real madrid? no. What about Barcelona? no. Atletico Madrid then? no. In fact, none of the mentioned clubs are top of La Liga after 16 rounds of play.
La Liga’s leaders are minnows Girona, who surprisingly keep the aforementioned top clubs behind them in the table.
Spanish League expert, Peter Wieland, expressed his admiration for what the wonderful team achieved this season.
– He’s as sick as you think. I would actually say it’s sicker, he told Netavicin.
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– Very surprising
After playing 16 matches, they collected 41 points, with 13 wins, two draws and only one loss. On Sunday evening, they beat big brother and Catalan rival Barcelona 4-2 away from home. Further proof that Girona really means business this season.
But who exactly are Girona, and how did they manage to get to the position they are in now?
The club comes from Girona, a city of about 100,000 people, located a 40-minute train ride north of Barcelona.
Until 1999, the club was in the fifth level in Spain. In the club’s 93-year history, most of them have been in the lower divisions, before progressing to the top level for the first time in 2017.
After two seasons in La Liga, they returned to the second tier, before building themselves back up over three seasons there and back in good company.
Last year’s 10th place finish showed signs they had something going, but to go top of the series after 16 league rounds few thought was possible.
– They are famous for having a Ryanair airport and as the backdrop for some scenes in the series Game of Thrones. It is simply quite amazing when there is a load of Ashes so far in the season that is Girona. It’s very surprising. Although there were signs that something was up last season, Wieland says.
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I think they were the best team in Europe
The way they have managed to climb to the top of the standings in Spain is very impressive.
– Here it is not that they defended themselves on many points and that it is a dam that will burst. They got all the points they got,” Wieland says.
It is believed that Girona have been the best team in Europe so far this season.
– They do not have the same peaks as Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Bayern Munich, for example. When there is noise and applause for the four, of course it is a better football team. But Girona, in my view, are the team that has performed most consistently over time so far this season. If assumptions are used as a basis, this claim will be supported in fact.
Wieland believes that coach Michel is the biggest reason behind Girona’s sudden success.
– Everything clicked more or less at the same time, but you can’t help but think it’s coach Michel who should get a big chunk of the credit here, because he’s the one pushing the right buttons. He’s the one who sets the tactical battle plan and makes almost all the players the best versions of themselves individually, while at the same time putting together a group that works well, he says.
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-Unfair comparison
However, Girona are not the only surprise team in Europe’s biggest leagues this season. In England, Aston Villa is competing for the top spot, while Bayer Leverkusen leads the German League.
Wieland still believes it would be wrong to compare Girona to these clubs. Aston Villa previously won the European Cup, while Bayer Leverkusen reached the Champions League final in 2002. Girona is not close to showing anything similar.
The comparisons are valid on the one hand, but unfair on the other hand, Wieland says.
The Girona team is made up of players that most people probably don’t know much about. Former Manchester United and Bayern Munich player Daley Blind and Barcelona loanee Eric Garcia are probably the most famous names.
In addition, players such as Aleix Garcia, Cristian Stuani, Viktor Tsyhankov, Artem Dovbyk, Savinho and Miguel Gutierrez, to name a few, can be highlighted.
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Receives criticism
However, success does not come without criticism. In 2017, City Football Group bought 44.3 percent of the club. The company is owned by the United Arab Emirates, and the owners are the same people who were behind the success of Manchester City.
City Football Group currently owns twelve football clubs around the world.
Wieland can understand that this is something about Girona and can be criticized, but at the same time it is clear that Girona was far from being a venture into which money was pumped or that there were mercenaries from City pulling the load at the club.
– You must of course be allowed to point the finger at having clubs in different leagues at the same time and that the City Football Group has its owners, but at the same time you must realize and realize that a great deal of success is not what Girona is experiencing at the moment, the expert says. Because of that.
He believes that the collaboration with the City Football Group could give the club slightly better conditions when it comes to, for example, scouting players compared to the clubs to which Girona would normally be compared.
– But compared to Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, and also compared to clubs like Sevilla and Villarreal, they are still small shots, Wieland says.
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