There are a few things you need to know about Girona. In 1999, they were playing in the fifth tier. As recently as 2006-07, they were in Spain’s Tercera Division (which back then was the country’s fourth-highest league). Girona, the 11th-most populous city in Catalonia, is not a place known for its sporting achievements.

The first buses left town late on Tuesday, for some 12 hours on the road, skirting the Pyrenees and up through France. Other supporters of Girona have arrived in Paris by train and by air. For most, it is the away trip of lifetime.

The Spanish team surprisingly finished third in LaLiga behind Real Madrid and Barcelona but have complex ties to the Premier League club.