Football belongs to the footballers, but, in the case of Girona, it must be extended to many other factors. Because to explain the success of this team we must talk about Aleix Garcia, David López, Tsygankov, Stuani, Savinho, Miguel and company, but also about two names above the rest: Quique Cárcel with his work team and that of Míchel Sánchez and his staff. They symbolize a success that can be summarized in five points.
Girona's idea of the game is non-negotiable. An idea based on collective proactivity, individual talent and a clear offensive vocation to achieve victory. An idea that goes far beyond the grass. The sports director and the coach speak the same football language. The technical teams of both are made up of former footballers who feel the same way. Both the board of directors and the investment group believe in this way of playing, the players are convinced of it and grassroots football is educated in these parameters. There is a very evident common thread that connects the entire club vertically. For example, the base methodology director (Santi Pou) is part of the first team staff. And things like this are what make the idea of Girona go beyond the definition of the idea of a game to respond to the concept of the idea of a club.
On the green, one of the most differentiating points of Míchel's team is its ability to adapt to what modern football demands: being undetectable. He has used three different systems (4-3-3, 3-4-3 and 4-1-4-1) depending on the match and changes structure naturally in the middle of the match. The best thing is that we all know that Girona will seek superiority with the ball, but no one knows how. In fact, we have seen Miguel Gutiérrez play the role of full-back-midfielder on the left in most games, but we have also seen Arnau Martínez play it on the right. The proposal is very clear, but the format to express it is variable.
But where the Girona team is differentiating itself from the rest is in the offensive section. Starting with how he is focusing his attacks. One of his most powerful and distinctive weapons is the skill with which he uses the ball to attract his rivals away from his goal and generate space in the opponent's field. With 31% of the time on their own field, they are the third team in the championship that does it the most. And it does so with one objective: eliminate adversaries in the construction zone and then attack with greater clarity. That is what explains why Girona is the team in the League that shoots the most in the opponent's small area (18% of its total shots) or that it has such a high percentage of success on goal (16.2% of his shots end in goals).
Probably the team with the most mechanisms to hurt the opponent. And Míchel's men can generate through associative play, from individual external overflow (Savio and Tsygankov are two of the best dribblers in the championship), taking advantage of the interior lanes with second line inputs, through transitions or in actions of strategy. There are already four goals from set pieces. The most in the League.
One of the best virtues as a team is that it has achieved these magnificent offensive performances while also growing defensively. And it does not present spectacular defensive records, but they are very notable compared to last season. He has conceded ten goals, but six of them conceded in just two games (Mallorca and Madrid). At this point he has received four fewer goals than last year. And the most notable fact of all: he has accumulated three clean sheets in nine games. In 2022-2023 he did not achieve it in the entire first round.
We will see how far Girona goes, but nothing is a coincidence. He believes and wants. Girona has the football of a great and the humility of a little one.
