“With 41 points, we are maintained. We reached this number well before what we thought. » Talk about the title to Michel, the coach of Girona in La Liga, and he will talk to you about maintaining it. Except that after the victory against FC Barcelona on Sunday evening (4-2) and Real Madrid’s draw against Betis on Saturday (1-1), this Catalan city of 100,000 inhabitants has indeed regained the lead in La Liga after the 16th day. To the point of becoming the hype team of Spain as evidenced by the numerous newspaper headlines this Monday, including that of Brand which evokes the “recital of the leader without limits”.
Statistics to make European leaders pale
Thanks to its 4-2 victory against FC Barcelona on Sunday evening, Michel’s team [pas le même que l’entraîneur de l’OM en 2015-2016] therefore has 41 points after 16 days. A total which has systematically offered the title of champion of Spain for ten years, no offense to its coach. Girona is even the team with the most victories in the five major European championships, with already 13 successes gleaned from 16 matches, for two draws and one defeat. It is also the 3rd best attack in Europe with 38 goals scored, which places it tied with PSG and Manchester City, just behind Bayern Munich (44) and Leverkusen (39). A feat when we remember that this is only Girona’s second season in the elite, after missing out on Europe by four points last season.
Brother of and namesake of
Many believed they attributed Girona’s good start to the season to Michel, the former OM coach. Except that the coach of the Catalan club, Miguel Ángel Sánchez Muñoz, although a native of Madrid, essentially played relay midfielder at Rayo Vallecano unlike the former Real Madrid player. He then continued his coaching career there, before joining FC Girona in 2021 and taking them to La Liga the following year.
If the smooth forward play advocated by Michel, and pressing very high on the pitch, can bring to mind Barça in the great years, the work carried out by Pere Guardiola, brother of Pep, coach of City, at the sporting direction is also to be highlighted. Its balance during the last transfer window is almost balanced with 22 million euros in expenses against 18 million in revenue.
A smart City satellite
FC Girona is a satellite club of City Group, but it has not given in to the lure of all-out trading by only having three “corporate” players in its squad (hello Troyes). On the contrary, Pere Guardiola and Michel managed to build a team with a strong Catalan identity, supervised by more experienced players. Girona, for example, was loaned Daley Blind by Manchester United and Eric Garcia by neighboring Barcelona. But practically all players seem interchangeable, as highlighted by the victory against FC Barcelona without one of the executives in the middle, Yangel Herrera. The contribution of left side Miguel Gutiérrez is also crucial. The great hope of Real Madrid also obtained the favors of Sport for his activity during the victory on Sunday.
