Unusual and historic is the present of Girona, current leader of LaLiga, but who is who within the Catalan team’s squad?
BARCELONA — Girona has a value of 161.1 million euros in its squad, according to data from the specialized website transfermarkt, which is the tenth most valued in the Spanish First Division. Their two footballers with the highest market price are the Ukrainian Viktor Tsygankov (22 million) and the Brazilian Savio (20 million). To put context, the total value of Real Madrid’s squad exceeds one billion and Barcelona’s reaches 862. Vinícius Junior y Jude Bellingham They would practically be worth the same as the entire Girona and between Pedri y Rapinha They would add that same value.
And yet, the leader is Girona, which is in its fourth season in the First Division and is not only capable of beating any rival it faces, even more so, on Sunday it had the pleasure of taming Barça in its own stadium. , beating him with unusual brilliance.
Unusual and historic is the present of Míchel’s team, who played 100 games coached in the First Division in Montjuïc (28 in charge of Rayo Vallecano, 18 with Huesca and 54 with the Catalan club) and demonstrated how important it is to maintain a non-negotiable philosophy. of the game as transcendent is having a stable sporting structure, in which daring goes hand in hand with success in the transfer policy.
But who is who in this Girona that continues to break barriers?
The 31-year-old goalkeeper arrived at Montilivi on loan from Fulham in September 2022 and became the property of Girona this last summer at no cost. Emerging from the Valencia quarry, he began his professional career at Gillingham in the English 4th category, to pass without further significance through the Premier in Southampton (21 games in 4 seasons) and Tottenham (22 appearances in 3 years), playing 13 games in 2nd with Fulham and 8 in First of Spain with Elche. A bet by the sports director, Quique Cárcel, that has gone from unusual to magnificent.
A 21-year-old Brazilian right-back/back, he is on his second loan from Manchester City, to which he must return at the end of the season. If during the previous season he already showed great defensive capacity, in this one he has added speed and judgment when joining the attack, good combination and vision of the game.
A Real Madrid youth player, in whose first team he barely played ten games in two seasons as a left back, Quique Cárcel openly opted for him, with Girona paying 4 million euros for his signing in the summer of 2022. Today Madrid relocates Eduardo Camavinga in the position while the Catalan team has one of the best wingers in LaLiga. His performance is simply superb.
Central on loan from Barcelona, where he passed without pain or glory, at 22 years old he has exploded in Girona, silencing all those who criticized him mercilessly. Positioning, anticipation, good ball delivery… Míchel has known how to put all his virtues on stage and hide his few defects. Another risky bet that turned out to be magnificent.
A youth player from Espanyol who had a discreet time at Napoli, in the summer of 2022 the parakeet team let him go and at the age of 32, Quique Cárcel opened the door for him. A signing that raised doubts, both due to his age and because he was discarded by Espanyol… And he has responded with indisputable solvency in the center of defense.
At 33 years old and after spending six months in silence at Bayern Munich, he arrived in Girona free of contract and raising many suspicions after a career in which he did not achieve what was expected at Manchester United or Ajax. More central as a defensive pivot, his experience and quality have been noticeable.
A midfielder who emerged from the Villarreal youth academy, with a minimal step at Manchester City, he had a discreet first step at the Catalan club between 2017 and 2019 to later play in Belgium, Bucharest and Eibar, until he was recruited, free, by Quique Cárcel in the summer of 2021. Today he is the first international in the history of Girona and at 26 years old he is enjoying his best sporting moment, just two years after his career was considered stagnant.
Arrived in Spain through Huesca in 2018, the Venezuelan midfielder owned by Manchester City was signed last summer for five million euros after playing last season on loan and after a very discreet time at Espanyol. His emergence in Girona has surprised everyone and everyone.
Another Villarreal youth player who arrived in Girona on loan in 2022 to be signed this last summer for 2 million euros. Few paid attention to his growth capacity until he hatched this season. At 24 years old he is one of the great revelations of the League.
Affected by the war in Ukraine, Quique Cárcel made the coup with his signing in January 2023, paying 5 million euros to Dynamo kyiv. The vision of the Sports Director has been amply demonstrated with him, a fast right-footed outsider, with great ability to unmark and assist.
There is a lot of talk about her being a player owned by City but little, if anything, that she came to Girona from Troyes, where she did not exactly stand out after passing through PSV without any incident. In Girona he has exploded to the full extent of himself as an unbalancing, fast, vertical and incisive winger. He is probably the leader’s greatest sensation.
Girona’s most daring bet in the last summer market. Thinking about the succession of Stuani, it cost 7.8 million euros to get him out of the Ukrainian Dnipro and he has responded to expectations, already scoring seven goals that have in many cases been transcendental. Modern center forward, with a lot of mobility, good finishing and association, he is one of the keys of the team.
The eternal. Already the club’s all-time top scorer, he continues to be, at 37 years old, a transcendent piece for Míchel even if it is not from a starting position. He has six goals in the League that have been worth no less than five points, appearing from the bench to relaunch the team in difficult moments.
One of the most used alternatives by Míchel, he is not usually a starter but appears to refresh and strengthen the defense in almost every game.
He returned this summer, six years later, after his not-so-fortunate time at Real Sociedad and Getafe. Girona paid 1.5 million for his signing knowing his secondary role up front.
Undisputed for the last two seasons on the right of the defense, this season he has lost some prominence in favor of Couto, although he is still considered one of the greatest young assets in the squad and the club rejected up to four proposals for his transfer from the last January.
On loan from Barcelona and called upon to be a key player due to his excellent football quality, it has been difficult for him, and not a little, to enter Míchel’s plans but when he has had minutes on the field he has shown to have enough qualities to be transcendent in the second half of the season.
“We are experiencing something superlative. Game by game but thinking that the team can reach Europe is a reality. We will see how far.”
2023-12-11 16:35:22
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