GironaHe arrives smiling, a few minutes after finishing the pre-match training that Girona will play this Friday against Málaga (9pm, GOAL). He has plenty of reasons to smile, having made his way into capital letters in the club’s history. The name Cristhian Stuani (Tala, 1986) in Montilivi is sacred. He is backed by fidelity and a hundred goals spread over so many nights of happiness.
Regardless of how the season ends, you’re enjoying how it’s been a long time coming.
– We are developing well and we have taken a very good dynamic that makes us trust ourselves. We have regained our identity and this is fundamental, because everyone who has to compete knows what to do, we have it internalized. Michel and the coaching staff do a great job and together we have created a very competitive team. We see that we are having a good time and that people are happy, and this is very important if we are to have options to achieve the goal that we all have in mind.
One of the virtues that characterizes Girona is its great dressing room.
– It is proven that if you have a strong and united block you can achieve many things. We will not do it to copy individuals, it is not possible. We have a foundation built many years ago that fortunately endures and makes everything easier. Having an identity goes beyond the game, I mean the day to day, rowing together.
Did you have to win like you did in Almeria to believe that anything is possible?
– Maybe yes. It was three points like any other day, but they were really complicated by the opponent and the stage. We have shown that we can look into the eyes of any team in the league, and that the game is getting thinner, so to speak. In fact, we can say that it was controversial and it is hard to believe that certain things happen at this point. But the fact that we have won allows us to continue fighting for promotion. It is difficult? Yes, but we keep fighting.
Are so many arbitral awards against chance?
– Everyone’s thoughts on this are very personal, but the most logical thing would be for the mistakes to come from within the field. What strikes me is that the mistakes come from the VAR. It should be the opposite: the VAR should help and what frustrates us and we do not understand is that with all the tools they have to do well, the mistakes are so repeated. Football is a spectacle and everyone expects it to be honest, sometimes we have a hard time controlling our nerves when we see what. Anyone who has played football knows when there is a mistake and when there is not. We just ask that the technology be used well. I’ve tried to talk about it, but it depends on whether we can talk or not. This could also be improved and if you ask me, I will tell you that I am in favor of talking about it, because putting the points together is always positive.
Right now Girona is fourth and heading towards another play-off. Do you understand that there are people who look at it with bad eyes?
– Of course, because we don’t have a good memory of it. If a fact is repeated more than once and you don’t feel good, your thoughts will probably not be good. But we have experience, things have happened to us that other teams are unaware of. We have to look at the positive side of it all and the fans have to support us no matter what. That’s the decent thing to do, and it should end there. We want them to accompany us to the end and trust them, because if we try so many times we have to enjoy it: it would be a play-off, not a struggle for descent. People should be proud of their team and think that we will succeed.
You have scored a hundred goals in five seasons. The impact is outrageous.
– My history with Girona is for life. It will be recorded for everyone: for me, for the club and for the fans. For a player, coming to a club and making history there is the thing that fills him with the most pride. I am now in the process of rethinking my short-term goals, which will give me happiness and allow me to enjoy football, without forgetting everything I have gone through to get here.
Did you know that Arcadi Camps, Girona’s all-time leading scorer, scored 107 goals? No one has beaten him yet.
– No, I didn’t know that. You have given me another challenge [riu]. But I prioritize the collective purpose, eh! I am clear that I want to go up to Primera, the results of the team will always be ahead of the personal ones. Although it is clear that I give my goals the value they deserve because I am the one who scored them and I can assure you that it is very difficult to make so many. Now, I will try to break the Camps statistics, you have no doubt.
Now I’m in the process of rethinking my short-term goals, which will give me happiness and allow me to enjoy football. ”
Christian Stuani Girona player
For Christmas, you went to the facilities of the Atenas de Tala, the club of your origins, to deliver equipment from Girona. What did you hear
– I was born there and took my first steps as a footballer. I had a very happy childhood and the player you see today is thanks to those weekends. I was there from the age of 6 to 13 and for me it’s a great reason to have been able to have a gesture with them, hand in hand with Girona. The kids were delighted and it was a generous and lovely action.
Did the past come to mind?
– I remembered all the moments I lived with my parents and family, which accompanied me along the way. There we are all football fans and my grandparents, uncles and cousins got together to watch my matches. It was nice to have them all there. It was a great stage.
Now it’s your turn to accompany the child to the field.
– To be honest, I was looking forward to the day when my son would play football. He loves football, but I can assure you that watching him is almost better than him. When I look at it, I get a lot of images of when I was playing as a child, moments that I have lived and now he lives. I never miss any of his matches, if my schedule allows. And I advise you, of course. I tell him to have a good time, to appreciate being part of a group with his classmates. Because they are children and enjoyment is fundamental in childhood.
How does everything change when you’re comfortable, right?
– It is clear that the environment I have found in Girona has allowed me to exploit my qualities over time. Whenever I go out on the field I try to savor the moment because, even though I would like to compete all my life, it won’t happen. Now I give importance to things I didn’t value before. We can say that I have improved, in this sense, because I was very angry when I did not win and now I understand that many times losing also wins. People may not understand it, but when you realize it, you have many more options to be important in everything you do.
