Sporting Gijón

Two finals in two seasons, and both times the opponent came from Madrid or Barcelona. Sporting Gijón reached the Copa del Rey final in 1981 and lost 1:3 to Barcelona; the following year they went again and lost 1:2 to Real Madrid. Between those two afternoons sat the season that still marks the club's ceiling — second place in La Liga in 1979.

That stretch was the end of a long climb rather than a sudden arrival. The club had spent decades moving between divisions, winning the Segunda División three times — in 1944, 1958 and again in 1970.

Home is El Molinón, which holds 29,371. The rest of the name matters more than the number: the ground is officially Estadio Municipal El Molinón-Enrique Castro «Quini».

The club began in July 1905 as Sporting Club Gijonés, took royal patronage in 1912 and settled on Real Sporting de Gijón in April 1916. Red and white stripes on the shirt, blue shorts and socks.

Alongside the national honours there is a shelf of local silverware: 23 wins in the Villa de Gijón tournament and 23 in the Costa Verde, plus the Carranza Trophy in 1984.

And then there is Quini, whose name Gijón attached to its stadium.