Together they will be leading the team wearing the unique all-yellow strip into the elite European competition next season. A top five position was earned by beating the Champions Barcelona on their own patch. No mean feat! It was Barça's first domestic defeat of 2025 - and it came on the day the Catalans were lifting the title.

The success comes down to the management of Marcelino García Toral - stage name Marcelino. He's the expert at taking broken clubs and fixing them. Under his tenure Zaragoza were promoted, Racing Santander reached Europe, Recreativo reached the top eight, Valencia won the Copa del Rey and Athletic Club clinched the Spanish Super Cup. The man is an underrated winner.

The only danger is he'll be tempted to take his talents elsewhere. Unai Emery and Manuel Pellegrini were both head-hunted after success at El Madrigal. There is talk of him heading to Sevilla, a club that is desperate. Hopefully, he'll not head to a big city and stay at the "village" club, as it is known. He's rebuilt a team in his disciplined and organised image.

Few clubs enjoy visiting the claustrophobic stadium, which resembles the inside of a cardboard box. The fans are right on top of the pitch at the sheer sided auditorium.

To some in Europe, it may come as a culture shock, but not to many. Since 2013, Villarreal have now finished in the top seven every year except 2019. It is the undisputed, best footballing village in the world. Don't bet against them.