Not for Girona this season to make history. The Girona club has gone from fighting for lower levels, almost always in lower categories, to being one step away from mathematically sealing its access to the Champions League, a utopia just a few months ago. In Montilivi this Saturday against Barça, Míchel's team will have the first opportunity, of the five they have left, as many days, to achieve the European milestone. He will be in the continental pot sooner if Athletic loses this Friday in Getafe.
“Barça is too much a favorite in this match. We have to play a great game and be able to minimize its great potential. He has the ability to catch the ball and make the opponent defend longer. It is the team with the most possession in the League and the one that makes the most passes in the final third. And he also plays well in transition. "Dominate everything," the Girona coach analyzed the Blaugrana, although knowing that he has his strengths: "It is a very difficult game, but it is true that we are playing at home and the team is doing well, in a good dynamic. We want to play a great game for our fans. Surely with them we will give 200%, which is the only way to win. “There is no key point.”
Although Girona usually tames its rivals through possession, Míchel acknowledged that "at times" they will not have the ball and that when they do have it they must "make passes that hurt." “Passing for the sake of passing is a lying way of playing,” said the Madrid native, who has the loss of the loanee Pablo Torre, due to Barça's fear clause, and will also be without Solís, Borja García and Stuani due to injury. “He made a great effort against Atlético and now he doesn't have the best feelings. She will be out, I hope not for long,” he said of the Uruguayan, the club's all-time top scorer.
For the Vallecas coach, against Barça, a rival with planetary reach, one of the most media-friendly, not only is second place in the League and access to the Champions League at stake, it also opens another door to a more prosperous future for the Catalan entity. “We want to make more fans. There are many people getting involved in Girona and that is very important for the growth of the club. We want to have global recognition of our club, our idea and project. This happens because we have an idea of moving forward and growing. Pride, feeling important. Be on the world map of people. I want to finish the season in the best way, for people to say that we played very good football,” he defended.
A significance that according to Míchel also involves being the highest scoring team in the championship, right now with only two goals less than Real Madrid, or for Dovbyk finishing top scorer, an individual merit but that also "would be a recognition for the club." . “The legacy we can leave is that it is Madrid's League, which has lost a game, and Girona's. May people remember us for our game,” he wished.
Míchel believes that the only way to beat Barça is to be faithful to the “personality” that characterizes them, playing “a great game” as happened in the meritorious victory in Montjuïc (2-4). “In the first round, Barça was on alert. At that time Barça was in a good playing situation. We are no longer a team that plays well and that's it. Everyone has seen that we are a team that does things well. "Xavi has certainly given importance to this match," the coach insisted on a match that will be marked by the "small details."
“We want to continue making history. For our people it is a historic match. If we win we will always remember it,” concluded Míchel, who will undoubtedly be elevated over time as the coach of the great Girona for the 2023/24 season, regardless of what happens against Barça in Montilivi.
