2024-01-12 07:16:31
And 9’9.
Usually, a player who has been a one-time starter for the entire first round is usually not very happy.
Many factors come together. Not everything is in the field, which is important. To be completely happy, the family has to be happy and I have to be in a place where it is. I feel at home here. I’m from Girona. Sportingly, we are doing something incredible. Even if I don’t play every minute, when I jump on the field I enjoy it because I have great teammates and the style is appreciated.
That says a lot about the atmosphere in the dressing room and the club.
Yes. Those of us who have experienced previous stages are proud of the evolution of the club. It wants to grow. We players have pretty much everything. I remember that before we didn’t have breakfast or lunch together before and now we do everything here almost every day. The other day against Atlético and in other games we saw the happy faces of the people as we walked around the pitch and that is priceless. It’s idyllic.
You experienced the promotion and the debut in Primera, which were very big things for the club. Does this now beat it all?
Of course. We must never forget where we came from and what was done. However, it is nothing compared to being co-leaders at the end of the first round having lost a game. It’s barbaric. I’ve played more years in Primera and I’ve experienced a lot, and because of that I know how difficult it is to win a game in the category. Here we are normalizing winning. We are getting used to doing it and we like it. We always celebrate.
Do they notice the madness they are generating between the fans and the media coverage they have acquired?
We know that there is a lot of strawberry around Girona. It is normal. We’ve kind of become everybody’s team. They have their team, Barça, Madrid or Atlético, but people like that there is a team that fights against the greats, like David against Goliath. We see that yes, that despite not being their first team, people want Girona to continue at the top. This is achieved not only through results, but through good play. We are one of the most watched teams around the world. People enjoy watching us.
One thing… It’s for a friend… Losing nine of the last ten games they did in 2019, they won’t repeat it now, will they?
(River). Salvation is now done, don’t worry, I’m sure next year we’ll be in Primera! Let him be calm. I don’t look beyond the day to day, because perspective is lost.
Let’s go back in the summer. How did your signing go?
With Quique (Cárcel) we have a relationship beyond football. We never lost touch. I was clear that I wanted to come back at some point and do it feeling well. If he came, he did so because of work and when he was hungry. At the beginning of the summer it was complicated, but then with the salary caps the circumstances were created so that in the last four days there were options. We all did our part.
We are talking about 1.5 million. Considering that Girona sold him for 10, it was a round deal.
So, the transfer was good for everyone. It wasn’t easy to leave but it was an opportunity to experience other things. I have gained a lot of experience that I can now bring to the team. I’ve been happy enjoying other things and that makes me the player I am now.
How did he experience, from the outside, the two lost play-offs against Rayo and Elche?
Like another Girona. He wanted the club to go up because he loved the people so much. It was the time of Covid and I lived it at home. They were two more stones on the road to Girona. The club already came from many beatings and that makes it what it is now.
Has the club changed much since its first stage?
Since I arrived at Segona in 2016, the change is abysmal. We didn’t have as much structure, or fields to train as now. Now it is becoming a sports city and it will be even better.
It is included in the group of old guard with StuaniBorja, Juan Carlos, Juanpe whose Michel qualifies as “the heart of Girona”?
I am included, but I know that they have suffered more because they have been in Segona and they have fought so that this does not fall and is what it is now. I do have that feeling. It’s good to have players like that because we mustn’t lose sight of where we come from and what we’ve suffered. Now you have to enjoy it twice as much, with your feet on the ground.
Let’s talk about the present. From the outside it looks like a wonder. Ivan Martin he said he enjoyed it like a child playing. Are you having a good time too?
Yes. When you’re inside, it’s pure fun. It’s having the ball, wanting to score and creating chances and chances. It’s hard to see that in this world because it usually prioritizes competitiveness much more than enjoyment. It’s totally different here and that’s what drives us to be on top. In the end, we go out to enjoy and score goals and not so much to add the three points.
Which victory did they celebrate the most?
They are all different. The games we win in the end do have a special taste. It is not easy to score four goals against Barça away from home with the level of play we offered. Atlético did not see us like the Girona of other years, but as a rival from above and they came well aware of what they would find.
What day has thundered more Montilivithe first win against Madrid in 2017 or last Saturday against Atlético?
Madrid’s day was a very nice victory because it was the first time, it was Fairs and the stadium was bursting. But the context of the game against Atlético, which was a litmus test to see the level we were at, made it incredible with the 4-3 and all the celebration afterwards.
A Getafe was he happy footballingly?
Yes. You always have to take positive things away. When you fight not to go down all year, you suffer and it’s not easy. This is a sport of learning and taking away positive things and I have done it every year everywhere I have been and also at Getafe. I have a great memory of it.
He said when he arrived that Míchel had given him “freedom”. What wasn’t there?
It’s a totally different concept. Each team has a different way of playing and they are all valid. In elite sport you have to achieve results and save the year. As attacking players, we obviously like to get up there and have chances. That was another game. We attacked in a different way to add results.
Míchel and Bordalás are night and day in every way?
