The danger that can be posed by dragging the slab of not winning the first game for a team that has just been promoted was immediately dispelled by Girona. He did it in the second day and in the premiere as a local in Montilivi with one clear and convincing victory against Getafe on Monday. Míchel was most satisfied with his men’s game, but today a new challenge awaits him, a totally different one in which the team will have to show new records and contain a Celta with different weapons. “The first victory gave us confidence to show that we can beat any opponent”, he acknowledged yesterday. The coach explained that until today, in the last training session, he will not know if he will be able to count on Rodrigo Riquelme, the big doubt. Míchel doesn’t think that the little margin of time that will have existed between Monday’s game and today’s will affect. “The calendar is like this. We have trained little, we have done a lot of recovery and we talked a lot with the players. There will be little rest, but nothing will happen. The team is ready.”
Today’s match is, at the outset, quite different from Monday’s. Míchel is clear that the team will have to dominate and exploit other facets of the game. “It’s a different opponent and we have to show that without the ball we will know how to suffer. And be able to steal it very high. With Getafe it was a game of possession and now us a pressure one awaits». In this regard, the Madrid coach warns that extreme caution will be needed when losing balls. On Monday, the Girona side lost three in a very dangerous area that cost a goal, another disallowed and a clear chance for Porto. “In this category there are players who do not forgive. We have to lower the average of lost balls in these two days which is 7 and this is done by running more, generating passes…” he said.
The coach detailed that the new signings are adapting very well to the dressing room. “Great people make great teams”, he recalled while revealing that both he and Quique Cárcel had spoken to the majority to explain “the philosophy of the club and the city”. In this sense, Míchel detailed that they were not looking for players with one great base in the category but footballers “who come to grow and make us better”. The coach assured that when there is a stoppage of selections they will make a “stay” to get to know each other even better.
On the other hand, Míchel also spoke about the meeting with Manchester City’s members this week at La Vinya. “For the club, it is spectacular that we have City in our facilities and this brotherhood can be seen. We gain a lot of prestige and we are delighted”, he said while remembering that, for him, it was a “daily learning” to be with Pep Guardiola. “I learn a lot every time I talk to him and watch him train. In addition, he came to see us and the players feel recognized when he knows them by name. It enlarges us”, he said.
