Girona FC

Girona

Full name	Girona Futbol Club, S.A.D.
Nickname(s)	Blanquivermells (White and Reds), Gironistes
Founded	23 July 1930; 91 years ago (1930-07-23)
Ground	Estadi Montilivi
Capacity	11,200[1]
Owner	City Football Group (47%) Marcelo Claure (35%) Girona Football Group (16%) Others (1-2%)[2]
President	Delfí Geli
Head coach	Míchel
League	Segunda División
2020–21	Segunda División, 5th of 22
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Girona Futbol Club, S.A.D. is a professional football club based in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded on 23 July 1930, it plays in Segunda División. Girona holds its home matches at the 11,200-capacity Estadi Montilivi.

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).^[3] 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.^[4]

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.^[4] 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.

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.^[5] 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.^[6][7]

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 de Huelva, 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.^[8]

In 2011, Girona created a reserve team, having previously grown a natural grass pitch in Palau.^[9] 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.^[10]

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.^[11]

On 23 August 2017, it was announced City Football Group (CFG) 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.^[12] On 29 October 2017, Girona recorded a memorable victory defeating reigning European Cup winners Real Madrid 2–1.^[13][14]

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

On the last match day of the 2018–19 La Liga season, Girona were relegated to Segunda Division, ending their 2-year spell in the Spanish top tier.

Training centre[]

The club's new training facilities are under construction since December 2017,^[15] 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.^[16]

Season to season[]

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

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• 2 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

Current squad[]

As of 3 September 2021.^[17]

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 MF  ESP Jairo Izquierdo 6 MF  MLI Ibrahima Kebe 7 FW  URU Cristhian Stuani (captain) 8 MF  ESP Álex Baena (on loan from Villarreal) 9 FW  ARG Darío Sarmiento (on loan from Manchester City) 10 MF  ESP Samuel Sáiz 11 MF  ESP Valery Fernández 13 GK  ESP Adrián Ortolá 14 MF  ESP Aleix García

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 DF  ESP Juanpe (vice-captain) 16 FW  ESP Pablo Moreno (on loan from Manchester City) 17 DF  ESP David Juncà 19 FW  ARG Nahuel Bustos (on loan from Manchester City) 20 MF  ESP Pol Lozano (on loan from Espanyol) 21 MF  ESP Ramon Terrats 22 DF  URU Santiago Bueno 23 DF  ESP Jordi Calavera 38 DF  ESP Arnau Martínez — MF  ESP Borja García

Other players under contract[]

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  URU Maxi Villa

Reserve team[]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 27 FW  ESP Gabri Martínez 32 FW  ESP Oscar Ureña 33 DF  ESP

No. Pos. Nation Player 36 MF  ESP 40 FW  ESP

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 — MF  BEL (at Logroñés until 30 June 2022) — MF  ESP Álex Gallar (at Cartagena until 30 June 2022)

Club officials[]

Current technical staff[]

Position	Staff
Head coach	Francisco
Assistant coach	Jaime Ramos
Assistant coach	Jose Manuel Ortega
Fitness coach	Sergio Pardo
Goalkeeping coach	Joseba Ituarte
Analyst	Aitor Unzué

Board of directors[]

Office	Name
President	Delfí Geli
Vice president	Diego Gigliani
Board president	Ignacio Mas-Bagà Saltor
Secretary	Simon Cliff
Vice secretary	Ricard Capdevila
Spokesmen	Borja López
	Andy Young

Coaches[]

Honours[]

Regional titles[]

• Supercopa de Catalunya
  • Winners (1) : 2019

See also[]

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

References[]

External links[]

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