Modest football and traumatic decisions: the shared life of the masterminds of Espanyol and Girona

GironaDuring Girona's Christmas lunch with journalists covering the club in 2023, the club's sporting director, Quique Cárcel, had kind words for his Espanyol counterpart, Fran Garagarza, who had only been in the position for six months. The conversation stemmed from the fact that, at that time, Girona was in the Champions League places while Espanyol was in the Second Division. This meant that Catalan media attention, aside from Barcelona, was largely focused on Girona, and the club felt it should seize the opportunity to position itself and strengthen its brand. Everyone agreed, but Cárcel cautioned those present: "Garagarza is doing an excellent job, excellent. And he's a great person. I'm convinced he'll do well." And so it has: Espanyol has not only radically turned its fortunes around but is also enjoying a dream season and is the clear favorite in the derby this Friday in Cornellà (9 p.m., DAZN).

The relationship between Garagarza and Cárcel began in the 2012-13 academic year, in a play-off The promotion playoff to the Second Division between Eibar and L'Hospitalet, where the sporting directors of that tie, which Eibar won, were present. "I have a lot of respect for Quique Cárcel and I sympathize with him, as we've had quite similar paths and have grown professionally at clubs where it hasn't been easy to reach the top," Garagarza said in 2018, when they met again, already in the First Division, with Cárcel at Girona, where he arrived in 2014. For many years, Eibar was a nightmare for Quique Cárcel, who had already suffered a failed promotion attempt during his time as a player.

In recent years, it's common to see Garagarza, still recovering from the heart attack he suffered in November, in the Montilivi VIP box, and Cárcel in the RCDE Stadium's. They admire each other and have managed to build successful models with a very similar approach: starting with simplicity, surrounding themselves with trusted people, and generating the stability that comes with time. Cárcel has brought together several friends in his team: Iván Hammouch in the technical secretariat, Juan Carlos Moreno in the area of scoutingIldefonso Fernández is in the performance department, and Santi Pou is in the sporting area and part of the first team's coaching staff. Garagarza has done the same with Ander Garitano in the sporting area and Unai Ezkurra in data analysis and structure. Now that the Gipuzkoa native is gone, Garitano and Ezkurra have taken on some of the work with Sergio Ortega, who has been in the club's technical secretariat for over ten years.

Blindfolded with Manolo and Michel

For Espanyol to return to La Liga and finish fifth, and for Girona to secure their fourth consecutive season in the top flight—an unprecedented feat in the club's history—Garagarza and Cárcel have had to make some difficult decisions. While the Catalan, in his first stint at Montilivi, was forced to cut the salaries of the three captains (Jandro Castro, Juanlu Hens, and David Garcia) because Girona couldn't afford them, Garagarza blocked the signing of Ferran Costa for Espanyol B in order to sign Manolo González, whom he later entrusted with the team.

They also share the value of loyalty, an increasingly rare trait. Both have remained steadfast in their convictions, even when it has caused them some distress, throughout their lives: the clearest example being Girona's relegation under Eusebio, whom Cárcel refused to dismiss. But bad news is an anomaly, because trusting their instincts has brought them more joy than sorrow.

Cárcel himself entrusted Míchel with the contract renewal when the team was in the relegation zone of the Primera RFEF. In fact, the reason the Barcelona native is still at Montilivi today is thanks to Míchel, with whom he rediscovered his passion after a very difficult period in which Girona never achieved promotion. Garagarza has also placed his complete faith in Manolo González, whom he kept even when it seemed he would be sacked last year, after a heavy defeat, ironically, in Girona.

And what about the relationship with the ownership? Garagarza, after achieving promotion and keeping Espanyol at the top of the table without spending practically a euro at the end of Chen Yansheng's tenure, has a very smooth relationship with Alan Pace, to whom he reports, but with whom he has discovered significant freedom when it comes to navigating the transfer market. Cárcel, on the other hand, has changed his routines since qualifying for Europe, as his investment in betting didn't pay off, which has affected other moves. But his personal relationship with City and Pere Guardiola is fantastic. They were even seen together in the Pyrenees, at a key meeting where the first steps were taken to sign Míchel. On Friday, they will experience a highly contested derby.