Girona's second victory ends in a brawl

GironaGirona's second consecutive victory ended in a brawl. Lass and Aimar started a fight that drew in substitutes, coaches, and security personnel, even though the incident hadn't been particularly serious: the Girona midfielder tackled the Osasuna player, who lost his temper as he saw the game slipping away. The pitch erupted in pushing, shoving, insults, and cards, including a red for Lass. Míchel's team, however, managed to secure the points (1-0). And this despite the squad not having improved, as all transfer activity is currently at a standstill.

Because, however you look at it, the management is surreal. If the summer transfer window was difficult to understand, what's happening in the winter is utterly incomprehensible. To begin with, let's talk about the goalkeeping situation: Dominik Livakovic refused to play when Míchel asked him to because he wanted to leave the club, and the club gave him permission not to return after the holidays. But the Croatian, having passed the deadline without reaching a financial agreement with anyone, has had to come back reluctantly. He still maintains that he doesn't want to be in Girona and that he will eventually leave, but given how long the problem has been going on, it's outrageous that he hasn't taken action and continues to fuel a toxic work environment. Against Osasuna, Livakovic was on the bench.

That's not all. On the same day that Livakovic didn't resume training, Claudio Echeverri arrived discreetly. The Argentine has been living with his (supposedly) new teammates for two weeks, but he can't register because there's an excess of non-EU players that can't be moved on. Echeverri was taking a mate Calmly in the Montilivi stands, a couple of seats to the left of Jhon Solís, the man everyone is urging to leave so he can play. Girona is fighting to recoup the remaining amortization from a deal that cost around six million euros in 2023. But of course, that takes time, and almost a miracle, because his performance suggests it's not worth it.

And yet another story, this time featuring Yáser Asprilla, whom they also want to let go. At least he got warmed up, but he didn't get any playing time at Son Moix or at the stadium. All of this further highlights the shortcomings of the sporting director, Quique Cárcel, whom Míchel is imploring to resolve a situation that defies all common sense and is aggravated by the injuries to Witsel and Ounahi, which further shorten an already insufficient rotation.

Two consecutive victories a year later

Fortunately, the ball doesn't follow much logic either: football, in its unpredictability, seems absurd. The mood has changed: what used to be tails, now turns out to be heads. Only in this way can the two consecutive victories be explained, a year later. These matches, if they had been played in October, with exactly the same start and structure, would have had completely different outcomes.

A spur from Vanat after a fantastic play by Àlex Moreno sparked euphoria at Montilivi. Osasuna could have equalized in the second half, but the crossbar denied a powerful shot from Rubén García and a shot from Raúl grazed the post. The victory is golden for survival and even puts Girona twelfth with 21 points. Who would have thought it?