Romario Lawrence was born in New Delhi (India), but lives, studies and plays football in Girona. He shares a residence, classes and a locker room with Andrew Nobleza, from Ontario (Canada). Also with Cole Quattro, from New York (United States) or Leon Amwayi, from Uasin Gishu (Kenya). In the Girona parish these names do not ring a bell, but they are full-fledged Girona footballers, because they compete with the third team, Girona C, in the fifth group of the Fourth Catalan Division. This Saturday, when the first team begins its match at Montilivi against Celta Fortuna (18:30, LaLigaTV Hypermotion), they will be in the final stretch of their match against Llagostera B.

Girona needed life and Andorra gave it to them. The Gironins could not have had it easier and took advantage of two unfortunate actions by goalkeeper Owono to secure the victory before halftime (2-0). With this result, they are five points away from the direct promotion zone.

"The first day I saw him play everything was so perfect and everything was so beautiful, the field, under the mountains, his football at six or seven years old, everything, everything, that I felt the need to kneel down and thank God. I don't know if anyone saw me. I don't care. The only thing I know is that at that moment I noticed that God had put him there for me and that he would make my dream of contributing a star to the country come true. It was an incredible thing. Something I had dreamed of. It was a unique feeling, very brutal. Like an ecstasy". These words were spoken by coach Sergio Bustamante.

Girona began the matchday six points away from the promotion spots and ends it the same way after drawing in Tenerife (1-1). The Gironins, who would have moved to within four points in the event of a victory, did not take advantage of the stumbles by Eibar and Castellón. They continue to add points and make progress after a night that will open a new debate in goal with the injury of Paulo Gazzaniga, who could not play the second half.

Tenerife brings back beautiful memories for Girona, which is where they celebrated their second promotion to the First Division in 2022. Now, however, with the new reality following the drop to the Second Division, what this Monday's duel (9 PM, Esport3) causes them are headaches. The cuts following the relegation are fully affecting the squad's travel, which requires three days to go and return. A logistics issue that they already suffered in Cádiz and that has the squad annoyed, as with the loss of their category they have said goodbye to the comfort of charters and are traveling on regular flights.

Girona, still punished by the FIFA virus, lived up to the billing of a night against Mallorca that ended with a share of the points (0-0). After a few weeks of victories accompanied by unusual effectiveness but an improvable image, it was against the team that was a priori the most complicated that Quique Álvarez's men earned the respect of the crowd and starred in the best minutes of the season; but the attack, which had not failed on other days, misfired.

If the new generations of Girona know perfectly well who the Mosca Sisa is, the official club mascot since 2020, and the slightly older waves knew Carmany, born from a drawing in the Tots som Girona campaign of 2011, you really have to be a lifelong fan to remember Geroni, who emerged in the late eighties and early nineties, with the team fighting to be promoted to the Second Division. Now it is fighting to return to the First Division and hosts Mallorca this Sunday at Montilivi (9 p.m., LaLiga TV Hypermotion). "It was me who got inside there and suffered the heat like a wretch," explains Martí Palahí (Girona, 1964), one of the founders of the Penya Gironina in 1982.

Girona accelerates with their fourth victory in the last five matchdays on a perfect and emotional night against Albacete (2-0), in which goals from Abel Ruiz and Van de Beek, saves by Paulo Gazzaniga, and the visitors' lack of accuracy tipped the scales. The sentimental note was provided by Portu, who returned to the pitch ten months after his injury. He received a massive ovation.

Carles Pérez was Girona's final signing this summer. Brought in a couple of days after the deadline, after he was released from Celta just minutes before the market window closed, almost at dawn, his is a signing for immediate impact: he has actively contributed to the positive energy accompanying the Girona team in the last few matchdays, in which they have won three of the four matches played. The former Barça player has scored two goals in three matches and hopes to play an important role again this Friday in Albacete's visit to Montilivi (8:30 PM, LaLigaTV Hypermotion). The FIFA virus punishes the red-and-whites, who will have half a dozen players scattered across different national teams, among them the starters Junior, Asprilla, and Vanat.

The victories during the afternoon by Castellón and Eibar meant the first dose of real pressure for Quique Álvarez's men, who see that the top two ranked teams have 16 and 15 points in the promotion spots, even though the championship is still in an embryonic phase. The reaction did not take long and with the triumph in Cádiz (1-2), the third in four matchdays, they already have 10 and are in fourth place. Two strikes by Vanat and Carles Pérez in the first half were enough.