When it comes to the game, they are complete opposites, but both share a winning mentality. In his head there is only the word win.
He has often been seen hugging Míchel at matches. That means?
It is very difficult to manage such long templates. He is very good and the architect of everything that happens. Both for the work, the game model and the way it is conveyed. Above all, however, the way to manage the group. He is very open and talks to everyone, always face to face.
Victory and classification against a rival who pushed us to the limit. On to the next round! ???? pic.twitter.com/pP0uDb0J4g
— Cristian Portugues (@portu) January 6, 2024
The master always talks about the day to day. So that the fans can understand, what is the day to day? Tell me some secret?
It is what gives a plus. If there are good practices and we are all plugged in, it makes the competitiveness rise. It proves that when there are casualties in the team, another one comes out and they keep winning. The level never goes down. The day to day starts at eight in the morning until four when we have had lunch. This is noticeable in the end because more than companions, the relationship goes further. Even some of us are neighbors and the baby plays folded.
Good atmosphere, in short.
Yes, but a good atmosphere should not be confused with not training well. There is competitiveness. We brought together very hungry young people and very hungry veterans as well. There is a mixture that bears fruit. The key word is hunger for me.
You qualified twice for theEuropa League with the Royal Society. This is somewhat predictable. If Girona entered Europe, what would that mean?
Yes. You have to be realistic. That would be an incredible milestone. It would be a first step towards becoming a club like Villarreal or Real Sociedad.
He has played in the Europa League and won one King’s Cup with Real He needs to taste it Champions…
Yes. It would be very nice to do it with Girona, a team I feel and of which I am a fan. When I retire, I will support Girona. This is very clear to me and I will instill in my children that they are from Girona. For the people who feel the club like me, Stuani, Borja and the others would be amazing.
And win a League?
They are big words. At the global level it would be heavier than what Leicester did a few years ago in England. For a fan who has seen Girona in Tercera, experiencing this would be great.
Does he dare to make any promises if Girona reaches Europe?
Ugh, they have to be fulfilled later… Come on, I’ll go up the steps of the Cathedral.
On my knees, I guess.
No! And now! On foot, God forbid!
Emilio Rodríguez, historic caretaker of the Montilivi stadium, dies
He has the 2017 ascension date tattooed on him.
Yes. For me it was very important and beautiful. It was the first big moment of my career. I carry the date of the ascent and the coordinates of Montilivi on my leg.
What remains of that child who went with his grandfather to Murcia by car to train and dreamed of becoming a professional?
Sometimes it’s hard to look back in football and review what you’ve achieved and where you’ve come. We often don’t value what we have and get angry for nothing. When it’s my turn to fold, I’ll look back and think I’ve been happy. Maybe I’ll cry like a cupcake, I don’t know. There is little left of that boy, although he is always there when I need him.
Is Beniel from Girona?
Even if there are people from Barça or Madrid, they know everything about Girona and always encourage my team. We recently held a charity tournament and the little one was super excited to get a t-shirt that we were raffling off.
Let me confess that this is the first time I have interviewed someone who has a stadium named after him.
(River). On the day of the inauguration, it was very difficult for me to make the speech. I was very excited to see so many familiar people in a field (Beniel) where I had spent so many hours playing. It was goosebumps to discover the plaque and receive that tribute.
Colleagues take his hair with this field name?
I always tell them that if they want to train in the summer, I leave them the keys and turn on the lights. (River).
He has played with Isaak, Oyarzabal, Sorloth, Stuani, but had he seen anything like Dovbyk?
I call him Terminator. He has a jackhammer mentality. Maximum work every day. A great tank, fast, strong, has a goal…He deserves all the praise he gets. We collar him so that he gives us even more goals to continue at the top.
Which classmate surprised you the most?
I have played with great footballers such as David Silva, Oyarzabal… At Girona there is a very high level. Savinho is in spectacular form and flying around the field. Dovbyk, Herrera, Blind…
What did the Kings bring?
I enjoyed seeing the children’s faces of happiness and excitement. To me, little. I was just asking for health and for the year to continue as the past ended.
Did the uncle poop?
Oh and so much! We even went to the forest to look for it and everything! We like Christmas and living this magic with the rogue.
Couto and Savinho have they taught him to dance samba?
(Laughs) They have Brazilian blood and they are with their samba. I don’t like it very much (laughs). Of course, they create happiness in the dressing room with their touch.
Sense Bernardowho is dressing room DJ now?
There are a few good ones. Now they do it between Fuidias and Juan Carlos, who just as soon comes up with reggaeton as with Bustamante…
Does he dare with Catalan? And Basque, did you learn it in San Sebastian?
I understand Catalan perfectly, it just so happens that I’m more embarrassed than the master, who doesn’t mind being wrong. I know some words in Basque, but it’s very, very difficult…
do you have animals
Yes, two dogs.
How are they called?
Paco and Lola.
Does he see himself as a coach?
I used to be very closed to it, now less so. I still have a lot to learn because I have very little patience.
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