Tsygankov and Dovbyk, the Ukrainians who make Girona fall in love
Girona's attack has a clear Ukrainian accent. Viktor Tsygankov, who arrived at the club last winter market, and, above all, Artem Dovbyk, are dazzling the fans of a team that insists on remaining perched at the top of the table. Orihuela is measured in the Copa del Rey. An important duel, but one that has also become the prelude to the assault that Míchel's men will try to carry out on Montjuïc on Sunday.
In front of them they will have a Barça that apparently recovered its best feelings against Atlético, even though their victory against Simeone's team was only by the minimum. Girona, however, already knows very well what to do to score in Barça territory. So far, they have drawn two draws in their visits to the Camp Nou, in the 2018-19 season (2-2) and in 2022-23 (0-0), although their debut, in 2017-18, ended with rout (6-1).
Revalued in Montilivi
Viktor Tsygankov (Nahariya, Israel, 1997) is already an old acquaintance for the fans of the Girona team. Or rather, not so old. Not in vain, he landed in Montilivi during the last winter market, after the entity paid around five million euros to Dinamo kyiv as a transfer fee.. Given what we've seen, a bargain. His contract with the Ukrainian team ended on June 30 and, given his refusal to extend it, his previous club preferred to get something from his sale, despite his quality and the fact that he has emerged as one of the undisputed leaders of his team.. Right now its value would be around 22 million euros, although it would even reach 25 million in 2021.
In his first half year at Girona, Tsygankov played a total of 19 games, scoring three goals and giving six assists.. So far this season, he has already equaled last season's scoring record and has two assists.. In this case, he has been able to be on the pitch in 13 of the 15 League matches played: a muscle injury and precautions to avoid relapses have forced him to miss two games.
His compatriot Artem Dovbyk (Cherkasky, Ukraine, 1997), meanwhile, has become one of the most pleasant surprises among the additions made by Girona for this season. Not in vain, with seven goals in the 14 League games he has played (he was left out of the squad in the match against Athletic which, in the end, cost the Girona team to lose the lead), he has emerged as the top scorer for Míchel's team. He is followed by an old rocker like the Uruguayan Cristhian Stuani, who has five goals in his locker, and the Brazilian Savio, who is on loan from French side Troyes, with four. He arrived at the team that Míchel coaches last August, from the Ukrainian Dnipro-1 and, although initially he gradually entered the coach's plans, who preferred to bring him on from the bench in the first four league games, he has already become with a practically undisputed position in the starting team.
Dovbyk's performance at the point of attack speaks for itself. In his official debut with Girona he was already able to score the goal that would allow his team to sign a draw with Real Sociedad in the San Sebastian stadium (1-1). And, in the next nine games that he started as a starter, he managed to add six more goals to his statistics (two of them in a duel against Almería that ended with a 5-2 victory for his team) and five assists. Without a doubt, he is a threat to be taken into account for any rival of Girona, be it Orihuela or Barça.