Girona FC

Girona Futbol Club, S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded on 23 July 1930, the team plays in La Liga, to which they gained promotion in the 2022 Segunda División play-offs.^[3]

Girona

Full name	Girona Futbol Club, S.A.D.
Nickname(s)	Blanquivermells (White and Reds), Gironistes
Founded	23 July 1930; 93 years ago (1930-07-23)
Ground	Estadi Montilivi
Capacity	14,624^[1]
Owner	City Football Group (47%) FPL Discomfort (35%) Girona Football Group (16%) Others (1–2%)^[2]
President	Delfí Geli
Head coach	Míchel
League	La Liga
2022–23	La Liga, 10th of 20
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Clubs owned by CFG

Listed in order of acquisition/foundation.
Bold indicates the club was founded by CFG.
* indicates the club was acquired by CFG.
§ indicates the club is co-owned.

2008	Manchester City F.C.*
2009–2012
2013	New York City FC^§
2014	Melbourne City FC*
	Yokohama F. Marinos*^§
2015–2016
2017	Montevideo City Torque*
	Girona FC*^§
2018
2019	Sichuan Jiuniu F.C.*^§
	Mumbai City FC*^§
2020	Lommel S.K.*
	ES Troyes AC*
2021
2022	Palermo F.C.*^§
2023	Bahia*^§

Girona holds its home matches at the 11,810-capacity Estadi Montilivi and is known for its association with Catalan nationalism.^[4] The club also has youth and amateur women's teams for competition.

History

Football became of a particular interest in Girona at the beginning of the 20th century. The first major club in the city was Strong Esport (founded in 1902 under original name of FC Gerundense).^[5] In the 1920s in Girona there were two new clubs, CE Gironí and UD Girona. After the disappearance of the UD Girona it was decided to create a new football team in the city.^[6]

On 23 July 1930, in the café Norat in La Rambla of Girona, Girona Futbol Club was founded upon the dissolution of Unió Esportiva Girona for economic reasons. On 1 August 1930, the city council authorized the club so that it could use the city's emblem on its badges. It was achieved thanks to the efforts of enthusiasts led by the club's first president Albert de Quintana de León.^[6] The team subsequently entered in the second division of the Catalan Championships. Its first official match was against Colònia Artigas with the lineup: Florenza, Teixidor, Farró, Flavià, Comas, Corradi, Ferrer, Escuder, Clara, Torrellas and Taradellas.

1935–36 was the first season Girona played in Segunda División, and the club finished in top position in its group, subsequently appearing in the playoff stage against Celta de Vigo, Real Zaragoza, Arenas Club, Real Murcia and Xerez, but finishing second from bottom, thus out of the La Liga promotion zone.

 

Chart of Girona FC league performance 1929–2023

After the Spanish Civil War, the club fluctuated between the second level and Tercera División, falling into the latter category in 1959 and being further demoted in 1980 – Segunda División B was created as the new division three in 1977, and the club lasted three years in the competition. In 1968, construction of the Estadi Montilivi began, with home matches being held there on a permanent basis from 1970 onwards after nearly five decades at the Vista Alegre stadium.

In the following decades, Girona alternated between the third and the fourth divisions, even spending three seasons in the regional championships, in 1982–83 and 1997–99.^[7] On 16 June 2008, after defeating Ceuta 1–0 in the play-offs, the Raül Agné-led side achieved a second consecutive promotion, returning to the second tier after a 49-year absence.^[8][9]

On 22 July 2010, a group of local businessmen led by Ramon Vilaró, Joaquim Boadas and Josep Slim purchased 72% of the club's shares, previously held by former club president Josep Gusó and Josep Rofes, thus becoming the new owners of Girona. Vilaró was elected the new president while Agné, after a spell with Recreativo, returned as manager for the upcoming second division campaign, lasting in the position until 14 January 2012 when he was sacked following a 0–3 loss at Recreativo.^[10]

In 2011, Girona created a reserve team, having previously grown a natural grass pitch in Palau.^[11] On 9 May 2013, the club's board of directors, under the slogan "El Girona FC també és meu" ("Girona FC is mine too"), approved an increase of the club's capital in €300,000 to be distributed in €10 shares, aiming to balance its estate.^[12]

