We already wrote a similar report a week ago: “What if the dream never ends?”
Then, Girona had beaten Osasuna in El Sadar (2-4), and had risen to the top of LaLiga, and its board and coaching staff had finally surrendered to the evidence.
Well, Girona's challenge had to go beyond salvation.
“We can start dreaming about Europe,” admitted Míchel Sánchez, their coach.
And Delfí Geli, its president, agreed.
(...)
This last Saturday, Girona beat Rayo, also at home (1-2), and as leader they retired to their winter quarters: ahead of them, they have a gift of two weeks of pause and work, a window of selections through, and in that space for reflection, things take on another bias.
Aleix Garcia has entered the call of the Spanish team, something never seen before in Montilivi. Praise rains down from all corners (“Girona is one of the best rivals I have faced in years,” proclaimed Francisco, the Rayo coach, in the bowels of Vallecas). Analysts draw parallels between this Girona and that magical Leicester that, in 2016, took over the Premier League. Some venture the future of Savinho or Dovbyk. They see them outside the club, flying even higher as footballers, as soon as possible (that is, as soon as the course ends).
And the markets take note.
“We are experiencing brutal exponential growth,” Geli declared in recent days.
His story was supported by data from Transfermarkt, a portal specialized in the football market. In two months, the value of Girona's squad has grown by 28.3%, from 125.6 million at the beginning of the season to 161.1 million currently.
(No other club has registered a similar growth, a logical fact since Girona is the surprising leader; Valencia has progressed by 21%, from 147 to 177.9, and Las Palmas, by 10%, from 49 to 53 .9 million).
Savinho's leap in quality has a lot to do with all this. His incorporation to Girona has been a blessing for Míchel's offensive sector. The creativity of Savinho, on loan from French club Troyes, has skyrocketed his market price by 300%, from five million to twenty.
“It was evident that he had great quality and great talent, but at 18 years old you always expect the footballer to mature little by little. But he has made a very important explosion,” Geli said these days.
And along with Savinho, Artem Dovbyk (26) has also multiplied, a kind of left-footed finisher whose signing, the most expensive in its history, is turning out wonderfully for Girona: 7.75 million the club paid for him this summer, and The Ukrainian has responded with seven goals in thirteen games, a fact that has placed him in the squad of scorers of the year.
