The Birba biscuits neighbor who challenges the invisibility of the Girona youth academy
Joel Roca has earned the trust of Míchel, who has the challenge of providing continuity to the only Girona player in the squad.
GironaEven disasters can bring positive results. Before Ounahi and Vanat's miraculous appearance at Balaídos, where Girona earned their first point of the season, Joel Roca was the bright spot in a losing start to the season. The striker from Camprodon scored the first goal of the season and was the only player to play 270 minutes across the opening three matchdays. He was on track for 360, but a knee injury in Vigo forced him to stay in the locker room at halftime. Fortunately, he has recovered for this Saturday's clash with Levante at Montilivi (2 PM, DAZN). However, his progress will be halted, as he has been called up next week to play for the Spanish national team for the U-20 World Cup in Chile, and could miss a month of competition.
Roca is the only first-team player born in the Girona region. He's having a sweet moment—spoiled by a minor muscle injury—after spending a year on loan at Mirandés, where he was on the verge of promotion to the First Division. His performances have also led to a call-up to the Spanish U-21 national team, for whom he scored a goal during the first international break of the season. Trained at Barça, he arrived in Girona as a youth player. Born in 2005, he has the potential to be an important player in Míchel's organization. If he stabilizes, he can kill two birds with one stone, giving visibility to the Rojiblanco youth system—recently forgotten—and being the first player to give his debut to the Vallecas manager who remains among the top players.
Míchel's main complaint is the fact that he hasn't consolidated any talent from the Torres de Palau youth system. 17 names have been given the option since 2021, including Joel Roca. But either they were transferred as a business opportunity—like Gabri, included in the Abel Ruiz deal; Almena, for whom Saudi Arabia paid the five million release clause; or Selvi, for whom Almería invested 600,000 euros—or they left with small percentages, like Ureña for Barça Atlètic or Àlex Sala, who made his debut with Lecce in the Serie B team last weekend, competing for the first time in the Second RFEF. These are the cases of Papa, Ferran Ruiz, Ricardo Artero, Raúl Martínez, Biel Farrés, and Enric García. There are also scattered loan players: three to Andorra for Gerard Piqué, Antal, Jastin, and Minsu; and one to Cádiz, the striker Dawda. The Banyolí native was tipped to be the second Girona player in the squad, but Vanat's arrival forced him to gain experience away from home after appearing in two of the first three matchdays.
More than 40 million
In recent years, Girona has earned more than 40 million euros thanks to players who have come through their youth system and through Peralada during the time the Alto Empordà team played as a reserve team. Among the top 10 all-time sales figures are Pedro Porro (12 million euros at City), Santi Bueno (12 million euros at Wolverhampton), Pau Víctor (6.7 million euros between Barça and Braga), and the aforementioned Almena. The list doesn't end there: Oviedo paid 1.5 million euros for Ilyas Chaira; Villarreal, 2.5 million euros for Terrats; and Dubasin earned around 1.2 million euros. And going back further, Alavés paid 2 million euros for Pere Pons. Adding in a small capital gain here and a future transfer there, the sum has only gotten bigger. Others, such as Sulei Camara, Arnau Ortiz, Ibrahima Kebe, and Valery Fernández, reached termination agreements.