2023-07-22 06:30:47
While this may sound like a lie to many fans, the 2023/24 season has already been underway for over a week. Yes, there is still time for the start of the big leagues and UEFA competitions, but it is precisely the latter that have started. The teams in the lower leagues have to go through an odyssey of preliminary stages if they want to qualify and, among a mess with names from all corners of Europe, there are five from Girona who, from Andorra, have already passed one. And they dream of continuing to do so. they are Marc Nierga (from Olot and until recently a Peralada player), Dani Toribio (Salt) i Jose Bejarano (Fig trees), of FC Santa Coloma; in addition toAdri Muñoz (Girona) and now recovering from an operation on the meniscus Kilian Grant (Figueres)soccer players from lInter d’Escaldes.
The first beat the Pen-y-Bont, East Wales in a tie where, explains Nierga, they “suffered a lot”. The first leg, at home, ended in a 1-1 draw, and the outcome, in the second leg, went to extra time (2-0). “We scored a goal and they had to open up more, and then the second, which gave us peace of mind”, continues the striker, who changed his mind this summer. The Girona player was about to renew with Peralada, where “he was at ease and at home”, but he would not rule anything out if an option came along that caught his attention. So, after an exotic offer from Hong Kong didn’t add up, “he went out to play Conference with Santa Coloma, a new experience” that he embraced. For now, they have already passed the first round. “Here we had more options and, for the opponent, I think we were lucky enough in the second.” They face the Sutjeska Niksic Montenegrin, where the illusion is to “keep enjoying to the maximum”. Despite a long career in which he even played in the second division with AlcorcónNierga is discovering “different European teams, with other characteristics, and, at 31 years old, I didn’t know if I would experience anything similar.”
To discover the league, however, you will still have to wait until September 17. In the meantime, he will have time to continue with an adaptation that is being “quick” and “easy”. “I knew a lot of players, there’s a very good team because it’s been a block since last year and, now that we’re traveling and training together all day, even more so.”
One who is already quite comfortable in Andorra is Adri Muñoz. The goalkeeper of lInter d’Escaldes the third season begins there. The first was at Santa Coloma and, after failing to qualify for Europe, he signed for Inter, who had done so. “They are two very professional teams, I’m happy here”, comments the one who, from under the posts, made history with his team by qualifying for the first time in a European round. The 2-1 first leg made Wednesday’s home draw good Vikingur Drop from the Faroe Islands, but they ended up with water up to their necks. “We were comfortable for most of the game, very good with the ball, and after the goal, we shut them down, but in an unlucky play the ball went into the hand of a team-mate and it was a penalty”, narrates the Girona player. “They were playing in their field and the fans pressed, so the last quarter of an hour and the discount, which was long, we suffered.” So much so, in fact, that they conceded a goal in the last minute, but the captain was offside.
Now it will be their turn to play against a whole history, l‘Scottish Hibernian. “It’s well-known, it has a level and an incredible stadium”, assesses Muñoz, who knows that they will go there “to enjoy themselves and with excitement, but, always, fighting to do as much as possible, even if it’s difficult”.
A growing league
Until last year, the highest Andorran division had only eight teams. Now, however, it grows to ten. “It’s a small league”, admits the Inter player, champion of the Cup, “but there are powerful teams, at the level of the 2nd or 3rd RFEF, and the others are growing little by little”. Nierga goes along the same lines when he says that “many things are being done well and every year the level improves”. In any case, Muñoz indicates a pending account, which is that all the matches are played in the same stadium.
In the economic aspect, of wages, speculates the goalkeeper, “we must be above 3rd RFEF, although perhaps not as powerful as Second, as far as I know, and it also depends on whether your team plays in Europe. they are 250.000 euros per round passed. On a day-to-day basis, both agree that there is a “very good quality of life”, and Nierga celebrates not being so hot. “Doing the pre-season like this helps!”
Carles Coto says goodbye
Until two days ago he was still a player for Santa Coloma, but the Figueres native said goodbye to his teammates yesterday. In principle, you could start a new challenge with a Valencian team of Third RFEF.
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