The race for the title of three LaLiga teams has been pressed after another frantic weekend in Spain. A significant arbitration controversy during Real Madrid’s defeat against Espanyol led to whites to officially complain to RFEF While its protagonist about LaLiga shrunk to one point over Atlético de Madrid with 22 days moved. These two teams gather in the last installment of their city derby next Saturday, while third place Barcelona will be looking, hoping to take advantage of a sliding of one (or both) of the capital clubs.
After 22 rounds last Season, Little Girona FC were in this title mixture. But the Blanquivermells never recovered after a goalless draw for the Real Sociedad in Ronda 23; The next weekend trip to Santiago Bernabeu ended in a 4-0 defeat, and Girona was not really a factor in the race for the title after that. Even so, an unknown group that represents a city of 100,000 people shocked the world of football at the end third, five points better than Atlético, and qualifying for the Champions League.
Throughout the season, I had curious about how Girona would deal with such unexpected success, especially after the key players such as Savinho, Aleix García and Artem Dovbyk continued last summer. Girona broke its club transfer record three times during the summer transfer window when sports director Quique It ended directly behind Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Yaser! 💥#GyralSPalmas | #Lalaigahighlights | @Laliga pic.twitter.com/zw5oju2vix
– Girona FC (@GIONAFC) February 4, 2025
After the 2-1 house victory on Monday over Las Palmas, Girona (9-4-9, 31 points) jumped four teams to the seventh place and now sits a point behind Rayo Vallecano for 6th, which would be Good enough to enter the UEFA Conference next season Liga in the classification stage. Two of last summer signing Colombian Yaser Asprilla turned and floated in the winning end 70 minutes later.
In previous columns for this estimated publication, I have registered my concerns about the Football Financier in Spain – The second German level spent twice money on new signings As the first Spanish level in the winter transfer window now closed, although It can be difficult to analyze how much of that is by design.. Property models such as City Football Group and even Blueco seem inherently dangerous to the future of sport. CFG added Girona to his “portfolio” of clubs in 2017, but he only has the largest payroll in the league this term. In addition, the two oldest players in the club are prior to the property consortium, one of them, at 38, is the fourth oldest player in the league this season, and continues to contribute while Girona looks for a European bis.
Our @Laliga has spent 2.6 million euros in January so far, the lowest in a decade 🤣💪
2.5 million euros is from Ruben Vargas (Seville)
They have been sold for 22 million euros
Our teams tend to spend less in January due to strict financial controls, but also because it is considered a difficult market for quality …
– Guillem Balague (@guillembalague) February 3, 2025
We talked, of course, about the captain of the Cristhian Stuani club, who actually helped the winner of Asprilla on Monday to limit his 17th (!) Substitute appearance of the league season. Stuani joined Girona from Middlesbrough in July 2017, one month before CFG confirmed that he had bought a 44% participation in the recently promoted club.
Stuani’s return to Spain after two years in England began with an explosion; He got an orthopedic device in a 2-2 draw against Atlético, and ended the season with 21 goals before becoming the top scorer of all Girona’s time the following year. And in a movement that always attracted it to the club, its fans, Stuani quickly signed a contract extension until 2023; Three seasons, 61 goals in second, and a 2026 renewal followed before the promotion of return to the highest category.
“Everything we are experiencing is a dream and we don’t want to wake up,” Stuani said in November 2023With Girona Top of the League. “We must enjoy it, but they are also aware that it is an additional responsibility, now we are no longer the surprise and the teams know us more, which means that we must increase effort and work.”
Last season, Michel’s miraculous men doubled on the Catalan rivals Barcelona and beat Atlético in a seven goals thriller at their home in Montilivi last January; They led the league after rounds 7, 12, 13, 16, 17, 20, 21 and 22. The sequelae of unexpected success had a cost, as it often does for existing clubs at levels below the absolute elite. Dovbyk departed towards Rome in a transfer of 30 million euros and has been disappointed in the midst of the instability of the Italian club; Aleix García joined the German Bayer Leverkusen champions for a modest € 18 million and has become a key square member for Xabi Alonso. Savinho, a game of 25 million euros, has always been present at Manchester City, but the city’s soccer group meant that Girona never saw a single euro for him; Technically, the Brazilian had been borrowed from the French club Troyes, which CFG also possesses. (Do you see how bad this is?)
