Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: La Liga, Girona, Liverpool, Premier League
Chris Byfield
The president of La Liga’s league leaders Girona is a ‘Liverpool legend’ who may have been forgotten by the wider football community.
High-flying Girona reclaimed the top spot in La Liga on Sunday evening by beating reigning champions Barcelona 4-2.
Artem Dovbyk put Girona in front in the 12th minute only for Robert Lewandowski to level proceedings seven minutes later.
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Miguel Gutiérrez then 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 Barcelona late on only for Cristhian Stuani to seal Girona’s victory deep in stoppage time.
The victory sees Girona, who remain unbeaten away from home in La Liga this season, top the standings with 41 points from 16 games, having leapfrogged Real Madrid on 39 points.
“This Girona side have a soul and believe they can hurt their opponents,” coach Michel said. “We knew that (Barca) were going to press hard but if we were able to make the first two passes, we would stand a chance.”
Girona are one of the season’s surprise packages. Sixteen years ago they were playing in Spain’s fourth tier. In 1999 they were in the fifth division, a regional league where they regularly saw attendances of just 200 people for home games.
In 2021, they appointed Michel as their manager, a move that didn’t bring immediate success - after 10 games they were in the relegation zone in Spain’s second tier.
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Two years later they are Spain’s top-ranked team.
While part of City Football Group’s portfolio of teams, the club have never signed a player for over €7.5million (£6.4million).
The success of Girona’s project must partly be credited to the club’s president, Delfi Geli, who has ties with Sunday’s opponents Barcelona, having come out of their academy.
Moreover, Geli will be fondly remembered by Liverpool fans. In the 2001 UEFA Cup final between Liverpool and Alaves, Geli glanced Gary McAllister's free-kick into his own net in the 117th minute.
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The own goal was a Golden Goal, with Gerard Houllier’s side the beneficiaries of the short-lived rule, and helped the Reds to an FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup treble.