On the last matchday of the 2014–15 season, Girona needed to beat Lugo at home to earn promotion to La Liga, but were denied by a last-minute goal by the visitors. Girona had to settle for a play-off place, but were eliminated in the semi-finals by Real Zaragoza, despite winning the first leg 3–0. The next season, they reached the play-off final but were defeated by Osasuna. Girona finally earned promotion to La Liga after the 2016–17 season as they finished runners-up to Levante. This was the first time that Girona had ever been promoted to La Liga in their 87-year history.^[13]

On 23 August 2017, it was announced City Football Group (CFG), a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi United Group, had purchased 44.3% ownership in Girona. Another 44.3% was held by Girona Football Group, led by Pere Guardiola, the brother of CFG-owned Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.^[14] On 29 October 2017, Girona recorded a memorable victory, defeating reigning European Cup winners Real Madrid 2–1.^[15][16]

In July 2018, it was announced that Girona would be participating in their first ever pre-season international tournament, held in India by Nippon Toyota. Girona faced the Indian team Kerala Blasters and the Australian Team Melbourne City.

On the last match day of the 2018–19 La Liga season, Girona were relegated to Segunda Division, ending their two-year spell in the Spanish top tier. In the 2021–22 season Girona finished sixth in the Segunda Division but managed to achieve promotion to La Liga after winning the play-off final 3–1 on aggregate against Tenerife.^[17]

Training centre

The club's new training facilities are under construction since December 2017,^[18] located at the PGA Catalunya Golf Course complex to the south of Girona. Occupying an area of 20,000 m² (220,000 sq ft), the new complex will serve as the exclusive training centre of the club for the next 3+1⁄2 years. It will be home to a 110 m × 72 m (361 ft × 236 ft) training pitch of hybrid grass as well as a 160 m × 72 m (525 ft × 236 ft) pitch of natural grass, in addition to indoor training facilities.^[19]

Season to season

Main article: List of Girona FC seasons

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1933–34 3 3ª 1st 1934–35 2 2ª 4th Third round 1935–36 2 2ª 1st Round of 16 1939–40 2 2ª 3rd First round 1940–41 2 2ª 4th Third round 1941–42 2 2ª 5th 1942–43 2 2ª 6th 1943–44 3 3ª 5th Second round 1944–45 3 3ª 3rd 1945–46 3 3ª 6th 1946–47 3 3ª 4th 1947–48 3 3ª 1st Third round 1948–49 2 2ª 10th Round of 16 1949–50 2 2ª 9th Third round 1950–51 2 2ª 16th 1951–52 3 3ª 6th 1952–53 3 3ª 8th 1953–54 3 3ª 2nd 1954–55 3 3ª 1st 1955–56 3 3ª 2nd

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1956–57 2 2ª 9th 1957–58 2 2ª 9th 1958–59 2 2ª 15th First round 1959–60 3 3ª 11th 1960–61 3 3ª 4th 1961–62 3 3ª 2nd 1962–63 3 3ª 4th 1963–64 3 3ª 6th 1964–65 3 3ª 7th 1965–66 3 3ª 7th 1966–67 3 3ª 3rd 1967–68 3 3ª 8th 1968–69 3 3ª 11th 1969–70 3 3ª 3rd Second round 1970–71 3 3ª 2nd First round 1971–72 3 3ª 8th First round 1972–73 3 3ª 2nd Second round 1973–74 3 3ª 3rd First round 1974–75 3 3ª 6th Second round 1975–76 3 3ª 3rd First round

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1976–77 3 3ª 2nd Third round 1977–78 3 2ª B 6th Third round 1978–79 3 2ª B 13th Third round 1979–80 3 2ª B 19th First round 1980–81 4 3ª 7th 1981–82 4 3ª 18th 1982–83 5 Reg. Pref. 1st 1983–84 4 3ª 9th 1984–85 4 3ª 7th 1985–86 4 3ª 2nd 1986–87 4 3ª 7th First round 1987–88 3 2ª B 19th 1988–89 4 3ª 1st First round 1989–90 3 2ª B 12th 1990–91 3 2ª B 7th Second round 1991–92 3 2ª B 3rd 1992–93 3 2ª B 15th Third round 1993–94 3 2ª B 15th First round 1994–95 3 2ª B 18th First round 1995–96 4 3ª 13th

