Villarreal fans support their team
The streets around Villarreal's stadium were filled with supporters from the town for the visit of Bayern Munich last week

The line-up for the quarter-finals of the European soccer competition includes teams from Madrid, Lisbon, London, Manchester and Liverpool.

Some might say that it's not right to have a team from an industrial city of the same name in eastern Spain with a population of 50,000.

The Yellow Submarine, as they are affectionately known, will go into Tuesday's second leg with a chance to reach the semi-finals of the competition for the first time.

Their success shouldn't come as a surprise. They have qualified for Europe in 17 of the past 22 seasons.

Things were very different when Marcos Senna joined the club. The Intertoto Cup was the only competition in which they were involved.

They became one of the strongest sides in Spain after beating Manchester United in the Europa League final last season to win their first trophy.

The club is in the center of the city, and the 21,626 people who watched the win over Bayern is not far off from half the population.

Many of them entered the stadium through gate number 19. It has been known for a decade that the Marcos Senna gate is a tribute to one of the club's most celebrated footballers.

A Euro 2008 winner, the Spanish-Brazilian argues that playing for a small-city team can be a dream come true.

"Obviously, this is not a place for partygoers, and I am the director of institutional relations at the club."

In the past, no team wanted players who were always out in nightclubs, so they didn't even accept anyone who lived in Valencia, which is around a 45 minute drive away, so they could have some control. Half of the squad now lives there, and I also do.

This can be an easy area to adapt to if you have the right mentality. We are close to the mountains and beaches, the club are always playing in the first division, pay on time, and provide everything you need.

You get here and you don't want to leave. I did not plan to stay long when I arrived. I have been here for 20 years and still love it.

After the title of the Europa League, nothing has changed.

We no longer have that pressure of never reaching finals. We won it for the first time.

Football owed us one because we had been working hard and doing things well for so many seasons. We want more. Things will get serious if we knock out Bayern.

'None of this happened overnight'

Despite being a family-run team and having a smaller budget compared to their European rivals, Villarreal have consistently challenged big guns from other countries over the years.

They upset the odds against the Italians in the last 16 by winning the first leg in Turin and then going on to win the tie.

It was the best night in European history.

They achieved it by signing players who have failed elsewhere and giving them a second chance.

Unai Emery had been sacked by Paris-St Germain and is now their manager.

His team has a backline that combines the youthful energy of highly rated local boy Pau Torres with the experience of former Real Madrid and Napoli centre-back Raul Albiol, a European champion in 2008. They have ex-Bournemouth forward Arnaut Danjuma and last season's Europa League top scorer Gerard Moreno in their attack.

One of the best success stories in football is the Yellow Submarine.

This didn't happen overnight. The result of 25 years of work is what it is. We could do some crazy business in the transfer market.

Other fans say the owner of Villarreal has a lot of money. That is true, but there is a great project behind it. Other teams that have investors don't click. It is not like this here.

Fernando Roig Negueroles, the club's chief executive, has been in charge of the transfer policy and is the most responsible for what has happened.

When players arrive here, they know they will be playing for a side that is always fighting for a top-six finish in La Liga and have an average attendance of 17,000. No fan will bother you and you always have that stadium feeling. Quality of life in all aspects is what it is.

'We have a better team now than in 2006'

Arsenal celebrate reaching the 2006 Champions League final
Arsenal went on to lose to Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League final after beating Villarreal in the semi-finals

In the 2005-06 semi-finals, Senna was a key part of the team that was defeated byArsenal.

The former player would rate their chances higher if they beat the Germans on Tuesday and reach the same stage again.

We had a smaller budget and inferior team back then. The squad is more balanced. The team is stronger than the rest.

Who would win if they faced each other? It would be a great game, but if it went to extra time and required more from the bench, the current side would do better.

Banner Image Reading Around the BBC - BlueFooter - Blue