Promoted to La Liga in 2022, on the podium in 2024, Girona is the most upward trajectory of recent times in Spain. Last year, the Catalan club particularly shone on the screen with an offensive mentality, a polished game and ambitions that were rewarded with a nice third place. Among the lot, we will remember strong images like two victories on the score of 4-2 against FC Barcelona, a 4-3 success against Atlético de Madrid and a volcanic last match against Granada (7-0). Guided by Michel on the bench, the best scorer of La Liga Artem Dovbyk in front and the will-o’-the-wisp Savinho in the left flank, Girona now only has the architect of this project in its midst. And the latter had a lot of work this summer to rebuild a majestic building.
Because nothing was guaranteed at the beginning of the summer. Ukrainian striker Artem Dovbyk was popular after an XXL season (25 goals and 10 assists in 41 matches) and he joined AS Roma for 30.5 million euros. The playmaker of this team, Aleix Garcia earned 18 million euros by joining Bayer Leverkusen. On the other hand, three other executives did not earn a single cent. Yan Couto returned to Manchester City from his loan and was sold to Borussia Dortmund while Savinho went to Troyes before joining Manchester City permanently. Finally, central defender Eric Garcia returned to FC Barcelona where he only has a marginal role. So it is not ideal to rebuild a team with 5 of the 11 starters disappearing, including 3 for free. Girona was smart in finding collective harmony and the result is interesting for the moment.
Smart additions
Keeping Paulo Gazzaniga in goal, David Lopez, Daley Blind and Miguel Gutierrez in defense, Ivan Martin and Yangel Herrera in midfield and Viktor Tsygankov up front, Girona has managed to make some interesting additions without going crazy. The club, which has released 56.5 million euros following its sales, has spent 43.9 million euros this summer, almost half of which was on right winger Yaser Asprilla (20 years old, Watford) who is currently a substitute. Like last year, there have been some relevant loans such as Bryan Gil (Tottenham), Arnaut Danjuma (Villarreal), Pau Lopez (Olympique de Marseille) and Oriol Romeu (FC Barcelona) which have allowed the team to strengthen without going into the red financially.
In terms of arrivals, we are more on gambles like Yaser Asprilla but also Abel Ruiz (24 years old, Braga), Ladislav Krejci (25 years old, Sparta Prague), Bojan Miovski (25 years old, Aberdeen) or Alejandro Francés (21 years old, Zaragoza). The Catalan club also tried the choice of Donny van de Beek (27 years old) for only 500,000 euros, 78 times less than what Manchester United had paid to recruit him 4 years ago. Low-cost players and priority investments in young people with potential that they can develop, the Girona leaders have not changed their strategy despite last season’s 3rd place. On the pitch too, Michel has remained true to his principles.
Solid results
Moreover, the Spanish technician, who kept his 4-3-3 and knew how to adapt his game to his new recruits, is rather satisfied with the work carried out this summer.Everyone is happy at the club because we have taken a step forward. Last year we had players on loan and only Danjuma, Bryan and Oriol found themselves in that situation. I think we have a good group for the style of play we want to show and I consider that we are versatile to have a good year“, he said. And this is already being felt at the start of the season since Girona is in eighth place in La Liga with 7 points out of a possible 15. Sharing the points with Real Betis Balompié (1-1) before being crushed by Atlético de Madrid (3-0), the Catalan club reacted perfectly.
In the process, the Blanquivermells rolled out against Osasuna (4-0) before dominating Sevilla FC in style (2-0). More than certain individuals, it is above all the collective strength that emerges from this Girona team and Michel is fully satisfied: “For me, the important thing is not the system, but the team. The pressure after the defeat is very important (against Atlético ed.) and I think we have taken a step forward in that sense. Now we have other types of players, who make our pressing closer to what I ask. I want to think that it will always be like this, but I don’t see a defined system, but rather the way of doing things. We want numerical superiority with the ball and to recover it as quickly as possible.» Nevertheless, the Catalan club fell from a great height this Sunday in the derby against FC Barcelona (4-1). Faced with a supercharged opponent, Michel’s gang could do nothing and will therefore have missed its first two shocks against big teams. For the first Champions League match in the club’s history this Wednesday against Paris Saint-Germain, Girona will pass an important test and will want to continue to move mountains.
