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Pablo Machín (r) has been rubbing shoulders with the best.
Refreshingly different
A LOOK AT LA LIGA

Refreshingly different

With a whole raft of fringe players shipped in over the summer, I feared the worst for Girona FC

ROB PALMER

Friday, 23 February 2018, 12:35

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Time to hold my hands up and admit that Girona have confounded my expectations and, refreshingly, brought the opposite of what I feared they'd bring to La Liga.

When you hear that the ownership of a team is shrouded in mystery and they are shipping in a cargo of players from a richer club in another country, you fear the worst.

Much was made of Pep Guardiola's brother, Pere's, connection with the Abu Dhabi money men who were reported to have bought 88 per cent of the club. To add to the concern, five players not considered for the Manchester City first team arrived on loan.

There were shades of Granada last season who had so many players on short-term deals it resembled a holiday camp. It was a shambles and when the club was relegated the players headed back to their parent clubs. Things were so bad they brought in Tony Adams, an associate of the owners, and they dropped like a stone.

Girona FC is so different. The young lads from Manchester City are doing the equivalent of a gap year. They've taken in the sights of the historical city but not seen a lot of the actual football pitch. The only regular has been Pablo Maffeo, who is a local anyway.

Coach Pablo Machín has remained single-minded and not broken his resistance to using the players who've been landed on him by the owners. He's either bloody-minded or ignorant of his owner's wishes.

Nobody can argue with his methods. I saw them play an unorthodox back three when they played at Oldham in their summer tour and he stuck with that as he's taken on the might of La Liga, famously beating Real Madrid back in October.

I always believe a club thrives if it has a strong local accent in the changing room; think the Nevilles at Manchester United, Gerrard and Carragher at Liverpool, Terry and Lampard at Chelsea. At Girona, Machín has stuck with those who have been on the mystery ride from the lower leagues like Álex Granell, who combined teaching at a primary school with part-time football. There's local pride in Eloi Amagat who was at the club in the third tier a decade ago and rejoined as they were on the rise.

Portu moved up the coast after Valencia deemed him not good enough after just two top-flight games. Now he is the driving force of this emerging team.

Twenty years ago they were playing in the Primera Catalana, the regional league, and now there's a strong possibility they will be qualifying for the Europa League.

Going into round twenty-five they're one point and one place from the position that should guarantee European football.

The lazy description is to label them as part of the growing Manchester City Empire that stretches as far as Australia and America but in truth they are very independent and have a coach who defies the convention thrust upon him.

Girona are making many of us sit up and take notice with their cavalier approach. Many scenes from A Game of Thrones were filmed in the city; the difference is that was fantasy and this is reality.

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