Michel Believes Girona Can Live Up To Expectations Again In Laliga

Girona manager, Michel is optimistic about his side’s chances of extending last season’s remarkable La Liga run into their 2024-25 campaign.

Which begins at Real Betis on Thursday.

After achieving a third-place finish in the standings, their highest ever, Girona has secured a spot in the Champions League, which will be their first taste of European competition.

Even if Girona has lost the element of surprise, Michel is confident the club will continue their upward trajectory.

“I don’t have a crystal ball to know where we will sit in the end (of the season), but I’m convinced that, with collective thinking in defense and attack, we will have a great season,” Michel told a press conference on Wednesday.

“The objective is the club’s growth and to always honor their colors. All the players who are here must be players who have that feeling and understanding that playing here is a source of pride and that they are doing it for our people; that is the objective we have as a club. Growth, growth, and growth.”

The Spaniard added that he still expects new signings to arrive before the summer transfer window closes at the end of August.

Although Girona is supported by the financial resources of their Abu Dhabi owners, Girona operates on a different financial system compared to that of English champions, Manchester City, who headline the City Football Group stable.

Michel, whose project was constructed around a youthful squad with an attacking style, lost several of his key players in the close season, including winger Savinho who moved to Manchester City.

Striker Artem Dovbyk left for Serie A side AS Roma, and versatile midfielder Aleix Garcia was signed by Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.

To compound the challenge before a tough matchup against Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis, he will be without at least three players who are ill with a virus.

“The sports management and I have the same way of seeing things. The process has indeed been complicated because important players have left, we had problems during the off-season, and now with this virus,” Michel said.

“But I am convinced that we will make the best possible squad.”