Girona's historic Champions League qualification: what it means for the club and how they achieved it

The Catalan club will play in UEFA's top competition next term, just three seasons after playing at the Segunda level.

Girona is a Champions League team. And, for most Los Blanquivermells fans, it is still not understood that the biggest clubs from all over Europe will visit the Estadi Montilivi next season. Not only did the club qualify for Europe for the first time in its 94-year history, but they did so at the highest level of the UEFA competition.

Defeating Barcelona 4-2 on Matchday 34, Michel's team achieved a goal he only set midway through the season. Even as they started with six wins and a draw from their first seven games of the season, the coach insisted that the primary objective was to avoid relegation. Only in January did he admit that entry into Europe had also become a target.

After the success was confirmed, the coach spoke to the media about how much this means for the club, saying: “What we have achieved this year is incredible. It is historic. It is a wonderful thing. The project is great. We able to work and grow day by day. We worked in a calm but demanding way, and with a team that wants to grow. That's how we went from the second level to the Champions League. I hope everyone likes it.”

The fans certainly enjoyed it, with 14,000 celebrating the victory over Barca in the stands of the Estadi Montilivi and many more taking to the streets of the city center to cheer on the biggest night of the history of Girona.

From Segunda in 2021/22 to the Champions League in 2024/25

As Michael he said during his speech, not so long ago that this was a team in the second division. It was only in 2021/22 that Los Blanquivermells finished sixth in Segunda and achieved promotion through the playoffs. Playing an ambitious and direct brand of football, they took after the League last season before finishing in the top 10, the club's highest finish in the first level.

Then, in 2023/24, Gerona they advanced and reached the next level, and finished third, ahead of Atletico Madrid. The backbone of the team has remained the same, with the likes of Paulo Gazzaniga, David Lopez, Aleix Garcia and Yangel Herrera. But, the new additions have significantly improved the team, albeit at a low cost.

In central defence, veteran Daley Blind arrived on a free transfer to bring his experience to the back line, while Eric Garcia arrived on loan from Barcelona to add another skilled passer to the back.

In midfield, the low-cost signings of Ivan Martoin and Portu proved extremely shrewd as both players could play in several different positions in midfield and could go forward in attack, with Martín scoring five goals and Portu seven, including two. the victory against Barça.

Then there was the arrival of Artem Dovbyk, arguably the best transfer in the entire Liga last summer when looking for value for money. The Ukrainian striker reached 22 goals and made everyone forget about the departure of Taty Castellanos, the top scorer of the Catalan team last season. With Brazilian winger Savio also arriving last summer, scoring nine goals and assisting nine alongside Dovbyk in attack, Girona's summer 2023 recruitment was clearly something special, and sporting director Quique Carcel deserves all the praise.

Coach Michel also deserves to bask in the glory of this masterpiece, as he not only built a successful team, but also built a fun one. Girona have scored 2.11 goals per game this season and are always playing on the front foot. This was not achieved by any rigid system, as Michel used several different formations throughout the season, from a 4-1-4-1 to a 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-3. Even with Girona having suffered several injuries along the way, the tactician has been flexible and adapted, always finding solutions and achieving positive results.

At home, they have been particularly impressive and have won 14, drawn two and lost two of their 18 games so far at the Estadi Montilivi. The Girona faithful had a lot to cheer about then, and the biggest of all came when this modest club became a Champions League team for the first time.

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