'New Leicester' Girona can win laliga, says ex-Spain winger Garcia

The vast majority of soccer fans might view Girona's stunning climb to the upper echelons of Spain's LaLiga as an early season aberration, but former Spain and Barcelona winger Luis Garcia is not one of them.

Girona coach Michel has played down his team's chances of winning the title, saying they are not at the level of the league's elite, despite being level on 38 points with Real Madrid, behind the league leaders only on goal difference.

Girona have 12 wins, two defeats and one draw so far, the same as serial champions Real, and are four points above third-placed Barcelona, having scored more goals than any other side in the top flight ahead of their trip to Barca on Sunday.

"Girona have just come out of nowhere," Garcia told Reuters in Bengaluru, adding that he saw parallels between their rise and Leicester City's fairytale Premier League title win in the 2015-16 season.

"It's the new Leicester, right? With Leicester I remember the talk was exactly the same – 'Oh, you know, they will drop.'"

After earning Premier League promotion in 2014, Leicester needed a remarkable late rally to avoid what seemed like certain relegation the following season, before embarking on their incredible title run the subsequent campaign.

Girona, who were promoted via a playoff in the 2021-22 season and finished 10th in LaLiga last season, seem to be following a similar script.

"Why can't it be Girona?" Garcia said. "They don't have European competition. They don't have many international players.

"They can rest, they can rotate every week, and they can put out their best 11 every single weekend. It isn't easy to beat this team.

"Will they feel the pressure in the last part of the season? They might. But we said the same of