From Bodo to Brentford - ranking this season's biggest overachievers
Now what makes a good underdog story? We're looking for those who have achieved beyond their means, ruffled the feathers of the competition's elite. Disruptors, innovators, those offering something different.
Como 1907 may well boast the richest owners in Italian football - where's the romance in that, you ask - but they are hardly steeped in Serie A heritage. Whether through investment, savvy recruitment or the ability to build a brand off their iconic lakeside location, they have risen from the fourth tier less than a decade ago to contending for a Champions League spot. I Biancoblu are also playing arguably the sexiest football in Italy this season, perhaps unsurprisingly given their head coach is Cesc Fabregas, recently dubbed a "phenomenon" by former Serie A midfielder Massimo Orlando.
A win against Roma on Sunday keeps Fabregas' boys fourth, above Juventus. From Lombardy to Galicia, the same principles apply when it comes to employing an attractive approach, with Celta Vigo 's progress revolving around putting their trust in youth. Only Athletic Club, Real Sociedad and Barcelona have given more minutes to club-trained prospects in La Liga this term.
Yet boyhood Celta fan Claudio Giraldez's side - currently sixth - are on course for the club's best finish in a decade, and have reached the Europa League knockouts for the first time since a semi-final defeat by Manchester United in 2017. Gaze across the continent and you'll find other over-performers in France, Germany and Switzerland - Lens, grappling for a first title since 1998, have spent a large chunk of the season on top of Ligue 1, although missed the chance to retake the lead from Paris St-Germain in a surprise defeat at Lorient on Saturday. Hoffenheim , who have not enjoyed a top-five finish since 2018, are having a stellar season in the Bundesliga and sit third behind Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen.
At this rate, only a second Champions League appearance beckons for a club who in the past two decades have risen from Germany's regional leagues to become an established top-flight outfit under the stewardship of billionaire businessman Dietmar Hopp. Lens saw a huge turnover in their playing squad last summer but boss Pierre Sage has them in the hunt for a first Ligue 1 title in almost 30 years Just over a three-hour drive south, skirting the Rhine until you hit the Swiss border, heading into an Alpine gateway towards the turquoise waters of Lake Thun, footballing folklore is being scribed. FC Thun haven't won a trophy in the club's 128-year history - even though they did reach the Champions League group stages in 2005, losing twice against Arsenal - and were only promoted last summer, but are taking the Super League by storm.