With international football ensuring no top-flight matches last weekend in Spain, it was a chance for the lesser leagues to grab the spotlight.
The B teams of Barcelona and Real Madrid are in Spain’s second division, yet both are in the relegation positions and Madrid dismissed their manager after a 6-0 defeat at Eibar.
The B team is more important to Barcelona, who regularly promote talent from it to the first team.
They want their players at a higher level, facing big opponents like Deportivo La Coruna, Sporting Gijon and Zaragoza. Madrid have been more reluctant to promote emerging players, especially under Jose Mourinho, yet the entire wage cost of a mid-table second team is around €5 million (Dh24.8m).
Unlike in England, there are no significant parachute payments for relegated teams, meaning the second division can be a relatively balanced affair.
Just 10 points currently separate Lugo in third with Sabadell in 20th.
Lugo, from Galicia, play in a tiny, 4,800-seater stadium. Eibar, the Basque team in a play-off place, holds 5,200. Tiny clubs have a realistic chance of promotion. Alcorcon, average crowd 2,000, reached the play-offs last season.
The romance may have been dimmed by the dominance of the big two in Spain, but it is alive in the league below, as those Eibar fans who saw “Eibar 6 Real Madrid Castilla 0” on their scoreboard at the weekend will agree.
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