| Girona (LaLiga) 21:48 - Dec 10 with 3861 views | silky |
What a fairy tale currently happening with the club Girona.
At the time of writing this they are beating Barca 1-3 at their own patch. A large town of 100,000 residents and will be top of the league ahead of Real Madrid if they win tonight.
Bellingham has rightly got the attention over there but if Girona win the league that would be bigger than Leicester doing it in the PL.
Love hearing a good underdog story! |  |
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| Girona (LaLiga) on 22:10 - Dec 10 with 3692 views | Lblock |
And the Spanish league is better for it.
Will the authorities wear it though?
Probably not and they’ll want order restored and the boring monotony of one of two teams winning it year after year after bloody year. |  |
| Cherish and enjoy life.... this ain't no dress rehearsal |
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| Girona (LaLiga) on 22:18 - Dec 10 with 3671 views | FredManRave |
That's a glass half empty attitude, Brian.
Actually 47% empty to be precise, as that's the City Groups stake in the club.
So, I'm 53% happy for them and hope that they win the league. |  |
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| Girona (LaLiga) on 22:28 - Dec 10 with 3588 views | BrianMcCarthy |
Well, the duopoly are institutionally corrupt, so it would be nice to see them toppled.
But by the City Football Group?
You see my point. |  |
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| Girona (LaLiga) on 22:38 - Dec 10 with 3523 views | Logman |
I went there 8 days ago to see them beat Valencia. Was a good experience despite the ramshackle standard stadium which had three (part) temporary stands.
However, the pre-match food was anything but Conference ramshackle - a paella the size of a centre circle being cooked in front of the main stadium.
It's a middle class town with families making up a large chunk of the support. There wasn't much singing and you get the sensation that they are in shock at their elevated status.
.
Would be good if we could discover what their magic recipe is one day. |  | | |
| Girona (LaLiga) on 23:39 - Dec 10 with 3418 views | BrianMcCarthy |
| Girona (LaLiga) on 22:38 - Dec 10 by Logman |
I went there 8 days ago to see them beat Valencia. Was a good experience despite the ramshackle standard stadium which had three (part) temporary stands.
However, the pre-match food was anything but Conference ramshackle - a paella the size of a centre circle being cooked in front of the main stadium.
It's a middle class town with families making up a large chunk of the support. There wasn't much singing and you get the sensation that they are in shock at their elevated status.
.
Would be good if we could discover what their magic recipe is one day. |
That's my point, Logman, their magic recipe is that Man City own them.
Players are routed through there like they are at all Man City clubs.
Engorged by Man City money, Girona finished sixth in the Spanish Second Divison in 2021-2022, for instance.
They beat Eibar and Tenerife in the playoffs.
Prior to that, they denied Seventh-placed Oviedo a playoff slot (win and a draw for Girona in their head-to-heads, same points, Oviedo +1 scoring difference)
They also denied eighth-placed Ponferradina (a win apiece, five points between them, one result would have reversed their positions). It was the closest Ponferradina, from a tiny town in rural North-West Spain (population 22 since that strange Grandmother left, you know the one I mean) have ever come to the top division but they met a behemoth. They've been relagated since. A dream died, maybe forever.
I don't see any romance in this at all. I'd love to see Villareal beat Real and Barca, or maybe Cádiz, or Vallecano.
But not Citeh's reserves. | |
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| Girona (LaLiga) on 00:34 - Dec 11 with 3305 views | Boston |
My Girona..duh duh du du da... | |
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| Girona (LaLiga) on 06:26 - Dec 11 with 3175 views | ngbqpr |
| Girona (LaLiga) on 23:39 - Dec 10 by BrianMcCarthy |
That's my point, Logman, their magic recipe is that Man City own them.
Players are routed through there like they are at all Man City clubs.
Engorged by Man City money, Girona finished sixth in the Spanish Second Divison in 2021-2022, for instance.
They beat Eibar and Tenerife in the playoffs.
Prior to that, they denied Seventh-placed Oviedo a playoff slot (win and a draw for Girona in their head-to-heads, same points, Oviedo +1 scoring difference)
They also denied eighth-placed Ponferradina (a win apiece, five points between them, one result would have reversed their positions). It was the closest Ponferradina, from a tiny town in rural North-West Spain (population 22 since that strange Grandmother left, you know the one I mean) have ever come to the top division but they met a behemoth. They've been relagated since. A dream died, maybe forever.
I don't see any romance in this at all. I'd love to see Villareal beat Real and Barca, or maybe Cádiz, or Vallecano.
But not Citeh's reserves. |
Off to see Betis v Girona next week.
Thanks for adding such detail to the back story I was only partially aware of Brian.
