From making history with Girona to working at Nestlé

Girona"It drove a lot of people crazy, me first and foremost," says Jaume Duran, scorer of the first goal in Girona's historic return to the Second Division almost five decades later. In August 2008, at Balaídos stadium, the former Banyoles striker became the protagonist of a fairy tale: just two weeks earlier he was playing for Palamós in the Third Division. "I signed by sheer luck, because Girona came to the Costa Brava to play a friendly and everything went my way. Every time I got the ball, I'd sprint past my defender. They were looking for a left winger and the coach, Raül Agné, had already seen me. But that match was key and in less than two weeks I was a starter."

Forgetting it is impossible. "Now, every time I see Celta on TV or when they play against Girona, that day comes flooding back. And I get a thousand reminders, of course," he emphasizes. This Sunday, Míchel's Girona hosts Celta at Montilivi (9 p.m., Movistar LaLiga), and Duran's WhatsApp will be overflowing with messages. He retired to Girona's reserve team, where he won a Copa Catalunya Amateur, and has been working for ten years in the logistics department of Nestlé in the city, where he holds an administrative position of control and responsibility. "When I tell football fans about it, they say, 'Holy crap, was that you?' They're stunned." Rio, aware of the effect it has.

He vividly remembers the intensity of those days. "The day after the friendly I signed, the next day I trained, hours later I made my debut in a Copa Catalunya match, and then they confirmed I'd be in the starting eleven in Vigo. It also helped that the squad wasn't quite finalized and there were still players to arrive." Celta was then one of the powerhouses of the division, with big names like Trashorras, Óscar Díaz, Michu, and, for a brief appearance, a young Iago Aspas. Girona was "a newcomer to this world." Eleven of the fourteen players who saw playing time were making their Segunda División debuts, and the coach also lacked prior experience. They won 1-0 with Duran's great goal midway through the second half.

"I was on cloud nine, fulfilling my dream. I have this image of leaving the hotel, with the National Police escorting us. I'd never been escorted anywhere before. We made our way through the human tide that surged towards what was never a place in the stadium, and when we stepped onto the pitch... We jumped onto the field from behind one of the goals, because that's how it used to be done, and I was blown away," he says, and gives his recipe for how he managed to avoid being too nervous. "You have to just do what you know how to do. Concentrate, focus all your senses on the task at hand, and get rid of your nerves. That's all there is to it."

In the 63rd minute, with a clever move, Duran pounced on a loose ball inside the area and beat goalkeeper Notario. Seven minutes later, Agné substituted him. "I was suffocating, I'd given it my all," he admits. "It's only with the passage of time that I've realized the importance of the goal. At that moment, I never even joked that it would have such a profound impact. Girona has achieved some huge milestones in recent years, but that victory at Balaídos is where one of those teams that would be now is now." Girona avoided relegation and has never returned to Segunda B, despite flirting with it a few times.

Injuries, salary, and the daily

The goal against Celta was the only one the Banyoles native scored for Girona, where he played twelve matches before injuries cut his career short. "It's the thorn in my side. I had to have surgery for a herniated disc in March and I didn't play again. I think if I hadn't been injured, I would have played more seasons, but they terminated my contract the following summer. I've always wondered what would have happened." It wasn't about money. "I got a bargain," he maintains. "I accepted the salary they offered me; it wasn't feasible to ask for more. The last thing I'd want is for an opportunity to pass me by." Duran went to sign with his father: "And we didn't negotiate. They didn't put a gun to my head, but who knew if the contract would have been gone the next day. 'Are you signing this? Does this seem right to you?'" “Yes, yes, of course,” they told me. 365 days later, he was making the rounds of Girona football, playing for Palamós, where he returned, and Peralada, before donning the red and white stripes again in the final stretch of his career. Luck wasn't on his side, as he tore his cruciate ligaments twice. “Apart from those moments, I've had a good time. Football has given me many things,” he summarizes. One of them is the afternoon at Balaídos. “I was on the front page of the newspaper and everything. My father still has it at home. Neither he nor my mother saw the match because they were on a cruise. When I called them to tell them, they couldn't believe it. If it was already hard to believe I was going to play, imagine saying I had scored,” he concludes.