As soon as Michel landed in Girona last summer, the word ascension no one has taken it out of their heads. Not even when the team occupied relegation positions at the beginning of the course and some doubted him. Ambitious of sorts, he knew how to turn the situation around until the tortilla turned upside down and placed him in the play-off final. In two games, Girona is in the First Division thanks tothe big comeback in Eibar last Sunday (0-2). A victory that unleashed the euphoria among the fans, but that Michel and the locker room have well controlled. Logically, the white-and-red fans dream of seeing the penultimate step towards Primera and yes they went crazy for an entry. That is why es sold the 11,270 available, which were then 11,810 in just over 24 hours. An unequivocal signal that today against Tenerife, Montilivi will be one of the great occasions and not a single needle will fit. The Borja García stadium will not be able to be there due to injury and the Kébé i Sarmiento match will also be lost. The rest, Baena included, are available for the first round against the Canaries.
The numbers say that Tenerife has been the best visitor and the second lowest-scoring team in the regular season. Also, that the Canaries have won both league matches in Girona: 2-1 in Santa Cruz and 0-1 in Montilivi. However, if Girona rolls with the ball, runs and bites like they did in Eibar, things can be very different today at the stadium. This is the wish of Michel who this week has studied what went wrong in both parties. The image offered to Ipurua was that of an aggressive, intense and compact team, and probably not so kind and neat with the ball. Sometimes it’s time to do it.
In Eibar, goals aside, Borja García was a disappointment, however until he was injured. The Madrid man, with his knee affected, will not be there today and Michel will have to find the piece that can provide the pause and tactical intelligence that is lost without him. In this sense, the technician warned yesterday that there could be more than one change in alignment. Who should be sure is Baena, although he ended up very busy in Eibar. It remains to be seen if the replacement for Borja García is Samu Saiz or if the coach opts to advance Iván Martín and strengthen the midfield with Aleix Garcia. In attack, Stuani should return at eleven.
Another aspect that should also be considered today is the mental. Negative precedents in finals for promotion or play-off promotion have caused ghosts to fly over Montilivi when June arrives. This time, however, it is the first leg and, therefore, it is not a decisive day. However, Michel wants to miss any details and yesterday revealed that he had spoken to “some players” on the subject.
Meanwhile, Tenerife arrived at Vilobí d’Onyar Airport. He did so with the entire squad, including the goalkeeper of the branch and the two injured, Javi Alonso and Larrea, who will not be able to play. Who has not come is central Sipcic, concentrated with Montenegro for the Nations Cup. For their part, Shashoua and Álex Muñoz are recovering but have no competitive pace and are difficult to play.
The main doubt of Lluís Miquel Ramis is who will be the companion of León in the axis of the defense, if Sergio González or Carlos Ruiz that seems to have more numbers. In attack, the danger has a name: Enric Gallego. The Barcelona man could act alone or with Mario González.