I’ll now be cheering on Betis with added vim and vigour. |  |
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| Girona (LaLiga) on 07:05 - Dec 11 with 3121 views | silky |
| Girona (LaLiga) on 23:39 - Dec 10 by BrianMcCarthy |
That's my point, Logman, their magic recipe is that Man City own them.
Players are routed through there like they are at all Man City clubs.
Engorged by Man City money, Girona finished sixth in the Spanish Second Divison in 2021-2022, for instance.
They beat Eibar and Tenerife in the playoffs.
Prior to that, they denied Seventh-placed Oviedo a playoff slot (win and a draw for Girona in their head-to-heads, same points, Oviedo +1 scoring difference)
They also denied eighth-placed Ponferradina (a win apiece, five points between them, one result would have reversed their positions). It was the closest Ponferradina, from a tiny town in rural North-West Spain (population 22 since that strange Grandmother left, you know the one I mean) have ever come to the top division but they met a behemoth. They've been relagated since. A dream died, maybe forever.
I don't see any romance in this at all. I'd love to see Villareal beat Real and Barca, or maybe Cádiz, or Vallecano.
But not Citeh's reserves. |
Well that well and truly bust my bubble. Thanks for the info. Good to know more about why they are doing what they are doing.
As you were. 😂 | |
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| Girona (LaLiga) on 07:47 - Dec 11 with 3079 views | Landshark |
| Girona (LaLiga) on 23:39 - Dec 10 by BrianMcCarthy |
That's my point, Logman, their magic recipe is that Man City own them.
Players are routed through there like they are at all Man City clubs.
Engorged by Man City money, Girona finished sixth in the Spanish Second Divison in 2021-2022, for instance.
They beat Eibar and Tenerife in the playoffs.
Prior to that, they denied Seventh-placed Oviedo a playoff slot (win and a draw for Girona in their head-to-heads, same points, Oviedo +1 scoring difference)
They also denied eighth-placed Ponferradina (a win apiece, five points between them, one result would have reversed their positions). It was the closest Ponferradina, from a tiny town in rural North-West Spain (population 22 since that strange Grandmother left, you know the one I mean) have ever come to the top division but they met a behemoth. They've been relagated since. A dream died, maybe forever.
I don't see any romance in this at all. I'd love to see Villareal beat Real and Barca, or maybe Cádiz, or Vallecano.
But not Citeh's reserves. |
Don't get me wrong, I am with you. A large part of their recent success is down to City but just to play devil's advocate here for a second...In the space of 20 years they went from the 5th tier in Spain to La Liga without a penny from the City Group. It wasn't until they were promoted to La Liga (for the first time in their history) that the City Group invested in them, so you could say they were already on the upward trajectory before the oil money came in. | | | |
| Girona (LaLiga) on 07:59 - Dec 11 with 3057 views | kingsburyR |
I'm happy for them and their fans and long may it continue that we do not see Real or Barca top of that tree. |  |
| Dont know why we bother. .... but we do! |
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| Girona (LaLiga) on 08:05 - Dec 11 with 3044 views | BazzaInTheLoft |
I hadn’t fully appreciated this. Thanks Bryan. |  | | |
| Girona (LaLiga) on 08:36 - Dec 11 with 2984 views | BrianMcCarthy |
| Girona (LaLiga) on 07:47 - Dec 11 by Landshark |
Don't get me wrong, I am with you. A large part of their recent success is down to City but just to play devil's advocate here for a second...In the space of 20 years they went from the 5th tier in Spain to La Liga without a penny from the City Group. It wasn't until they were promoted to La Liga (for the first time in their history) that the City Group invested in them, so you could say they were already on the upward trajectory before the oil money came in. |
That's fair comment.
Also, I feel sorry for their fans. Their club as they knew it has changed utterly by the takeover, and some of them may not like it. | |
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| Girona (LaLiga) on 15:15 - Dec 11 with 2690 views | GaryT |
I'm torn on this. On finding out that they were part of the CFG group my first thought was that they must be stuffed with players from the Citeh puppy farm but this doesn't appear to be the case. They had two years in La Liga from 2017 to '19 and then three years in the segunda division finishing 5th/5th/6th (winning promotion at the third attempt through the play offs).
This doesn't smell like a club stuffed with cash since 2017. Sure the links with City/Pep are pretty clear but it seems to be more of a network of young, up and coming players from various clubs in the CFG group (and sharing of (Pep's) tactics and idealogies).
