Girona FC: what is the future for last season’s fairytale club?

After last season’s fairytale campaign, Spanish minnows Girona are having to adapt to life in the Champions League.

Ascending to football’s loftiest heights challenges the senses, and Girona’s surefootenedness at this level is already being rigorously tested.

Ivan Quiros, co-founder of official Girona fan club, Penya Jandrista GFC, first attended games at the Estadi Montilivi in the late 1980s when the side were in the Spanish third division. He told BBC Sport that qualifying to face Europe’s elite was “an unattainable and impossible dream, made real”.

The Catalan club only entered the second division in 2008 after a 49-year absence from professional football, yet they were promoted to the Spanish top flight for the first time in 2017.

They finished third in La Liga last season, just four points behind second-placed Barcelona. They scored 85 goals, which was only two fewer than champions Real Madrid.

Catalan journalist Xevi Masachs explained that it is now commonplace to see “children with Girona shirts” – something which would have been “unbelievable” 15 years ago, when basketball was the city’s main sport and most football fans supported neighbours Barcelona.

Girona’s stadium can only hold around 9,600 spectators in the Champions League, because of Uefa rules. Even such a modest crowd is a far cry from when merely hundreds of fans would turn out at the ground at the turn of the century.

Jan Nadal Colome, 19, who has had a season ticket since 2012, remembers how fans were able to “walk all the way around the stadium” when he first went to games.

“We could change to the other goal when they were attacking or there was a penalty,” he said.

On Wednesday, the Montilivi stadium will host Girona’s third match in the Champions League – against Slovakian side Slovan Bratislava. It is safe to say this one is rather important.

Girona suffered a 1-0 defeat in their opening match against Paris St-Germain, via a 90th-minute own goal. That was followed by a 3-2 defeat at home to Feyenoord, in which Girona missed a penalty and scored two more own goals to equal Fenerbahce’s record for most own goals in a single Champions League season.

After 10 La Liga matches, manager Michel’s team sit 12th in the table.

Miquel Agut Riera, who commentates on Girona’s matches, said their qualification for the Champions League had come “too fast”.

Source link

  • Related Posts

    Rights groups say 135 killed in Nzérékoré

    Human rights…

    Read more

    Future tax rises won’t be needed, insists Rachel Reeves

    The chancellor…

    Read more

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    You Missed

    Wallace allegations ‘truly upsetting’ says MasterChef’s Torode

    • December 4, 2024
    Wallace allegations ‘truly upsetting’ says MasterChef’s Torode

    Tulisa ‘overwhelmed’ by attention from ITV show

    • December 4, 2024
    Tulisa ‘overwhelmed’ by attention from ITV show

    Vogue boss Anna Wintour on her public persona and being told ‘no’

    • December 4, 2024
    Vogue boss Anna Wintour on her public persona and being told ‘no’

    BBC to pull MasterChef Christmas specials after allegations

    • December 3, 2024
    BBC to pull MasterChef Christmas specials after allegations

    ‘Roll your eyes if you want, I’m a star’ says nominee

    • December 3, 2024
    ‘Roll your eyes if you want, I’m a star’ says nominee

    ‘Reality TV show Meet the Rees-Moggs is a calculated risk’

    • December 2, 2024
    ‘Reality TV show Meet the Rees-Moggs is a calculated risk’