Blessed with breathtaking architecture, golden beaches and one of the world's best football teams, Barcelona has long enjoyed a reputation as Spain's greatest city - the fashionable jewel at the heart of the country's economic powerhouse, Catalonia.

But a year of mishaps and misfortunes capped by this week's 4-1 humiliation of Barcelona FC by arch rivals Real Madrid has left many residents wondering whether their star player, Ronaldinho, isn't the only one who has lost his touch. “The club's problems are a metaphor for a Catalonia that is far too easy on itself,” said Josep Oliver, in the regional newspaper El Periódico de Catalunya.

For many residents of Catalonia, the independent-minded region with Barcelona as its capital, the last 12 months have been an annus horriblis. Last summer a power cut left 350,000 Barcelona residents living by candlelight and eating cold food for three days, drawing attention to the region's ageing infrastructure.

It then suffered months of transport chaos when the regional train network virtually collapsed during engineering works on the final leg of the Madrid to Barcelona bullet train. Up to 160,000 people were forced to find alternative means to get to work, their trips often taking hours more in each direction. Now the region is faced with its worst drought in almost a century, threatening the region's agricultural industry. . “The question now is, have we hit rock bottom?” asked the letters page in the Barcelona-based newspaper, La Vanguardia.

Important as these problems are, perhaps none has affected Catalan's self-confidence more than the performance of their team. Local newspapers have accused the players of “dishonouring their shirts” and angry fans have hurled insults at their team.

Barcelona are on track to finish third in the national league, their worst showing in five years and one that will force them to qualify for next year's Champions League. The team were eliminated from this year's semi-finals by Manchester United.

Many commentators have seen a wider significance in the once unbeatable team's misfortunes. “Ronaldinho is a symptom of the Barça's maladies and Barça is a symptom of the ills of Barcelona and, if you wish, the whole of Catalonia,” wrote Jesús Cachoa, aself-declared admirer of Barcelona, in the internet magazine El Confidencial.

“It's true that Catalonia is much more than Barça, but Barcelona FC is now a perfect metaphor for the ... sweet decay of a city that has progressively been losing its fire and charm.” At the same time it has not been lost on Catalans that, mirroring the recent success of its football team, Madrid has been doing rather well of late.

What a decade ago seemed an old-fashioned city of bureaucrats is today one of Spain's fastest-growing regions, a bustling and self-confident place with an increasingly large influence. In a recent debate in the newspaper El Público on the rivalry, Mario Gavilla, an expert on urban development, said that Madrid had overtaken Barcelona in virtually every field. Madrid is the more dynamic industrially, academically and scientifically, he said, adding triumphantly: “Madrid is or will be the third city in Europe.”

Many Catalans blame the Government in Madrid for neglecting their economy. They say that the capital has ploughed national funds into flashy projects such as the spectacular Richard Rogers-designed airport terminal at Barajas while their own infrastructure has been left to crumble.

A study by Fundación BBVA however showed that inhabitants of Madrid region pay €2,300 (£1,800) a year more in taxes than they receive from the national budget - more than twice the gap suffered by Catalans.

But Catalans still have some good things to look forward to. Woody Allen chose the city to make his forthcoming film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, to be screened this month at Cannes. Catalans are crossing their fingers that it, too, does not end up being a flop.

Compare and contrast

Barcelona

— Capital of Catalonia, on the Mediterranean, 12.5 metres above sea level

— Covers an area of 100.4sq km and has population of 1,408,805

— Climate typically Mediterranean: hot and humid summers and mild winters. Average annual temperature 17.6C

— Has sandy beaches and marinas, as well as elegant squares and shopping streets, most well known being the tree-lined Las Ramblas

— Culturally rich with its GaudÍ architecture and Picasso Museum

Madrid

— Capital of Spain, at the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, 646 metres above sea level

— Municipal boundaries enclose an area of 607sq km and it has a population of 3,187,062, the third-largest European city population after London and Berlin

— Average annual temperature in shade is 13C. In summer it can reach 40C while in winter temperatures can be below freezing

— City has 73 museums, the most famous of which are the Prado Gallery and the Reina Soffia, and a vibrant café culture and nightlife

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