The change in the voice of the war cry in the Girona locker room

Girona"I'm getting older, I'm getting older," Javier Galiano, Girona's delegate, usually answers, looking at his laptop screen with his glasses perched near the tip of his nose, doing any of the countless tasks he has on his hands, from one of the offices of the Girona Football Academy by Puma, Located in Vilablareix, Josep Maria Luis, known as Jota, the equipment manager and voice of the viral war cry in the locker room before matches, still runs around there. He limps while carrying boxes up and down the stairs because his knee and hips no longer function like they did in the old days. He should have surgery, but he's never found the time.

He'll soon have all the time he wants, because he's retiring at the end of the year. If he hasn't done so yet, it's because the manager recommended he shorten his time for a few more months, even if it meant starting the season, a plan that wasn't planned for. "If I didn't have Laura, my partner, I'd still be out there, because I wouldn't know what to do. But she's waiting for me," he admitted a few days ago. Jota no longer takes on as many responsibilities as he used to, aware that his career at the club is coming to an end. In fact, they found his replacement months ago: Pere Vilardell is in charge of assuming almost all of his tasks.

There's one that's not. Calling out "Giroooooooooona" in the middle of the huddle formed by the players and coaching staff, from the intimacy recently invaded by television cameras. One of the duties Jota has been relieved of is traveling to all the matches, and he'll only attend a few. In Vigo, for example, he wasn't there, and Galiano did the shouting. It brought luck, because that day Míchel's team earned their first point of the season.

But there's another problem here, because the delegate will close the stall at the end of the season, because he's also due to retire. His voice will only be temporary until May 2026. It's unknown who will replace him, and also who will be in charge of closing ranks with the players, which has become an untouchable tradition.

Two red-and-white legends

Jota and Galiano are inseparable. They have hundreds of hidden stories from so many years working together. "Who listens to me when I'm not having a good day? Jota, who do you expect it to be? On the commute to dinner, we eat twice: at the hotel with the squad, and then we escape ourselves. When he wanted to do it, Machín always said that that night he would pull off a Galianada," the manager explained in an interview with ARA.

Jota joined the club in 2003; Galiano, in 2008. They've lived through crises and non-payments, but also parties and fantastic nights. They will leave behind a Girona that's greater than the one they knew, but also a Girona that's sadder, because without them, a part of the crest will be lost. And the voice of a cry that has gone from the Third Division to Europe.