Then, Stuani, part of the furniture at this time, had the task of helping in the adaptation of several new players while preparing for an adventure of the Maiden Champions League in what has become the club of his life . Girona passed a record club of 18 million euros to bring the technically dilated asprilla; His goal on Monday was only his second this season (although his creativity has been important for this new side). Bryan Gil joined Tottenham’s loan and is second in the team in shots creation. But the inefficient Abel Ruiz was an investment of 9 million euros; The Northern Macedonia striker, Bojan Mivski, was a good idea for a cunning firm of Aberdeen, but it has also been difficult for him to adapt to the League.
Three years ago, @GIRONAFC Fans traveled to @Cdmirandes‘Anduva Stadium that has 5,759 people.
Last night, Girona fans traveled to @acmilanThe San Siro stadium that can contain more than 80,000 people!
What travels from @LaLiga2 toward @Championslagueague!
📸 @Gago_Mario pic.twitter.com/q2t9wqwoio
– Spanish Monday (@Segundaspash) January 23, 2025
In just 397 minutes, Stuani has scored four goals (two penalties) and helped two more; It is leveled with Bryan for team leadership in extrapolated goals for a full season and a workload of the starting striker, the 0.82 expected goals from Stuani not with the penalty for 90 rivals by Mark Robert Lewandowski and would be greater than Any of Atlético or Real Madrid attack players. Stuani’s four goals have scored after the time, when Girona has scored 12 goals of 31 teams; Its penalty of 99 minutes against athletics in October is a reason why the race for the last two European places is so tight.
For Girona, the 2024/25 season has had to do with the transition and new experiences. The club had its first test of the Champions League, and the heartbreak that comes with it. The Blanquivermells suffered four 1-0 losses in the eight round league phase; His losses with Feyenoord, Milan and even Liverpool must have been especially difficult to take, since Girona coincided with these richer and more experienced opponents for great portions of their encounters. Back to European competition in 2025/26, after so much turnover last summer, would be a fairly significant achievement for Michel manager and increase his stock around football even higher.
For Stuani, Girona’s heart and soul, a working striker who does not need many touches to score and is always willing to get stuck in a challenge to help his teammates, this is perhaps the culmination of a beautiful and brilliant fight: Through the descent, two years caught in second before a victory in the promotion playoffs in the third time to ask, to the League summit for eight weeks.
The employer has earned his stripes, but when he told his team before the historic victory of the First League of Champions of Girona, 2-0 at home for Slovan Bratislava in October, the hunger to win still burns. Girona got that opportunity, just as he will have won another photo on the European stage if he can arise as one of the six best teams in the league after last summer rotation.
“𝑸𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒐 𝒋𝒖𝒈𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒂, 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒐 𝒋𝒖𝒈𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒊… 𝒚 𝒂𝒔í 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒐𝒔!”
Captain Word. The impressive talk of @CristhianStuani On a historic day for the @GIRONAFC. #Lacasadelf Fútbol #Ucl pic.twitter.com/elacbfwdw0
– Soccer at Movistar Plus+ (@Movistarfutbol) October 22, 2024
“Today I am going to play for Juanpe, for his children. He is going to play for mine, Stuani said that nightin reference to the oldest defender of the club. “Jota (man from the Josep Maria Luis kit), today I want to play for you, who has been here for many years. Gali (Javier Galiano party delegate) too. People, we all have to be united. Danju (Arnaut Danjuma), where are you? I want to play for you, I’m going to play for you. “
“And we are going to win, people, because we deserve it and have fought hard to be here. Let’s win, people, let’s go. “