2023-09-29 11:43:00
The Girona club, bought in 2017 by the City Football Group, Emirati parent company of Manchester City, is having the best start to a season in its history in La Liga, rivaling Barça.
He also rubs shoulders with Real Madrid, whom he welcomes on Saturday (6:30 p.m.).
When they marked this match in their calendar, the Catalans might never have imagined that they would welcome, in their small Montilivi stadium (14,500 seats), the Merengue club in the shoes of the leader. And yet, the team promoted in 2022 took advantage of a favorable calendar to string together six consecutive victories and take the lead in La Liga, with 19 points in 7 days.
An ‘unexpected’ situation both for coach Michel – not to be confused with his namesake who spent time in Marseille in particular – and for sports director Quique Carcel.
‘We’re taking advantage of this exceptional moment. We have a very clear objective which is to maintain our position, but the fact of already having 19 points gives us a lot of security,’ the second told AFP. ‘50% of the work is done’, Pep Guardiola’s brother Pere, who owns half of the club’s shares, rejoiced to the daily Sport.
There is no question of getting excited, however, continues Michel, for whom ‘the only objective’ remains ‘maintenance’.
‘Clear project’
A medium-sized town of around 110,000 inhabitants located near the Pyrenees and the Costa Brava, halfway between Barcelona and the French border, Girona does not have the profile of a top of the class.
But for FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez, the little neighbor’s great start to the season ‘is not a surprise’. ‘They deserve a lot of credit, they are a spectacular team. They have been doing things well for several years, their project is very clear and they have a very good coach, Michel.’
Thanks to the attacking football of its coach, Girona finished last season in 10th place, just four points behind Osasuna, qualified for the Europa Conference League play-offs.
‘It’s true that we feel much stronger than during our first climb (in 2017). We must remain humble but also have the ambition to take a step forward this season,’ says Quique Carcel.
According to the sports director, it is the continuity in the squad from last year which explains this success. ‘Even if we lost four indisputable starters, we kept 15 or 16 elements (…), who now have baggage, automatisms and who believe in the idea of the coach.’
Smart recruitment
Forced to let go of Oriol Romeu to Barça and Santiago Bueno to Wolverhampton, the Catalans recruited smartly, thanks in particular to the structure of the City Football Group and its sprawling recruitment and scouting network.
The club, of which the City Group of Sheikh Mansour, vice-president of the United Arab Emirates, owns 47% of the shares, was thus able to afford the reinforcements of Ukrainian striker Artem Dovbyk, the most expensive recruit in its history (7 .5 million euros), Venezuelan midfielder Yangel Herrera, purchased for five million from ManCity, and Brazilian winger Savio, on loan from Troyes (French L2), another member of the group.
These three players are the protagonists of this successful start to the season, with three goals and two assists for Herrera and Dovbyk, and two goals and four assists for Savio (19), untenable on his left side.
Girona also signed Dutch defender Daley Blind and Argentine goalkeeper Gazzaniga on free, and had ex-City defender Eric Garcia loaned from Barça.
Enough to build a competitive team, ‘beautiful to watch play, which wants to have control of the ball, personality’ and which has ‘a competitive advantage’ over its traditional competitors thanks to the support of the City Football Group, ‘in terms of infrastructure , scouting, care or nutrition’ adds Quique Carcel.
On the pitch, ‘the magic’ works, according to him, because Michel thus has ‘enough talents’ to develop his game plan: ‘not worrying too much regarding the result, and attacking, attacking to score goals’. A recipe that works for the moment: Girona has the best attack in La Liga with 18 goals.
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