For Quique Cárcel, Cádiz is like his second home. He lived there from 1996 to 2000, a period in which he accumulated 131 matches as a midfielder for a team that was then competing in the Segunda División B. This Saturday he will return to the Ramón de Carranza, now renamed as the JP Financial Estadio, in what is his thirteenth season as sporting director of Girona (9 PM, LaLigaTV Hypermotion).

It was too good. Girona was one step away from chaining a third consecutive victory and lost in a direct duel of promotion contenders against Castellón (1-2). Quique Álvarez's men took the lead very early, but the expulsion of Abel Ruiz just at the start of the second half conditioned the footballing behavior of the Gironins too much, who made a physical overexertion for many minutes that they ended up paying for in the final stretch, where two goals in five minutes caused the points to fly from the stadium.

Alejandro Francés (Zaragoza, 2002) was one of Girona's signings for the Champions League. The defender speaks with ARA regarding the reality check that the organization has suffered, now in the Second Division, where the Girona team is fifth and hosts the leader Castelló this Saturday at Montilivi (18:30, LaLigaTV Hypermotion).

Girona is finally starting to fire on all cylinders and has secured its second consecutive league victory at Sporting's ground (0-2), placing them in the upper part of the Second Division standings. Standout performances came from top scorer Yáser Asprilla, Carles Pérez, who opened his account with a fine goal, and Paulo Gazzaniga, who made amends for past performances. The Girona players survived a very hostile atmosphere with professionalism and efficiency.

Drums of war sounded in Montilivi, but Girona gave themselves a respite and thrashed Las Palmas (5-2). The Girona players even had time to enjoy themselves during a devastating final half hour that everyone embraced with energy: the players, the coach, those in charge, and above all, the fans. Nobody was sure before the start, neither about the result nor about how the day, which threatened storms, would unfold, but after many days of grimaces, it ended happily.

From misfortunes, opportunities also arise. The relegation to Segunda has shaken up the Girona squad: the best players are leaving and the club has to face a structural renovation with scarce room for maneuver, as many operations remain open. Faced with a shortage in the central axis, Quique Álvarez bet on a raw diamond during the summer, Holmes Junior. The bet could not have gone better: a starter in the first two matchdays, on the way to being one in the third this Saturday against leaders Las Palmas (9:30 p.m., LaLigaTV Hypermotion) and an urgent renewal until 2029 to ward off suitors.

When Girona was winning, its president, Delfí Geli, took the opportunity to recall that the greatest virtue of the current owners' arrival at the club was not the victories themselves, but the fact that people in the city were simply talking about football. The current president, and former footballer, knows what he's talking about, because he experienced embarrassing situations firsthand. Times when players locked themselves in the dressing room because they weren't being paid. Geli, then a mere 17-year-old, saw how respectable and established men couldn't feed their children or pay their mortgages.

Two years ago, Girona was awaiting the Champions League draw. It looked in the mirror and saw itself as attractive. Everyone was showering it with compliments. Now, none of that exists. The team is in the Second Division and is doing what it can, mistreated as it is by a sporting management that conditions everything. Departures remain stuck and, just as happened last year, August, in terms of points, is heading for the trash. In Cordoba, they suffered their first defeat of the season (2-1), and they still haven't won. If before they were whistled at as a sign of admiration, now they are whistled at as a sign of disagreement.

Girona has a mess in the locker room. “Tsygankov was fine and called up, but he refused to change. That's all I can say,” admitted Quique Álvarez minutes after the draw against Leganés. To the already known situation of the winger, who made it very clear at the beginning of the summer that he did not want to play in the Second Division and went directly to the stands, the rumors of Vladyslav Vanat's refusal to participate in the second half were added, who was indeed on the bench. Information that the footballer himself has denied to the Ukrainian media Tribuna.com. The club, when consulted by ARA, denies that the striker rejected it, while it has already made official the opening of a disciplinary proceeding against Tsygankov for actions that "may constitute a breach of his contractual obligations and do not conform to the standards of conduct required by the entity". The mess is a big one.

Traumas are not overcome from one day to the next, but Montilivi and Girona took the first step to begin forgetting the enormous disappointment that the relegation a few months ago represented. Far from reproaches, discomforts, or notable scoldings, both the fans and the team put on a good face. Everyone knows this will be a long haul, and it's better to be comfortable with it. The reward for the energy was Abel Ruiz's last-minute goal, which salvaged a hard-fought point against an effective Leganés (1-1).