Girona are a small club and will be for some time to come. Since their first promtion to La Liga they've increased their stadium from roughly 9k to shy of 15k, again, not what you would expect from 6 years of Abu Dhabi money. On balance I think I'm going to cheer them on and see them as more of a Leicester than a Newcastle.
https://theathletic.com/5127815/2023/12/11/barcelona-girona-la-liga-title-conten [Post edited 11 Dec 2023 15:28]
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| Girona (LaLiga) on 19:18 - Dec 11 with 2472 views | DavieQPR |
If they were to somehow win their league then Man City would not be allowed to play in the Champions League ( or vice versa). Cannot have same owners in one UEFA competition due to conflict of interests. So they would not be allowed to win or UEFA will require a 'brown envelope' to change the rules. |  | | |
| Girona (LaLiga) on 19:30 - Dec 11 with 2445 views | aston_hoop |
I'm torn about them as a club, went to see them a few times when they were in the second tier as its not a huge journey for me. Ramshackle ground but was being worked on. Cheap and half full at this time but not quite the case now! Nice little city though, worth a day of anyones time if they're in the region |  |
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| Girona (LaLiga) on 20:16 - Dec 11 with 2356 views | lassel |
| Girona (LaLiga) on 19:18 - Dec 11 by DavieQPR |
If they were to somehow win their league then Man City would not be allowed to play in the Champions League ( or vice versa). Cannot have same owners in one UEFA competition due to conflict of interests. So they would not be allowed to win or UEFA will require a 'brown envelope' to change the rules. |
Red Bull Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg are regularly in the CL together. | | | |
| Girona (LaLiga) on 10:40 - Dec 23 with 1712 views | ngbqpr |
Quick update for those following the Girona story.
On Thursday I went to see them at Real Betis.
They dominated the first half, tho it was only a debateable penalty that saw them take the lead. Stand out player on the pitch was number 23 Ivan martin, who was everywhere pulling the strings. Signed permanently only last summer after a successful loan, I wouldn't be surprised to hear of bigger clubs watching him.
Martin was aided and abetted by number 18 Pablo Torre. Ironically, on loan from Barca.
Betis shuffled the pack in the second half and were well worth their late equaliser. Most notably, half time sub number 14 the Portuguese William, came on in a deep lying quarter back role to help stop Girona's midfield dominance. Maybe not at Rodri / Makelele level, but impressive. Number 38 Diao caused Girona problems all night, despite starting on the left, moving to centre forward at half time, then over to the right after late substitutions.
I've always liked Hector Bellerin so was disappointed to see him go off after only 15 minutes or so. Ayoze Perez (remember him?) actually had a pretty decent game for Betis.
Girona looked very well organised and confident, but based on this showing, I suspect they won't have the legs to win the title.
50+k in, pretty impressive - the singing section never stopped all game. One popular chant seemed to be based on OMD's Enola Gay; while at half time a roller skating duo performed to the somewhat surprising soundtrack selection of Rock & Roll Pt 2 by G**y Gl**ter.
The Girona contingent tucked away in a small pen in the top tier looked, admittedly from a distance, like 100 max. | |
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| Girona (LaLiga) on 10:48 - Dec 23 with 1683 views | Watford_Ranger |
| Girona (LaLiga) on 10:40 - Dec 23 by ngbqpr |
Quick update for those following the Girona story.
On Thursday I went to see them at Real Betis.
They dominated the first half, tho it was only a debateable penalty that saw them take the lead. Stand out player on the pitch was number 23 Ivan martin, who was everywhere pulling the strings. Signed permanently only last summer after a successful loan, I wouldn't be surprised to hear of bigger clubs watching him.
Martin was aided and abetted by number 18 Pablo Torre. Ironically, on loan from Barca.
Betis shuffled the pack in the second half and were well worth their late equaliser. Most notably, half time sub number 14 the Portuguese William, came on in a deep lying quarter back role to help stop Girona's midfield dominance. Maybe not at Rodri / Makelele level, but impressive. Number 38 Diao caused Girona problems all night, despite starting on the left, moving to centre forward at half time, then over to the right after late substitutions.
I've always liked Hector Bellerin so was disappointed to see him go off after only 15 minutes or so. Ayoze Perez (remember him?) actually had a pretty decent game for Betis.
Girona looked very well organised and confident, but based on this showing, I suspect they won't have the legs to win the title.
50+k in, pretty impressive - the singing section never stopped all game. One popular chant seemed to be based on OMD's Enola Gay; while at half time a roller skating duo performed to the somewhat surprising soundtrack selection of Rock & Roll Pt 2 by G**y Gl**ter.
The Girona contingent tucked away in a small pen in the top tier looked, admittedly from a distance, like 100 max. |
Long old away trip that. I’ve been in the away end for a sort of derby between Villarreal and Valencia and one of the biggest club’s in the country got nowhere near filling it. Just a different culture. | | | |
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