They are providing the story of the season so far across Europe. Indeed, the history they’re making in La Liga is bigger than anyone dared imagine.
This is not just the odd narrative, the odd weekend of La Liga 2023 highlights, but actually a story approaching the full package as we near the halfway mark of the campaign.
Does anyone expect Girona to win La Liga? Not really.
But did anyone expect them to be top of the table in December? Not really.
And did anyone really expect them to go to champions Barcelona – a side which has spent so heavily over the past 18 months – and win?
In condemning Xavi Hernández’s side to their second league defeat of the season on Sunday night, Ukraine forward Artem Dovbyk put Girona in front in the 12th minute with a shot that bounced in off the bottom of the post for his eighth of the season.
Dovbyk only joined the Catalan outfit in August this year following a move from Ukrainian Premier League side SC Dnipro-1 where he netted an impressive 54 goals from 86 appearances, 24 of those coming last term.
Robert Lewandowski equalised seven minutes later, heading home following a corner but Miguel Gutiérrez restored Girona’s lead before half-time and Valery Fernández made it 3-1 in the 80th minute.
Ilkay Gündogan pulled another goal back for Barça before Cristhian Stuani added their fourth in stoppage time.
The 37-year-old club captain had replaced Dovbyk in the 72nd minute. Girona’s previous league game saw Stuani become the oldest player to score two goals in a La Liga game in the 21st century at 37 years and 51 days.
After being down 1-0 in the 82nd minute, he netted a quick double to turn the match in their favour. The striker joined the Catalan side in 2017 and has become their record goal scorer, now netting 124 goals for Girona.
As a result of Sunday night’s memorable victory, Girona topped the table with 41 points from 16 games. Barcelona are fourth on 34 points, level with third-placed Atletico Madrid.
The club, which has never finished higher than 10th and is only in its fourth season in La Liga, is now just two victories away from being top of the table at Christmas.
As Football Espana put it, only Alaves and Real Betis stand between Girona and the winter champions ‘title’.
Their rise to the top may have taken many by surprise but, on the evidence so far, they have the quality to stay in the upper echelons of the table.
They may be joking amongst themselves that, in surpassing the 40-point mark they have reached the number needed to stave off relegation, but the truth is no-one anticipated this.
Manager Michel Sanchez was delighted after the match, his 100th Primera game, claiming that all football fans would have enjoyed Girona’s performance. And part of his team talk was done for him too.
Before the match, he criticised his star midfielder Aleix Garcia for remarking that he would love to join Barcelona, but he admitted that ultimately they rallied in the face of his comments.
Their ‘Cinderella run’ has come against the SBOTOP La Liga 2023 betting odds and pundits’ predictions the world over.
The club from North Catalonia, with a ground that holds only 14,624, some of them on scaffolding stands, are not only the league leaders but top scorers in the division.
Remember this is the side hailing from a city of 97,586 people, overshadowed by Barcelona 99 kilometres down the road, and a club which sold a number of its best players this summer, including Oriol Romeu (to Barcelona), top scorer Taty Castellanos, their best winger Rodrigo Riquelme, and centre-back, Santi Bueno.
Michel and Girona continue to improve players under their tutelage.
Gutiérrez is a Real Madrid player but a 22-year-old academy product with no obvious place there yet.
Aleix García came from Eibar where he had been relegated and Iván Martín from Alavés having suffered the same fate.
Savinho was at Troyes but had been demoted from the first team. Classy Dutchman Daley Blind arrived from Bayern but they didn’t want him.
Between them, Girona’s squad have experienced 38 relegations, far more than their titles won.
Michel joined Girona in July 2021 and achieved promotion in his first season after a 3-1 win over Tenerife in the play-off final.
This was a sign of things to come for the Spanish coach and the question remains, just how far can he take Girona.
It’s going to be fun finding out.
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