A deep, but necessarily short, period of reflection begins at Girona. After the blow suffered by not having managed to ascend to the First Division, there are many unknowns in relation to the squad for the next season and one that the rojiblanca technical secretariat wants to clear as soon as possible is that of the bench. The contacts with Francisco, before falling in the final against Rayo, were constant for his renewal (contract ends on the 30th) and it seemed that there would be no problems reaching an agreement, but after the defeat last Sunday doubts have appeared. The technician wants a few days to think about his future and is that It is the second playoff final that he has lost in ten months to Girona. They are two difficult hits to digest.
There is no doubt that the first option of the board is to retain Francisco, but if you finally decide not to accept the renewal offer you have on your table, the club cannot afford to waste time and, therefore, is tracking the market to have a plan B ready. The rojiblanco sports director, Quique Cárcel, and his work team have surveyed several coaches and the ones they like the most, for now, are Sergio Pellicer and Francisco Javier García Pimienta. Both would fit into the philosophy of the Girona entity and everything indicates that they are willing to wait a reasonable time. Of the two, Pellicer is the favoritehas been closely followed for a long time and is liked by Cárcel. In the last two years he has led Málaga in 65 games (23 wins, 20 draws and 22 losses). This season, despite the difficulties in making the squad, he left a very good feeling, he managed to save himself smoothly and that is why in Girona his name sounds strongly.
But neither can García Pimienta be ruled out for the Girona bench. The only thing that generates, although minimal, some doubt is that it would be his first experience in professional football. Of course, it is considered that there are more points in favor than against. It is about a technician who has been linked to the Barça quarry and He has directed, in recent years, the subsidiary adding 102 games with a balance of 46 victories, 26 draws and 30 defeats. He is considered a good group manager and also has a philosophy of the game that is very popular in Girona. Although success has been resisted, it appears on his resume that in the last two campaigns managed to put Barça B in the playoffs for promotion to the Second Division. Last year, Sabadell woke him up from sleep in the final and this year, in the semifinal, the executioner was UCAM Murcia on penalties.