Míchel Sánchez is no longer the coach of Girona, after the Girona club and the coach from Vallecas have parted ways with the relegation to the Second Division. Míchel ends a beautiful spell on the bench sadly. This is the first official move by the entity, which has decided that the sporting director, Quique Cárcel, will continue to lead the project from the offices. Who will replace the man from Madrid is currently unknown. His assistants, Salva Fúnez, David Porcel, and Juan Carlos Balaguer, also leave Montilivi.

Montilivi experienced the funeral of a Girona that next season will play in the Second Division. The Gironans had to beat Elche, but they could only draw (1-1), in what could be Míchel's last game on the bench. The Vallecas native's tenure has been amazing, but it will end where it began and with a sadness that does not do justice to what has been experienced. Things will happen in the coming hours, and none of them will be good.

The definitive moment has arrived for Girona. No more half measures or nuances: Míchel's team is obliged to beat Elche this Saturday (9 p.m., Teledeporte). It is the only result that will allow them to remain in La Liga. They don't need to look at other matches, they just need a victory. A draw or a defeat will condemn them to the Second Division and save Sarabia's team, who are also playing for it. In the event of a Catalan victory, Elche will have to wait for what happens in other games to know if they stay in the elite or go down.

A critical situation for Girona, who will play for their future next Saturday against Elche at Montilivi in the final of the season. Despite extending their seventh match without a win at the Metropolitano, where they lost 1-0 despite enjoying a lot of chances, and falling into the relegation zone, being eighteenth, two points behind Elche, if Míchel's team break their poor run and earn three points on the final matchday, they will remain in the First Division. Only victory counts. It's that clear and there's no excuse, because a draw and, of course, a defeat, will condemn them to the Second Division.

The most dramatic League in memory is approaching its conclusion, especially at the bottom. With only two matchdays left and Oviedo out of the running, up to nine teams are involved in the fight for the most expensive survival in history. Two of them are Catalan: Espanyol and Girona. At the moment, Llevant and Mallorca would be relegated, both having 39 points and facing each other this Sunday. They have the same points as Elx, the first team to be safe; one less than Girona and three less than Espanyol, who have 42. Sevilla and Valencia are not yet out of danger because, in a League as crazy as this year's, no one can be sure that with 43 points you won't fall to the Second Division.

With all he has done for Girona and still had things to do. If the Gerundenses achieve permanence, it is necessary to move forward with the project of the statue of Cristhian Stuani that has been requested for years. The Uruguayan, as in Vallecas, and as so many times in nine years, appeared to draw against Real Sociedad a match that smelled of defeat (1-1). Infiltrated and without training, he has scored two goals and has avoided two defeats four days apart. With this result, the white and red team escapes relegation and is placed fifteenth, with a point's margin. And, most relevantly, it continues to depend on itself.

Once again, Cristhian Stuani came to Girona's rescue at Vallecas. The Uruguayan's shot into the back of the net in the 90th minute earned a draw for Míchel's team, who host Real Sociedad this Thursday (8 p.m., Movistar LaLiga) on a key day for survival in LaLiga. The Girona players still depend on themselves to stay up, but the situation is dire: there are a lot of teams tied with 39 points, including Girona, who could start the match in the relegation zone if the involved teams do their jobs correctly.

It couldn't be anyone else. With Girona losing after a goal by Alemao in the 86th minute and relegation getting closer, Cristhian Stuani came to the rescue for permanence in the First Division with a header in the 90th minute. The draw means the Geronians remain in seventeenth position, two points from the danger zone. There are four teams tied at 39 points, including Espanyol.

The night was dark from the start. Everything failed, in Montilivi. Well, not everything, everything except the fans. The people really knew what was at stake. Instead, Girona only realized it when they were already in deep trouble against Mallorca (0-1). Míchel's team had no response right when they could least afford to fail. The details also didn't help, because Echeverri missed a clear goal and two balls hit the post, and despite staying out of the relegation zone this matchday, it could still get much closer - now they are four points away and Sevilla plays on Monday - and the third consecutive defeat will force them to suffer until the end of the championship. They hadn't lost three games in a row since the first three matchdays of the League.

Girona does not know much about the future, pending a present that forces them to win this Friday against Mallorca at Montilivi (9 p.m., Movistar LaLiga) if they do not want serious problems in a League finale more typical of the Second Division than the First, with a lot of teams involved in the fight to avoid relegation. Míchel's men are fifteenth and have a four-point lead over Sevilla, who are in eighteenth place, the last marked in red. Seventeenth, three points behind the Geronans, the Balearic islanders also need victory at any price. The match has not even started and tension is already palpable in the city.

