GK was at the heart of the Georgia gusts...Marmardashvili's record for all-time saves in Euros
Jul 04, 2024
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Georgia, which succeeded in advancing to the Euro tournament for the first time in its history, made a great effort to advance to the round of 16 in its first tournament. He was likely to be eliminated, but he proudly defeated Portugal, where Cristiano Ronaldo played in the final group match, and wrote a drama that turned the tables. The 74th place in the FIFA rankings defeated the sixth place in the FIFA rankings, making it the biggest upset in the history of the European tournament. Georgia advanced to the round of 16 with a wild card.
Georgia's performance left a strong impression, although it ended its journey with a 1-4 defeat to Spain in the round of 16. The key to the gust is not Ace Hvicha Kvaratshelia. That's goalkeeper Giorgi Mardashvili.
Marmardashvili's performance is blinding. On the 4th (Korea time), Las Provincias, a local area in Valencia, Spain, compiled Mamardashvili's remarkable performance as a record. First of all, Marmardashvili is proudly No. 1 in this tournament with a whopping 30 saves. Slovenia's Jan Oblak, who is in second place, has 15, twice as many. It is a figure that suggests how well Mamardashvili has played.
In particular, Marmardashvili recorded as many as 11 saves against the Czech Republic, the second-best ever after Latvia's Aleksandr Kolinko, who made 12 saves in a game in Euro 2004. Marmardashvili made as many as 21 saves in the group stage alone, tying Kolinko's record for the most saves in the group stage.
Compared to the previous record, Marmardashvili's performance in this tournament is truly historic. Igor Akinfiev of Euro 2008 is the only goalkeeper who has recorded more saves than Marmardashvili's 30. He made 32 saves in the tournament at the time. Akinfiev, however, was one record in five games. There is no comparison between Mamardashvili, who played only four games, and the average per game.
Under Marmardashvili, Peter Schmeichel in 1992 and Luis Arconada in 1984, the two goalkeepers recorded 27 saves at the time. All of them are records he has accumulated in five games.
Marmardashvili is attracting the attention of big clubs with such performances. Liverpool is especially active. The disadvantage is that it is not good under the feet, but Marmardashvili, who has completely changed his evaluation with his ability to do well that will offset it.
vanbasten@sportschosun.com
