With two hours to go until the start of the game, there are already many people outside Montilivi. Two young men brandish a scarf with a clear, revealing slogan: We’re back. They take pictures and smile. Almost everyone is smiling – the excitement, joy and excitement of the return of First Division football to the city, almost 1,200 days later, 1,198, is visible in the eyes. From everyone: from big to small. “I thought I would never see it again. I am very happy. Being in Primera again is very nice. I thought I would never see it again”, reiterates Francisco, de Salt and partner for years. “I’m really looking forward to the game. I think we will win 3-1”, he admits. Sergi, his son, is by his side.
A few meters further on, Pere, partner number 53, is talking to a friend. “In fact, I never thought I would see it. And we already experienced it once. Now, that comes as a gift.” He is also over seventy years old. “I feel maximum joy. It has been missed. And now I hope there is continuity, that we don’t leave here”, he says. They all trust that the dream will not be as ephemeral as the first stage in the elite, from 2017 to 2019. “But I am one of those who think that if we go down, nothing will happen. Maybe it would be our category. That’s why we don’t have to get involved with Europe or anything”, he remarks. “I’m nervous today. This afternoon I was nervous”, admits Pere.
“I’m not nervous. At this age there are no more nerves”, says another fan with a smile. His name is Luis. “Lluís Bargalló Bou, to serve God and you, as they made me say at school”, he jokes. He is 78 years old and comes from Cassà. He lived the rise in his town. “That was too much, eh,” he sighs with happiness. “We have a coach who is a big player. It’s a crack. With another coach we would no longer have Samu. Because he’s crazy, but with Míchel he hangs like a bastard”, he concludes.
Nearby, Anna and Joan eat a flute of ham before entering Montilivi for the first time. They come from Molins de Rei: they heard about Girona on the news on Sunday and bought tickets. “He always empathizes with the weak,” she says. “I’ve always liked Girona”, he says. “I’m from Culé, but I watch Girona on TV and I don’t watch Barça. It’s exciting to see the atmosphere in Girona. People are very excited”, he adds. Both wear Girona shirts and use their son as an excuse to justify a growing passion. “I’m wearing the shirt of the year we were relegated to the Second Division. We bought him two or three matches before going down and today I stole from him”, says Anna. Perhaps unintentionally, he talks about Girona in the first person. “We bought him a new one today and I stole it from him,” says Joan.
They are the penultimate proof that Girona has been expanding its borders in recent years. Andrés, Judit, Pol and Maria, father, mother, son and daughter, come from Malgrat. The journey has become shorter than the nights of Elche and Rayo Vallecano. They have been partners for years: the children, since they were born. “On the day of the ascent, we took a weight off ourselves. It seemed that we would never achieve it”, emphasizes Andrés. “We were the only four who shouted in our street”, adds Judit. And he looks at Pol and Maria: “Now they’re getting used to being in Primera.” They are already used to suffering. It’s the grace of Girona: that we suffer from childhood”. Pol remembers that unforgettable victory against Madrid. He is 13 years old. Maria is younger. And he doesn’t remember much of the First Division. Like so many other boys and girls, in 2017, 2018 and 2019 she was still too young.
Already inside the field, Quim and Marc, two brothers aged nine and ten from Fornells, say they had seen Girona in Primera on television. “But I don’t remember”, they admit in unison. Their father explains that they woke up nervous, between selfies. He often pulls out his cell phone to capture and immortalize the moment. There are many families in the countryside: Robert and Jordi come from the Empordà with their grandfather, Josep. All three are partners. “We come with great desire. And with a little fear, because Getafe is Getafe”, says the voice of experience. “To be Primera again is incredible. I was hoping to see Girona again in Primera», he says, sincerely. He’s already wearing the new shirt, with a 77 on the back. It’s his age: every August 13 the family gives him the shirt. Robert wears the 7. “For Stuani”, he argues, shyly.
Past idols and present idols are seen on the fans’ backs. New idols are also beginning to appear there, such as Taty Castellanos. At the gate that forms the border between Gol Sud and Preferent, Cloe, Íngrid, Sergi, Aleix and Eric, schoolmates, pass the tape recorder to squeal the name of their idol: ” Stuani. Juan Carlos Taty Castellanos Riquelme Aleix García”. They all wear Girona shirts. “Well, she doesn’t have a shirt on. This is mine. And I haven’t let him”, remarks Sergi, looking at Íngrid. She is his sister. “When I got up I counted the hours left until 10 at night”, he emphasizes. In unison, all five admit that they have cried more than once in recent years. And that they lived and celebrated the promotion together through a video call. “The parents were very fed up because we kept shouting. And the neighbors scratched our wall.” “We couldn’t believe it”, they repeat. They smile for the camera and run off to their parents shouting that they are going to be in the newspaper.