Xisco Muñoz, the Spaniard who could play with Georgia: “It would have been interesting”
There are many more (football) ties between Spain and Georgia of those that one can perceive with the naked eye. Xisco Muñoz (Manacor, 1980), without going any further, is a legend at Dinamo Tblisi as a player… and as a coach.
He arrived in 2011 from Levante and, as soon as he landed, won two consecutive League-Cup doubles (2012-13 and 2013-14). He also won a Super Cup (2014), but, above all, he was passionate about scoring goals: He was proclaimed top scorer with 19 goals in 2013 and 24 in 2014.
He did it so well now técnico del Dunajska Streda eslovaco -he is Dinamo’s seventh all-time top scorer- who The Georgian Football Federation (GFF) contacted him to discuss his possible nationalization.
“There was a possibility, there was a lot of talk about it. There was a time when we moved in that direction, but I had not yet played the necessary years in the country and, therefore, we abandoned the idea.. It would have been interesting. I think it would have helped me and the national team grow, but it couldn’t be,” Xisco recalls to MARCA.
It would have been interesting. I think it would have helped me and the team grow, but it couldn’t be
His ties with Georgia and Dinamo do not end there. He returned as coach and won two Leagues (2019 and 2020) before ‘taking the leap’ and Promote to the Premier with Watford.
“I have very good memories of my two stages in Georgia.As a player I was able to share great moments with teammates with whom I still have dealings, who are still in the national team, and who always want them to do well. As a coachFor my part, I was able to help other kids, who are also in the Euro Cup, to grow and achieve your dreams. Even to overcome them. You see the evolution of all of them and you feel proud,” says the formerly of Mallorca, Valencia, Recreativo, Tenerife, Betis, Levante and Nàstic.
I feel proud as a coach to have been able to help kids who are now in the Eurocup grow and fulfill their dreams.
“If Spain plays at the level it is playing, it is much superior”says Xisco before warning of the danger of many of his former pupils: “Georgia has talented players capable of unbalancing the game on an individual level who already compete at a high level. In addition, they have good physique and tactical knowledge. In this sense, I think Sagnol has managed to find a balance between quality and defensive order.”
To that we must add his spirit of ‘grinta’, of fighting. “They are making history. For them it is a final. They are going to show their pride and their values,” points out Xisco, who, however, is clear about his ‘colors’: “I want Georgia to do well, but I feel very Spanish. I have to go home.”
