Ready to kick off a historic season

Ready for a historic season

Girona kick off a historic season this Thursday at the Benito Villamarín (9.30pm). After surpassing all expectations last season and taking third place in the league, Míchel Sánchez's men will enjoy the prize of playing in the Champions League for the first time, but they will also be in the top flight for the third consecutive season, the club's best ever.

The key dates of a year to dream about

The season kicks off on Thursday 15 August with a trip to Betis, but there are plenty of days on the calendar that will be marked in red during the season. In terms of LaLiga, Girona have a demanding start and during the first half of the season they will experience the two Catalan duels at Montilivi and the visit of Real Madrid on 8 December. Girona will face Barça for the first time on 15 October and Espanyol on 24 November, while in March they will visit Barcelona twice, on the 9th against the Blue and Whites and on the 30th against the blaugranas. In addition, the Copa del Rey also begins on 30 October.

The road to the Champions League

In terms of the Champions League, Girona will know the path to follow in their first participation in the competition on 29 August. In a season in which the Champions League has a new format, Míchel Sánchez's men will be placed in a group of new teams and with eight matchdays, half at home and half away, which will face them all only once.

Matchday 1: 17/19 September 2024

Matchday 2: 1/2 October 2024

Matchday 3: 22/23 October 2024

Matchday 4: 5/6 November 2024

Matchday 5: 26/27 November 2024

Matchday 6: 10/11 December 2024

Matchday 7: 21/22 January 2025

Matchday 8: 29 January 2025

The names that add talent to the squad

In a year that is even more demanding due to the fact that the Champions League is being added to a challenge as important as being in the First Division, the club has moved in the market and continues to do so in order to put together the best possible squad. So far, seven players have arrived at Montilivi with very different profiles, but who share two key attributes: a commitment to youth and experience in European competitions. Ladislav Krejci led the way in shoring up the centre of defence, and Alejandro Francés has also reinforced the position. Dutch duo Gabriel Misehouy and Donny van de Beek have added to the creative side of a midfield that has also seen the return of Oriol Romeu, while Bryan Gil has been brought in to provide some unbalanced play on the wing and Abel Ruiz to help out in front of goal.

The balance of the pre-season

The team opened the pre-season with a draw against Olot (1-1), followed by two more draws against Montpellier (3-3) and Espanyol (0-0). The last game on Catalan soil ended in defeat against Toulouse (0-4), and despite a first win in a great match against Napoli (0-2), the Catalans have not been able to close the pre-season with good results in their visit to England: Newcastle (4-0) and Bournemounth (3-2).

Míchel Sánchez: "the pre-season has been a bit difficult because there have been a lot of people away and we haven't been able to work with a collective mentality, but I'm happy because everyone has trained at one hundred per cent and I'm sure that with hard work the team will give a very good performance. We don't have to be worried, we have to be on our toes and I'm sure we'll do things right".