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1996–97 4 3ª 19th 1997–98 5 1ª Cat. 5th 1998–99 5 1ª Cat. 1st 1999–2000 4 3ª 7th 2000–01 4 3ª 8th 2001–02 4 3ª 9th 2002–03 4 3ª 2nd 2003–04 3 2ª B 7th 2004–05 3 2ª B 17th Round of 32 2005–06 4 3ª 1st 2006–07 4 3ª 2nd First round 2007–08 3 2ª B 1st 2008–09 2 2ª 16th Third round 2009–10 2 2ª 14th Third round 2010–11 2 2ª 11th Second round 2011–12 2 2ª 15th Second round 2012–13 2 2ª 4th Second round 2013–14 2 2ª 15th Round of 32 2014–15 2 2ª 3rd Third round 2015–16 2 2ª 4th Second round

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 2016–17 2 2ª 2nd Second round 2017–18 1 1ª 10th Round of 32 2018–19 1 1ª 18th Quarter-finals 2019–20 2 2ª 5th Round of 32 2020–21 2 2ª 5th Round of 16 2021–22 2 2ª 6th Round of 16 2022–23 1 1ª 10th Second round 2023–24 1 1ª

• 4 seasons in La Liga
• 24 seasons in Segunda División
• 13 seasons in Segunda División B
• 44 seasons in Tercera División
• 3 seasons in Categorías Regionales

Players

First team squad

As of 8 September 2023^[20]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   ESP Juan Carlos 2 DF   COL Bernardo Espinosa 3 DF   ESP Miguel Gutiérrez 4 DF   ESP Arnau Martínez 5 DF   ESP David López (vice-captain) 6 MF   MLI Ibrahima Kébé 7 FW   URU Cristhian Stuani (captain) 8 MF   UKR Viktor Tsyhankov 9 FW   UKR Artem Dovbyk 10 MF   ESP Borja García 11 DF   ESP Valery Fernández 13 GK   ARG Paulo Gazzaniga 14 MF   ESP Aleix García

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 DF   ESP Juanpe (vice-captain) 16 FW   BRA Sávio (on loan from Troyes) 17 DF   NED Daley Blind 18 MF   ESP Pablo Torre (on loan from Barcelona) 19 MF   ESP Toni Villa 20 DF   BRA Yan Couto (on loan from Manchester City) 21 MF   VEN Yangel Herrera 22 MF   COL Jhon Solís 23 MF   ESP Iván Martín 24 FW   ESP Portu 25 DF   ESP Eric García (on loan from Barcelona) 26 GK   ESP Toni Fuidias

Reserve team

Main article: Girona FC B

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 28 MF   ESP Selvi Clua 30 FW   ESP Iker Almena

No. Pos. Nation Player 31 FW   ESP Jastin García

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF   PER Alexander Callens (at AEK Athens until 30 June 2024) — DF   ESP Biel Farrés (at Sabadell until 30 June 2024) — MF   ESP Álex Sala (at Córdoba until 30 June 2024) — MF   ESP Pau Víctor (at Barcelona Atlètic until 30 June 2024) — FW   MAR Ilyas Chaira (at Mirandés until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW   ESP Gabri Martínez (at Mirandés until 30 June 2024) — FW   ESP Arnau Ortiz (at Eldense until 30 June 2024) — FW   ESP Oscar Ureña (at Leganés until 30 June 2024) — FW   ESP Manu Vallejo (at Zaragoza until 30 June 2024)

Club officials

Current technical staff

Position	Staff
Head coach	Míchel
Assistant coach	Salva Fúnez
Fitness coach	David Porcel
Goalkeeping coach	Juan Carlos Balaguer

Last updated: 8 November 2021
Source: Girona (in Spanish)

Board of directors

Office	Name
President	Delfí Geli
Board president	Pere Guardiola
Vice president	Diego Gigliani
Board members	Marcelo Claure
	John MacBeath
	Roger Solé
	Simon Cliff
Chief executive officer	Ignacio Mas-Bagà

