Francisco Rodríguez has been the clear architect of the “playoff” of Girona. Ten victories, two draws and one defeat in the last thirteen days have allowed the people of Girona to reach the semifinals of the promotion, in which they will face the all-powerful Almería de Rubi.
“Almería has been a candidate to go up throughout the season. They have fought for direct promotion to the end and have one of the best squads. It is impossible to say that we are the favorites seeing the season that our rivals have done, “said Francisco, who despite insisting on this message acknowledged that” it is true that we arrived at a very good time, but if we forget where we come from, he will It will be very difficult for us to pass the round ”.
With the doubt of whether Cristhian Stuani will be able to be on the pitch or not, Girona faces this Wednesday's match in Montilivi with the utmost “enthusiasm and ambition”. “This is very different from last year. In that tie we did everything practically perfectly and now there are few players left from that day. Last season we were favorites, but not now, “said the Andalusian, who will face his former team.
For Francisco, one of the keys for Girona to move forward is none other than “not to lose the essence, to be a brave team. To be faithful to what has accompanied us in the last thirteen days and that has allowed us to get here “, although, obviously” we have to introduce some nuances to prevent Almería from hurting us. ”
Regarding the game, the coach explained that he thinks that “each team will have its weapons and its moments. To score and not to be scored would be fantastic ”, declared Francisco, who is not scared at all by the youth of his team. “I am not concerned at all that two juniors are starters. I think we have the perfect balance and that everyone is ready to compete tomorrow because the enthusiasm and hunger in the dressing room right now is maximum.
Almería, a feared rival with many resources
Among many of the dangers that Almería has, Francisco wanted to highlight several aspects, among them that of Umar Sadiq, but especially the offensive level of Rubi's. “Everyone knows Sadiq in Spain and in Europe, he is a forward profile that any coach likes. I don't want to focus only on him because they have footballers like Morlanes, Lazo or Corpas who can do a lot of damage. It would be unfair to assess the quality of a team only by one player, “said the Girona coach, who warned his team that it is necessary to watch” with the vertical game and dynamism “of Almería.