With zero points in the locker after two days, the excitement of playing in the Champions League has given way to emergencies in Girona. An unknown arrives at Montilivi, a Slovan from Bratislava with very little European pedigree and with the poster of a suitable victim to give the first European joy to Girona fans eager to recover the pleasant sensations experienced last season. But Míchel doesn’t trust appearances.
“I have seen very good things from Slovan. I am clear that we must play a great game,” said the coach about the Slovaks, a team that “has possession in their League, although in the Champions League they have been further behind, and that has differential players on the wing and in the midfield.” Vladimír Weiss’s team, however, come second to last in the table, in addition to being second in their League, after being beaten by Manchester City (0-4) and Glasgow Celtic (5-1). “We will have to press well, be supportive without the ball, and have a high rhythm with the ball,” he noted.
“I have seen very good things from Slovan. I am clear that we must play a great game”
The Madrid coach recognized that they are “in need of victory” to aspire to qualification and did not make excuses, appealing to the delicate situation of the squad, with nine absent, the last of Abel Ruiz due to adductor discomfort. “We will have 12 field players plus the players from the reserve team and the youth team. We didn’t get anyone back for the game,” lamented the man from Vallecas, who had hoped to at least have Blind. “Beyond the team’s moment, the classification says that we must win yes or yes,” said the coach of Girona, the “most humble team in the competition.”
It will no longer be the debut in the competition, nor the debut in Montilivi, and that is why Míchel wanted to emphasize again the importance of being in the continental elite. “Playing a Champions League match with Girona cannot be just another one. I don’t want to tiptoe through this competition and I want people to appreciate it. There is a lot of merit in what the club has done and I don’t know if it is being recognized. You have to enjoy and value this match. It is a very special match, like the previous two. The team is going to value it as it deserves,” he insisted.
Míchel directs this Monday’s training.
Despite the irregular start to the season, with six defeats in 12 games, the last on Saturday against Real Sociedad (0-1), Míchel has not seen “any bad face in the locker room, everyone is fine”, and he is confident of improving that “last pass and shot” to finish seeing “the best version” of a team with “room for improvement” that continues “competing well.” “Maybe now we are in a moment of seeking salvation, but I think we will end up on top,” he concluded.
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