Last updated: December 2022
Source: Girona FC

Coaches

•   Francisco Bru (1937–39)
•   Károly Plattkó (1948–49)
•   Hilario (1949–50)
•   Domènec Balmanya (1952)
•   Emilio Aldecoa (1955–57), (1959–60)
•   Dagoberto Moll (1965–66)
•   Emilio Aldecoa (1967–68)
•   Vicenç Sasot (1972–74)
•   Emilio Aldecoa (1974–76)
•   Lluís Coll (1976)
•   Vicenç Sasot (1979–80)
•   Pepe Pinto (1980–81), (1981–82)
•   Luis Costa (1981–82)
•   Emilio Aldecoa (1982)
•   Antonio Lagunas (1987)
•   Alfonso Muñoz Jaso (1987–88), (1993–95)
•   José Manuel (1988)
•   Paco Bonachera (1993)
•   Pere Gratacós (1997–99)
•   Narcís Julià (2003)
•   Agustín Abadía (2003–04)
•   Josep María Nogués (2005)
•   Joan Carrillo (2006–07)
•   Ricardo Rodríguez (2007)
•   Raül Agné (2007–09)
•   Javi Salamero (2009)
•   Miquel Olmo (2009)
•   Cristóbal Parralo (2009)
•   Narcís Julià (2009–10)
•   Raül Agné (2010–12)
•   Josu Uribe (2012)
•   Javi Salamero (2012)
•   Rubi (2012–13)
•   Ricardo Rodríguez (2013)
•   Javi López (2013–14)
•   Pablo Machín (2014–18)
•   Eusebio Sacristán (2018–19)
•   Juan Carlos Unzué (2019)
•   José Luis Martí (2019–20)
•   Francisco (2020–21)
•   Míchel (2021–)

Honours

National

• Segunda Division B
  • Winners (1): 2007–08

• Tercera Division
  • Winners (5): 1933–34, 1947–48, 1954–55, 1988–89, 2005–06

Regional titles

• Supercopa de Catalunya
  • Winners (1): 2019

See also

• CF Peralada-Girona B
• Girona FC B
• CF Riudellots

References

1. "La conexión ucraniana, a la conquista de Montilivi" (in Spanish). 20 August 2023.
2. "Marcelo Claure strengthen the Girona FC project | Girona - Web Oficial".
3. "Girona return to La Liga after winning promotion playoff - Get Spanish Football News". getfootballnewsspain.com. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
4. Willis, Craig; Hughes, Will; Bober, Sergiusz. "ECMI Minorities Blog. National and Linguistic Minorities in the Context of Professional Football across Europe: Five Examples from Non-kin State Situations". ECMI. ECMI. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
5. "HISTORIA DEL CLUB | Girona - Web Oficial". HISTORIA DEL CLUB | Girona - Web Oficial (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 October 2019.
6. "Análisis a fondo del rival: Girona FC SAD". SPORTARAGON.com (in Spanish). 11 September 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
7. [History] (in Spanish). Girona's official website. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
8. "El Girona entona el alirón" [Girona sings "We are the champions"] (PDF) (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 16 June 2008. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
9. "El Girona aconsegueix un ascens històric a la Segona Divisió en vèncer el Ceuta per la mínima (1–0)" [Girona achieves historic promotion to Second Division by beating Ceuta by odd goal (1–0)] (in Catalan). Esport 3. 16 June 2008. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
10. "Cesado por sus malos resultados deportivos" [Fired for poor sporting results] (in Spanish). Huelva Ya. 14 January 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
11. "El Llagostera entrena en el campo del Girona" [Llagostera trains in Girona pitch] (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
12. [El Girona FC también es mío] (in Spanish). Girona's official website. 9 May 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
13. . Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
14. "Girona FC, acquired by new investors" (in Catalan). Girona FC. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
15. "Real Madrid suffer shock defeat at Girona on first visit to Catalan club". TheGuardian.com. 29 October 2017.
16. "Real Madrid stunned as Girona record shock win". 27 October 2017.
17. "El resumen del Tenerife vs. Girona del Playoff de ascenso a Primera 2022 y LaLiga 2022-2023: vídeo, goles y estadísticas" (in Spanish). Goal.com. 19 June 2022.
18. "Comienza la instalación del césped en los nuevos campos de entrenamiento del Girona en el PGA Catalunya Resort de Caldes de Malavella" [The installation of the turf begins in the new Girona training camps at the PGA Catalunya Resort in Caldes de Malavella] (in Spanish). 18 January 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
19. "El Girona FC estrenará en enero dos nuevos campos de entrenamiento en el PGA Catalunya Resort de Caldes" [Girona FC debut in January two new training camps in the PGA Catalunya Resort in Caldes] (in Spanish). 13 December 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
20. "First team". Girona FC. Retrieved 4 February 2023.

External links

• Official website (in Catalan and Spanish)
• BDFutbol team profile