GironaThe year 2022 has been very productive in Montilivi. Girona, at last, achieved promotion to Primera. A moment of absolute joy for its president, Delfí Geli (Salt, 1969), who considers it the club “of my life”. He made his debut there in 1986, retired in 2005, has experienced both jumps to the elite and no one has occupied the stadium box for longer. Geli talks to ARA hours before the team plays this Thursday against Rayo Vallecano (5 p.m., DAZN) in the return of the League after the World Cup break.
Tell me about your first game with Girona.
— I made my debut for Faires, in a home match against Nàstic. We were in Tercera and won 3-2. They gave me the penalty for the winning goal. I was a youth and under-20, a footballer from the first team broke down and they called me. It was special because he had arrived at the club as a child, aged 14. He followed the team wherever he went, even though the journeys used to be short. We usually played in the regions of Girona.
Everything was much more normal than it is now, right?
— I lived with my parents. Actually, that day I had lunch at home and then went to the field, but I don’t remember many other details. Football used to be different, we trained three or four times a week and had to be in the dressing room about an hour and a half before kick-off. The vast majority of us were young people from Girona and those who came from outside got together to go in the same car.
He has experienced the evolution of a club that almost no one followed.
— There were barely two newspapers that wrote regularly and some radio talked about it, but there were no exclusive programs like there are now. As a provincial capital it was followed, but there were no expectations. What there was was difficulty in subsisting, yes. There weren’t many members and we knew the ones that were there. He looked into the stands and knew who the spectators were. The fans were becoming disenchanted because the results were not coming. Seeing families or dwarfs was very complicated, those who came were those of their whole life.
Football-wise, it starts in Girona and ends in Girona.
— I don’t have a good memory of my farewell, because in my last game we were relegated due to goal difference. But when I look back I feel only gratitude. Girona has been my club since I can remember, I grew up here, it’s my home. Thanks to this I have experienced many things. They gave me a chance and I have had incomparable experiences.
What value do you give to the transformation of recent years?
— I had always wondered why Girona never reached the elite. I didn’t understand why we weren’t able to do it or why we weren’t lucky. I don’t forget the hard stories I’ve experienced there, like seeing colleagues who couldn’t feed their children because they weren’t paid. Fortunately, together we have turned this situation around. But we cannot lose the north and believe that we can do according to what steps we do not aspire to. Reality tells us that we have to go little by little, building a base that makes us stronger and better prepared.
He has been in office for 8 years, equaled only by President Benjamí Colomer.
— This is anecdotal, because the most important thing is the stability that has existed since the arrival of the new property. The results have been given, even if we haven’t seen it in the defeats. We’ve gone up, we’ve gone down, we’ve been in the upper part of Segona for many years. Let’s see what history says: how do clubs consolidate? Except for a few, all have had patadacas. Why should we be the exception? What we must emphasize is that, when we received them, we did not lose patience and continued working.
It certainly hasn’t been easy.
— It seemed impossible to return to Primera, everyone said that the play-off he was cursed But on the contrary, defeats have taught us every season and in the long run have made us better. And that’s right, we don’t look for other reasons, because they don’t exist. We strive to do everything possible to remain in the elite, but we have to keep in mind the demand that comes with being where we are.
Now that he is facing his second trip to Primera, what learning do you wish he had left from the first?
— That you should never give up, because we have overcome many things that were not simple. It was crazy to get up the day after Elx (2020) or Rayo Vallecano (2021) and find the right spirit not to give up. And that you have to go step by step, enjoying the experience, without taking anything for granted. What comes first? The Lightning? So let’s try to win them over.
Then the winter market will open. Let’s get to the point: has Barça come looking for Arnau or are they expecting big moves for other names?
— There is nothing, really. But we are not delusional, we know that if we have footballers who do well and attract attention, there is a possibility that they will sign us. We also want players from other clubs and it is very difficult to retain someone when the circumstances are that a big one wants him, we have to respect his wish. But if that happens, the club must have its reward, because there is work behind it that has value. If a good sale helps us to have more resources and income, we will not fool ourselves by saying that no one will leave because it will be inevitable.
Finally, at what point is the search for land on which to build the future sports city?
— We will not announce it until we have certainties assured. We’ve been looking a lot and have been close to buying, but we don’t have a closed deal or anything like that. We’ve been talking about it for eight years, it’s true, but finding land is not easy. Having a sports city would make us take a step further, because we could take better care of the talent that comes out of the lower categories. We have had many conversations on the subject, but have made no further progress. When there is something, we will say it. Hopefully it will be soon, although I couldn’t put a date on it.