Girona's knot in their stomach is evident after their visit to Mestalla, where they suffered a defeat that put them in serious trouble (2-1). Míchel's team, who until recently breathed with the confidence of having salvation within reach, now see themselves four points away from the danger zone, with the involved teams still to compete this Sunday, a fact that could bring the drama even closer. Next week's Girona-Mallorca match smells like a final.

“Our way of working is in Catalan and we must protect that. Girona is Catalan, by conviction and roots; it is one of the standard-bearers of our land. We try to ensure that when someone thinks of us, they know clearly that we are Catalan”, defended Ignasi Mas-Bagà, the CEO of the Girona club, at an international symposium on minority languages and football. The Girona entity has ratified its commitment to the country's language and has signed a collaboration agreement with Plataforma per la Llengua to promote and normalize the use of Catalan.

Girona made it big at the Santiago Bernabéu, from where they snatched a golden point of great merit on a happy night (1-1). The result not only brings them a little closer to definitive permanence, but it practically hands the League title to Barça, who could almost seal it if they win today's derby against Espanyol.

Girona visits Real Madrid this Friday (9 PM, Movistar LaLiga) for the seventh time in its history. The most impactful of all, without a doubt, was two seasons ago, when Míchel's team arrived at the Santiago Bernabéu with morale sky-high: the whites had 58 points and Girona had 56. “If we won, we would be leaders. It was amazing”, explains Pepe Sierra, the president of the Federation of White-and-Red Supporters' Clubs. No one wanted to miss that match, which would end in a 4-0 local thrashing that didn't hurt at all. “The expectation was very high, many people traveled. In fact, we had so many commitments that I gave up my ticket so no one would be left out. What did I do? Well, I went to watch it in a bar. We had a good time anyway”, he specifies.

It's not here yet, but almost: Girona took a giant step towards staying in La Liga by defeating Villarreal in an exercise of collective resilience (1-0). With this victory, Míchel's men have an eight-point cushion over the relegation places with 24 points left to play for. It's within reach.

"Honestly, it's better not to know how much money it cost me, all together," explains, laughing, Albert Martínez, who after a lot of years of research, has an enviable collection of Girona items. Among them, all the first kits in the history of the Catalan club. "There are 55 – he says –. Of the first forty years, only four, because they used one each decade. And, later on, one was valid for two seasons." He has searched among antique dealers, sellers, players of all times, and their families to make it possible. Every time he found a relic, before making the corresponding payment, he used to call Jota, the kit manager until last December, to confirm that he wasn't being tricked. "It's difficult, because the club didn't put them on sale until the 2005-06 season," he admits.

Everything has an end, in life. Two of the most important figures in Girona's history, protagonists of the current sporting boom it is experiencing, in which it has strung together four consecutive seasons in the First Division and has real arguments to secure a fifth, have contracts ending in June and their continuity at Montilivi is not clear. Míchel Sánchez and Cristhian Stuani have ninety days to decide their future.

Girona will go into the international break with the same 34 points they had before their clear 1-0 defeat in Pamplona. The narrow margin of victory is only thanks to the outstanding performance of Paulo Gazzaniga, who only conceded a shot from Budimir in the 80th minute. Girona's performance, a stark contrast to their recent form, was disappointing.

Right across from the church in Riudarenes, a town of just over 2,500 inhabitants, stands a farmhouse with stone walls and a beamed ceiling, over 300 years old, proudly displaying the flags of Girona and Catalonia. This is Restaurante Can Cordons. "We try to make dishes respecting traditional cuisine, but with a modern touch," says Pau Turon (Riudarenes, 2000), its owner for the last eight years. "We met at the Girona Hospitality School," replies Gerard Picard (Girona, 1995), the chef. "Even though I'm now in the dining room, I'm also a cook," Turon asserts. That's not all they share, as they are also big Girona fans, although Picard has a bit of a Barcelona side. "Now I'm a little more of a Girona fan than a Barça fan," he admits. Míchel's team visits Osasuna this Saturday (6:30 p.m., Movistar LaLiga).

Just a few meters from the ruins of the Born district, destroyed in 1714—an archaeological site of great symbolic importance—three top-level football executives are chatting. Elena Fort, the Barça representative, beams after the long election night in which Joan Laporta was elected. "We will make sure to continue taking care of the Catalan language," she remarks, chatting with Xavi Andreu, director of institutional relations at Espanyol, and Nacho Mas-Bagà, from Girona. Andrés, who He remains angry about the refereeing decision suffered by Espanyol in Mallorca. He recalls how their official statements "were made in Catalan." The three have just given a talk at the International Symposium on Minority Languages ​​and Sgôr Football, organized by Plataforma per la Llengua.