Quique Álvarez Takes the Reins at Girona with Market Uncertainty

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Quique Álvarez will debut tomorrow as Girona coach against Leganés at Montilivi with almost the entire squad available and with the need to organize a team that arrives at the premiere in Second Division after winning only one of its seven preseason friendlies.

The new coach faces the first match with an open paradox in the locker room and in planning. He has the starting eleven quite defined, but admits that several players still have their future up in the air and that the defense is the line with fewer players while the club awaits Mumin's physical condition to decide whether to finalize his signing.

The coach confirmed that everyone will be available except Portu, Ounahi, and Unai for the match at Montilivi against Leganés.

Álvarez explained that he has already spoken with all the players and that the final decision on who plays will depend on physical, competitive, and morale criteria. The coach also announced that he will field those he considers most prepared to compete in the league premiere.

Regarding the players whose situations are still pending resolution, he placed Arnau, Ounahi, Tsygankov, Iván Martín, and Àlex Moreno in that group. The coach warned that he needs players who are and want to be at Girona, although he left open the option that some may rejoin in the coming days.

At Montilivi, the defense folder also remains open, a position with fewer available pieces and conditioned by the review of Mumin's physical condition. That squad adjustment links with the delay in appointing a coach after relegation and with a plan that has not yet been finalized.

Álvarez criticized that the competition starts without the transfer market having ended. The coach described that scenario as a recurring difficulty every summer and added that, in a World Cup year, operations are delayed even further because clubs react when they have already begun to detect their needs.

"Every year it's the same, it's Groundhog Day. It's very difficult to work like this and in a World Cup year everything is even later. Clubs wake up later. When the League starts is when needs are seen and then the chain begins" - Quique Álvarez, Girona coach

That instability coexists with a footballing plan that seeks prominence with the ball, but also more balance without it. The coach highlighted during the summer the energy of the young players and the professionalism of a squad to which he is trying to convey that in the Second Division, accumulating possession is not enough.

Furthermore, the reconstruction of the team comes after the bet on the reserve team's coach to lead the return to the category. The change in the dugout comes after a recent period of growth that, in Álvarez's own words, ended painfully with relegation.

Looking ahead to the debut, the coach said he hopes the fans have been able to digest the blow of relegation and will return to cheer as they usually do at Montilivi. His message comes after a preseason with a poor balance of results, as the team has only won one of the seven friendlies played.

Álvarez summarized his idea with one priority above style.

"I like to play, but the most important thing is to compete. And competing is not playing. It's great to have the ball, but without the ball you also have to be good. I try to instill this, that they have done very good and incredible things these years, but that does not guarantee success. The Second Division is very tough, we have to have humility" - Quique Álvarez, Girona coach

The new coach's debut will be tomorrow at Montilivi against Leganés, with Portu, Ounahi, and Unai as the only confirmed absences.

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