First against second is not just happening in the Bundesliga this weekend. The Primera División is also taking part: surprise team FC Girona will compete on Saturday (February 10, 2024) to overthrow the “Royal” of Real Madrid.
Spoke the day before the game Michel about suffering. One can imagine him as an architect who created a building of some magnificence, only to then miss the very moment when the world was watching. Actually is Michel, 48, not an architect, he is a football coach. But in this role he has sometimes worked like an architect recently. He created a foundation, put in walls, thought about the details.
The result is impressive. The trainer’s structure Michel is FC Girona, he took over the club two and a half years ago in the relegation battle of the second division, now his team is trying to overthrow the “Royal” from Real Madrid (58 points). It is an attempted coup, only without military and without violence. With a win, small Girona (56 points) could regain the lead in the table.
“We will have to suffer a lot”says Michel. Real Madrid, he sees it, is one of the teams against whom pressing is sometimes ineffective. Also because the individual quality of the players is so high. “Even if we put a lot of pressure on them, they are able to break free from the duels.”
Red card for the coach – Míchel sits in the stands against Real
Of course it will Michel prepare his team for this game, he will warn them about Jude Bellingham, who is suddenly a goalscorer in Madrid, about Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo, about Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. He will recall that Real have not lost a home game in the league since April. But when it starts, he will be in the stands and not on the bench.
The last time Girona played against Real Sociedad was Michel sometimes disagree with the referee’s decisions. He complained, and he complained once too often. He saw red and watched the rest of the game in the stands. That was annoying, said Michelhe felt the decision was quite “hard”, but that can no longer be changed. He says: “I accept the punishment.”
Additionally must Michel Against Real Madrid, regular players Yangel Herrera and Daley Blind will be without regular players as they are suspended. So much for the suffering of an architect who is not an architect. After all, media reports from Spain indicate that striker Artem Dovbyk (14 goals in La Liga) could return in time after knee problems.
Girona is not just worth looking at because of the football
Dovbyk is one of the protagonists at FC Girona, others are Saviowho creates problems for defenses with his dribbling, or playmaker Alex Garcia. He even made his debut for Spain’s national team in November. It is also due to them that Girona have scored more goals than any other team in the Primera División (52). Only Real Madrid can keep up with the fact that the club has lost once. That Girona also won against FC Barcelona in November.
In any case, FC Girona is worth taking a look at, and not just on the pitch. It’s also worth taking a look at the organizational chart. Girona belongs to City Football Group (CFG), their most famous club Manchester City is. At Girona CFG holds 44.3 percent of the shares and is also involved Girona Football Group with 44.3 percent. Behind the Girona Football Group stands Pere Guardiola, once a powerful player agent and now chairman of the club’s board of directors. Coincidentally, he has a brother who is also no stranger to football: Pep Guardiolacoach of Manchester City.
At CFG, paths are short
Pep Guardiola and Girona’s coach Michel have met sometimes. Spanish media reported extensively on this. They discussed football and tactics. They sat at the table and moved knives and forks; wine glasses also played a role. Michel has adapted parts of Guardiola’s teachings and mixed them with his own ideas, which looks nice and is successful.
It is already a sporting success story, regardless of the outcome of the game in Madrid. But what will happen next with FC Girona, the coaching architect Michel and players like Savio, that’s open. Since it became clear that FC Barcelona is looking for a new coach for the new season, the name has sometimes been used Michel called. And then there is Saviohe is the biggest surprise in the Girona surprise team.
In the summer he came on loan from French second division club ESTAC Troyes. Troyes is also one of them City Football Group. Girona would Savio, 19, according to Spanish media reports, would like to continue to commit to her, but that is unlikely to happen. Because Savio is said to be about to move to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
That’s how it is at CFG. The distances between the north-west of England, the north-east of France and the Catalonia region in north-east Spain are sometimes surprisingly short.