This is the final article in a six-part series looking at some of the most innovative emerging managers in European football.
During a six-year managerial career, Michel took charge of three second division teams, earned three promotions and was sacked twice.
Not even 17 seasons as a Rayo Vallecano player could prevent him from being sacked after collecting 23 points in 28 La Liga games in 2019, while two years later with his Huesca side at rock bottom , a 2-0 defeat against Real Betis brought a second. high-profile campaign as manager to another premature end.
So when Vinicius Junior slotted in at the far post to go seven games without a win for Michel’s newly promoted Girona in October 2022, even after just 12 games into the season, the 48-year-old must have felt a feeling of déjà vu.
Girona, however, were the first club to stand by him through this difficult period and with European football now on the horizon, they never looked back.
Girona’s season was highlighted by a first-ever triumph over Barcelona and a dramatic last-minute win over Atletico Madrid, all helping to fuel an unprecedented title fight; 2023-24 has been as historic as it is hard to believe.
With setbacks and layoffs behind him, Michel is a manager who knew how to seize his chance.
Girona’s extraordinary season owes much to the animated figure of Michel, bouncing around the touchline and barking instructions with the intensity of Pep Guardiola himself.
His approach involves manipulating the opponent’s structure and maintaining pressure with passing, constantly tweaking the team’s shape and adapting build-up structures mid-match to get opposing players out of their defensive zones.
Since their promotion two seasons ago, only Barcelona and Real Madrid have completed more passes in their own half than Girona, while an average time of possession of 28.1 seconds this season is also just behind trailing the first two.
In simple terms, this means that Girona operates with the confidence and creativity of a great team; dominating the ball, moving possession from one side to the other, before finding his technically gifted players in pockets of space behind the halfway line and looking to create overloads in dangerous areas of the pitch.
As the graph below illustrates — Michel’s team has the lowest forward speed in the division — they are in no hurry to move the ball forward and will persist in playing patiently until the gaps widen .
A clear example of their principled play came when Michel made an emotional return to Vallecas in November, with his team needing to win to restore their five-point lead at the top of the table.
The match started poorly for Girona, conceding after five minutes following a sequence of ricochets and clearly struggling against an all-out press from the home side.
Just two minutes into that opener, they almost gifted Rayo a second after the dispossession of Eric Garcia, while Daley Blind and Miguel Gutierrez – left centre-back and full-back respectively – pushed into midfield.
But despite these shaky moments, Girona continue to take risks with their build-up form, always looking to flood players while attempting to put pressure on themselves. Their perseverance paid off and, in 14 minutes, they created their first big chance.
Circulating the ball around the defense, Girona form a 3-2-5, as flexible full-back Gutierrez rushes alongside Artem Dovbyk and Savio (off-shoot) to let five players through the defensive line of the Rayo.
Ivan Martin offers himself to pass, dragging his marker with him and creating space for Viktor Tsygankov to drop into.
The Ukrainian – like most of this team – is agile and thoughtful in tight spaces and has no problem receiving the pass, absorbing pressure from three opposition players before passing the ball back to Martin.
In the process, left-back Alfonso Espino was dragged inside and Girona’s Yangel Herrera found himself in space on the right flank.
With time to measure a cross, Herrera picks out Savio on the opposite side, Gutierrez’s awkward positioning drawing attention to himself and away from the tricky Brazilian winger.
He cushions the ball into the box, Gutierrez assists, before striker Dovbyk flicks a back-heel effort clear of the line – swirling shapes and ambitious positioning picking apart the defensive structure pass by pass.
Personality plays an important role, with Michel requiring his players to trust their abilities on the ball against aggressive opposition in defense. A passionate team speech against Sevilla, captured by La Liga TV cameras in August, laid out this philosophy for all to see.
“You have to keep the ball at your feet longer,” he said. “It can be difficult under high pressure, but you have to stay the course and show character. You gotta hang in there, boys.
“Two keys, minimum. Pretend to go one way, then the other. Hide the ball, play like you’re playing in the street.
More often than not, this combination of relentless movement and bravery with the ball pays off; That’s what happened against Rayo, as Michel’s side scored 4.5 expected goals (xG) in a thrilling comeback victory.
Girona’s ability to force their way through teams depends on their incisive passing from the back; this is why Michel places so much importance on the advanced positioning of his wide central defenders.
The 3-2-5 shape is a vital part of his build-up plans, a system in which he asks Garcia and Blind to step up and fire passes into midfield. It is no coincidence that, according to Athleticism definition of a progressive pass – a pass that brings the ball more than 25% closer to the center of the opponent’s goal – both rank among the top three in La Liga this season.
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Particularly in matches where they dominate possession, the setup becomes even more adventurous, such as against Mallorca below. With David Lopez as a reliable defensive anchor, Blind is able to move up midfield to join Savio on the outside, while Garcia continues to keep the team connected with a wide range of passing connections from the back .
The attacking shape becomes almost a 2-3-5, with eight players in midfield looking to overload a stubborn defensive block.
Things don’t always go smoothly, but Michel’s changing team invariably causes problems for opposing teams. Even recent defeats, showing that Girona’s title run may have been too good to be true, continue to provide precise combination play and innovative twists on its own tactical plans.
With European football all but guaranteed for next season, La Liga is eagerly awaiting Michel’s latest development.
(Top photo: David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)