The agony that Michel has already experienced twice

GIRONAMíchel Sánchez is experiencing his longest winless run as Girona manager. He has gone eight, so many that the team has gone from a comfortable seventh place in the European standings and ten points clear of relegation in just a couple of months, to fifteenth, just six points from the red line, which they haven't crossed because their direct rivals have performed even worse. On Sunday, they face another test at Osasuna (2 p.m., DAZN).

This slow agony is not unknown to the Madrid native, who already suffered two quite similar situations at his previous teams, Rayo Vallecano and Huesca, where he was dismissed. However, Montilivi is by no means disputed. His confidence is absolute. In fact, if anyone dares to ask about his future, the answer is clear: "Whatever happens between now and the end of the league season, he's our coach." Míchel is the best manager in the history of the Girona team, and now that times are tough, Girona is backing him.

But neither at Rayo nor at Huesca did patience reach the extreme, although he also starred in two fairy tales. As at Girona, Míchel promoted them to the elite. "He was faithful to his idea at all times, when they were winning and when they weren't," explains Maite Martín, a journalist for the club. Diario As, who continues: "He was already that when he was coaching the youth teams; the approach was identical. But I think he paid for his new talent. It was his first experience in the First Division, and many games slipped through his fingers due to minor details. We had a bitter feeling, because he deserved more and nobody wanted him to leave. In the neighborhood, he's a legend, and people were ready to go down."

Míchel coached Rayo in the First Division in the 2018-19 season. Until February, everything was going more or less well, and they were safe from relegation. But he suffered seven consecutive defeats and in March, he was unemployed. Why did he get blocked? Does the emotional aspect have something to do with it? "No, not at all. His attachment to a club doesn't make him make bad decisions, in the sense of being scared and not knowing what to do. He's a brave person, with character and a strong personality. He doesn't hesitate when he has to make a decision. But that Rayo wasn't capable of much more. For me, the way they manage it is incomparable. He's also taken a step forward in the management of the dressing room. I don't think Girona has no solution, on the contrary.

The B side

At Huesca, in the 2020-21 season, his experience in the top flight lasted 18 matches. He won only one. "What was most criticized was his inaction. Over the years, we've seen that he's acquired tools to solve the problems he's encountered, but there he didn't change any of the nuances of his way of playing. It should always have been the same. I remember him saying, literally, what Pablo says, 'Co. happened, Co. happened.'"

The time at El Alcoraz was the most complicated. "We got to see the flip side of him. As he went weeks without winning, he lost his joy. You could tell from his gestures, from a simple nod. Míchel, in terms of behavior, was never the same during the good times and the bad." "He was scared," says Barrantes. "We even saw him leave in tears because he didn't want to be sacked. In my opinion, maybe they kept him on too long, even though that Huesca side had to approach matches differently if they wanted to compete and excel. And they didn't. Those in charge bought into his idea of football."

Both agree that Míchel "is a much better coach than he was." "He even has the level to manage a more powerful club," adds Martín. But the way they view maintaining the style when things aren't going well varies. In Girona, they don't question this either, although there is an external opinion that the current squad may not be the best suited to carry it out. What is clear is that Míchel is not being touched.