In Girona's rise, a Manchester City and Pep Guardiola connection
Girona's team players celebrate after the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Girona at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Before heading to the Nou Camp for a charity match in 2022, Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City squad stopped at the old city of Girona. The team would take selfies in the backdrop of the old city’s spectacular, landmarks, like the 2000-years-old Cathedral, the hanging houses by the Onyar river, and the Jewish quarter, one of the chief sets for Game of Thrones. They would dine in some of the restaurants considered the best in the world by a British magazine. They would also train at the 14000-capacity stadium of Girona FC, its scaffolding and makeshift stands producing an old world charm.
But Manchester City, the Guardiola family and Girona have deeper connections with the historic city and its football club, Girona FC, which existed in the fifth division when Pep left Barcelona to play for Brescia in 2001, and was on the verge of bankruptcy when he returned as its manager in 2008. The Football Group – the global corporation owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nayan – has a 45 per cent stake in the club; its chairman is Pep’s brother Pere, an immensely successful player agent, whose ties with the club predates City’s acquisition. Two other key figures in City (and Barcelona) — chief executive Ferran Soriano, and director of football, Txiki Begiristain — were central figures in this deal. The president Delfi Geli was Pep’s roommate at the La Masia Academy.
When the City group procured the club, it had just been promoted to the top tier, the second time ever in its history. The acquiring CIES Football Observatory, which analyses statistics and trends, then noted that “the buying of Girona is a logical consequence of City’s group strategy and the concentration of wealth in European football.” Or to put it simply, a finishing ground for City’s academy products, a rehab station for those out of form and wanting more game time.
But eighteen months later, their ambition seems to be grander. They not only stayed up last season, finishing an impressive tenth, but are now sitting atop the league table, with 41 points from 16 games, the most points by any team across Europe’s top five leagues in a similar timeframe. It’s premature to consider them as the title-favorites, it’s uncertain whether they have the depth of squad and level of energy to sustain the title push. The Opta puts them with a 2.2 percent chance of winning the title.
Nonetheless; they are embellishing their reputation after every game-week. Last week, they dismantled their neighbours, Barcelona, putting four goals past them, threatening their goal 15 times and seizing 46 percent of possession, an achievement in itself against the possession-kings. In weeks past, they defeated Valencia, the only one outside of the two Madrid clubs and Barcelona to win the league in the last 20 years, Villareal and Sevilla. The only stutter came against Real Madrid, standing just points behind them and who would offer the stiffest challenge for the title.
But managers have begun to admit that they are serious title challengers. No less a figure than Barcelona manager Xavi considers them title challengers. “For some people it’s a surprise that Girona are co-leaders with Real Madrid, but for us, no,”: he said after his team’s chastening.
“Michel is a great coach, with a system very similar to ours. Excellent, just congratulate them. They’re playing with a spectacular flair. They can fight for the title. They are brave and that’s what has put them there.”
There is concrete statistical proof to suggest they are not a team riding their luck. They have grabbed more points (19) from losing position that any of the team from the top-five of Europe, no side in Spain has generated more expected goals (xG) per 100 touches while chasing games, no other side has netted as many goals (38) as them as them too, according to Opta stats.
As significantly, they have a clear and classy method. They are not the smash-and-grab glory chasers, as several recently-promoted teams are. The manager, Michel (Miguel Ángel Sánchez Muñoz ), is a self-confessed Pep admirer who swears on possession-based attacking football, even if his team does not have the firepower or experience of Guardiola’s men. A Rayo Vallecano legend, he started taking Catalan lessons when he joined the club and now addresses the press conferences in this language to create a local connection.
At the heart of their attacking play is the exploitation of space, with an in-possession 4-2-3-1 formation, building attacks from the flanks through their pacy and skillful full-backs and wingers. The interplay and chemistry between them is exciting to watch, with them interchanging their roles and occupying different channels. If the full-back cuts in, the winger goes out, and vice versa. The two wingers— Ukrainian Viktor Tsygankov and the 19-year-old Brazilian Savinho—have been their most important pieces. They floored Barcelona with their fluid movements and quick forward passes for quick overloads.
???????? Mai falla a la cita amb el gol! ⚽️#BarçaGirona | #LaLigaHighlights | @LaLiga pic.twitter.com/JHDSiNVFls
— Girona FC (@GironaFC) December 12, 2023
The crew, comprising academy players, loanees, rejects and outcasts, has a wage bill of €51.98m. In comparison, Madrid’s is €727.45m. Four of their key players, including Savinho and fellow Brazilian Yan Couto, have arrived on loan (two from Barcelona, one from Manchester City). As many as 14 of the 26-member first-team squad feature Spaniards, the captain is 37-year-old Uruguayan striker Cristhian Stuani, backed by seasoned hands like former Ajax and Manchester United Swiss Army Knife Daley Blind and former City centre back Eric Garcia. The rise comes after they lost some of their key players last season — midfield mainstay Oriol Romeu (to Barcelona), top scorer last season Taty Castellanos, winger Rodrigo Riquelme and defensive rock, Santi Bueno. But none of these mattered.
But their renaissance man, though, was Pere. In 2013, they were on the brink of insolvency after accumulating a debt of €3million. The club, then owned by local businessman Josep Delgado, was struggling. A deal with an Argentine lawyer fell off. Enter Pere, who mediated a deal with a French group TVSE Futbol. Smart recruitments saw them reach the promotion play-off thrice in as many years, but lost each time. In 2017, they finally broke the barrier, and Pere facilitated a deal with the City group. He continues to wield his influence, in not just shaping the commercial and administrative strategies but in sealing deals in the transfer market too. A largely behind the scenes man, he recently downplayed the chances of Girona completing a fairy tale: “I would be happy if we are no 1 on the table by game-week 38.” There is another question he keeps dead-batting—that is if his brother would one day manage the club. He often chuckles the question away. But on the evidence of how this season has unfolded, Pere’s team holds more promise of emerging league champions than his brother’s.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First published on: 17-12-2023 at 18:40 IST
