When the ball starts rolling this afternoon (6pm) at the Alfredo di Stéfano, Jonatan Giráldez will savor his last classic as head of FC Barcelona. On June 30, he ends his relationship with the Catalan team and will head to the United States to lead the Washington Spirit. Looking at the statistics, everything indicates that they will do so with a new victory, since Real Madrid has not yet managed to score points in a duel against the Catalans.
The Galician coach has led the team in 11 classics to date. There have been all kinds, routs, narrow victories, victories that have earned a League (2021-22), Cup qualifiers, Champions League qualifiers, with that indelible world attendance record at the old Camp Nou... But of all of them Giráldez He keeps one, the semi-final of last year's Super Cup. An exciting match in which the Blaugrana were left with one less (due to the expulsion of Paredes in the 59th minute) and achieved an epic victory in extra time thanks to goals from Mariona and Salma Paralluelo.
“We spent almost an hour with one less player, but we managed to score two more goals in extra time and that was an important boost of adrenaline and confidence. It was a turning point in a year in which we won the Champions League,” recalls the Blaugrana coach.
In the event of a new victory, Barça would be 12 points ahead of the second-placed Whites, which would leave the League title practically sealed: “It would be a very big distance, although it would not be definitive from a mathematical point of view. ”warns Giráldez. And the coach is aware that his team must stay plugged in because the classic comes in the middle of an important Champions League tie with the result open against Brann (1-2). “They will arrive more rested, but the calendar is what it is. And we are prepared and trained to play every three or four days,” said the coach in the preview.
Real Madrid arrives at the event in “a good moment of form”, without losing since December and Giráldez believes that the fact that they have never been able to beat them “will serve as motivation”. Alberto Toril, his counterpart on the white bench, maintains that the team “comes strong” and hopes that his team “is brave.” “Play a practical game and go for it” are the slogans of the Madrid coach who “always modifies something” in the tactical aspect when facing Barça, warns Giráldez.
The Catalan team added a new casualty in training on Friday with the sprained ankle suffered by goalkeeper Gemma Font, who joins the injured Mapi León and Jana Fernández.
One last dance for Jonatan Giráldez at the Di Stéfano with the unknown of knowing who will succeed him on the Blaugrana bench: “It is always calming to know the future, I say this from experience, this way you can focus the competition. Yes, I would like them to already know him, but it does not depend on me,” acknowledged the Galician coach.
And Giráldez is not the only one whose contract ends on June 30 and many of the soccer players are waiting to find out who the coach will be and what their new project will be to decide their future. This is the case of important footballers such as Mariona Caldentey or Mapi León, as well as Alexia Putellas, whose renewal was frozen during the months in which she was injured. Time is running out, the club must move quickly if it wants to ensure a quiet summer.
