2023-05-26 06:30:33
Linked to hockey all his life, Eduard Recio from Blanche assumed the presidency of Girona CH in December 2022. His son is a base player and, like all members of the board, he strives to make things square the budget Competing in the elite as a non-professional club is complicated, but they come away with a strong bet for the quarry.
It took a while, but they managed to stay in the OK League. What does it mean for the club to compete among the best?
It’s a privilege. Every week we face high-level teams (Barça, Liceo, Reus, etc.). As a club, it is very important to stay there to continue our trajectory. In the OK League, the base players, who are working very well, can see that there is a line that leads to the top of everything. We don’t want the player to have to leave because he is good and the first team is too small for him.
It will be eight consecutive seasons in the highest category of state hockey, but he has had to suffer a lot to be there.
We have suffered a lot. This season the idea was not to have to play the play-out again, but we knew we were candidates. It has not been possible. Luckily, we got it done in the second game. We work to make a more offensive team next year, which is what we lack the most, to finish the regular league higher.
Does the budget vary a lot to aspire to fight to be at the top of the rankings?
To be on top of everything, we would have to multiply the budget by three. To sign elite players. Currently, the market focuses a lot on the Portuguese… We could be talking about 600,000 euros when ours, on average in total for the club, is around 200,000 and making inventions for everything. But our idea is not to have a budget to sign eight players, but we want to keep the team in the OK League and strengthen the base. We are a club that must feed on what we have at home. Although we can sign one or two players so that they stand out and carry the weight of the team, we want people to feel identified with the club and for it to be a Girona club.
The city will again be represented by four teams in the elite. How do you live with being the only one who is not a professional?
We are the only non-professional team in the top flight. In hockey it is more normal. In fact, I think that in the OK League we only have Barça, Liceo and Reus. Then we find everything else with more or less high budgets. We invest, above all, in grassroots coaches because we are interested in making it bigger and for it to go up. This year, there have been three players from the house that have competed in the OK League. On the day of the match against Noia, all three were on court. This is what really fills us up. Now, we have to work to be on top.
We are working to get the women’s team back to OK Liga as soon as possible
And the female?
We had a very good campaign, reaching the play-offs for promotion, and we are working to return to OK Liga in the short term. Good work is being done. This season there will be occasional reinforcements, despite the fact that the bet for the base is also followed considering that it is our policy. We want to recover the category as soon as possible, but no rush. We must be ready.
Do you find it difficult to find signings?
It is difficult for players to want to come sometimes because we are always talking about the budget. Although there are already, eh! We are a club that feeds from the grassroots and is becoming more and more interested.
Is Ramon Benito the cornerstone of the first team?
Yes. The same technical staff will continue. Joan Miquel Calero, apart from being a physical trainer, will act as second coach and take on a more important role. While Xavier Martínez will also help them and bring the statistics.
Will the template be tweaked a lot?
There will be few changes. We can’t tell them yet. There are teams that are already closed, but we are just talking about it now because we depended on the play-out. We couldn’t define anything with anyone because we didn’t know where we would be.
What does it mean for the club to have a figure like Jaume Llaverola?
He has a lot of weight on the team. He is a player who has reached the top and who, despite his age (47 years old), is in top form as he has shown. He is one of the best OK League goalkeepers. He contributes a lot and gives us peace of mind, especially in important matches such as the play-outs in which there are nerves and tension.
Have you ever talked to them about withdrawal?
No, no, no. We don’t listen to him. We don’t want to hear it (laughs). He is highly motivated. He has told us that as long as he feels like it and is physically well, he wants to continue. For us it is a luxury to have it.
Will they convince Raúl Pelicano again to hang up the stick?
The technical staff insisted that he help us in the play-out, he had already scored but he was the only one who could give us a goal from a set piece. We also refished him the previous season in the second round to get some air and theoretically he was retired… I have known him for many years and he loves the club very much. It is clear that he will not return. He recently became a father and wants to devote himself to his family. It’s quite normal. Even more so in a sport that is not professional and you have to work. Playing hockey is a commitment.
Seeing the role of the youth, there is a future in the club.
Of course! The youth will move up to the junior category, which is runner-up in Catalonia; the children who will go up to youth have also gone to the Catalan Championships… Biel Nadal, Miquel Calero and David Ariza have made their debut in the first team. There is a good quarry. In addition, we include 35 new children.
Are they comfortable in Pavilion 2?
We are happy to be able to have a pavilion, but there are very few people. 180 people immediately we have them… There is a lot of separation between the stand and the court, there is never as much pressure as in the other rival pavilions where we play where we have the fans above us. For retransmissions there are also problems because they focus on a wall and you never perceive if there are people or not. it’s cold Apart from the fact that we have to coordinate with the CPA Girona. We both need track hours. We are in the highest category and we ask to be at the level. We need conditions and a structure to be on top of everything. We have spoken with the City Council. Hopefully it will be resolved in the near future.
Are you happy as president?
Yes, I already knew where I was going and that it was work (laughs). I’ve been playing hockey all my life. We are a new board, but in the end we are a continuation of the previous one. We have brought a breath of fresh air. We work together on many things. Since we are not professionals, we divide the functions among the members of the board. There are no people who have a job position there, but we do everything between us. It is clear to us that we have to go to work anyway and we also have a family. We got involved because we have players at the club, me my son. The idea is marked by the club’s philosophy.
#League #pavilion #good #condition #Girona #top