Girona FC keep making history this season in LALIGA EA SPORTS. With 12 games played, they are now the standalone leaders with 31 points, two ahead of Real Madrid. The only points dropped so far have been against Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, two Champions League teams.
With their last weekend’s victory against CA Osasuna, they became only the third club other than Real Madrid and FC Barcelona to win at least 10 of their first 12 matches of a LALIGA EA SPORTS season, behind only Real Betis (10 in the 1934/35) and Atlético de Madrid (10 in the 2012/13 and 11 in the 2013/14). Click this link https://a.meridianbet.ke/c/C7pYjz to start gaming and stand a chance of winning big with a meridian bet.
The architect of this success is Miguel Ángel Sánchez Muñoz, better known as Míchel, the 47-year-old coach from Madrid who is catching the eye with his entertaining brand of attacking football. Last Saturday’s game was his 50th in charge of Los Blanquivermells in LALIGA EA SPORTS and he now boasts a record of 23 wins, 11 draws and 16 defeats. His LALIGA EA SPORTS win percentage of 46% is by far the best in the club’s history.
Míchel isn’t taking this success for granted. He previously achieved promotion into the top division of Spanish football with Rayo Vallecano and with SD Huesca, the only other two clubs he has managed in his coaching career, but both those teams were relegated the following season and Míchel was sacked before the end of each campaign.
With Girona FC, though, the story is different. After leading them to promotion in his first season in charge at the Estadi Montilivi, when they finished sixth and came up through the 2021/22 LALIGA HYPERMOTION playoffs, Míchel secured a 10th-place finish last term. Now, the coach has this team in second position and European qualification is a true possibility.
In fact, in the 2021/22 season, Míchel’s Girona FC reached matchday 12 in 19th place in LALIGA HYPERMOTION. Today, after 12 matchdays in LALIGA EA SPORTS 2023/24, they are the standalone leaders.
That said, Míchel is aware that Girona FC have never spent three consecutive seasons in LALIGA EA SPORTS and achieving this is his primary objective. “The goal is to consolidate the team’s place in the top flight as soon as possible,” he said after Saturday’s win. “I hope we can then look upwards, but collecting points is a struggle and I want the team to understand that the daily grind is what will bring us success.”
The keys to the success of Míchel’s Girona FC
Girona FC’s impressive start to the season is thanks to their attack more than their defence. Los Blanquivermells have netted the most goals of all teams in LALIGA EA SPORTS, with 24, while they have created the joint-second-most big chances, with 34. Considering Míchel was a prolific goalscorer during his own playing career, which he spent mostly at Rayo Vallecano, where he became the club’s all-time top scorer, it isn’t surprising to see his teams play with such a forward-thinking mentality.
On the defensive end, they have conceded 15 goals, only the seventh-best defensive record in the competition, as this is a team that is willing to take risks. If there is room for improvement then it would be in defence, as the coach has full confidence in what his team is achieving in attack. As he said after the win against UD Almería: “I’m not worried about the attacking phase of the game, as we can cause problems for any opponent because we have a lot of resources.”
Míchel is right to point to the variety in attacking resources in his squad. While summer signing Artem Dovbyk leads the way with five goals, Girona FC’s success is not about just one player. Far from it. Sávio, Aleix García, Daley Blind, Yangel Herrera or Tsygankov are only some of the pieces that are shining.
Theirs is really a team effort and this is to Míchel’s credit. Girona FC lost several important starters in the summer, such as Oriol Romeu, Taty Castellanos and Rodrigo Riquelme, but the Girona FC sporting department, led by Quique Cárcel, recruited well and Míchel has cooked up a feast with the new ingredients.
It truly is an exciting time for Girona FC and the fact that Míchel has a contract at the Estadi Montilivi until 2026 means that there are many more chapters still to be written in this story. The humility of the club and of the coaching staff means that securing survival remains the first priority. But the fans are dreaming of European football… and they have every right to.
