Giorgi Mamardashvili pawed the free kick away. As he did, his Georgian team-mates ran over to celebrate as if he had scored. His compatriots in the press tribune in the Westfalenstadion turned to their colleagues, grasped their arms and said: “The best in the world. The best goalkeeper in the world.”
Mamardashvili was the hero when Georgia qualified for a European Championship for the first time since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. When the 23-year-old goalkeeper flew to his left and saved Tasos Bakasetas’ penalty in the play-off against Greece, he flew his nation to Dortmund too.
The stop he made on Hakan Calhanoglu was no ordinary one, either. Turkey’s captain made a name for himself a decade ago by slamming a free kick past Borussia Dortmund for Hamburg from all of 40 yards.
On Tuesday, Mamardashvili denied Calhanoglu to keep the score at 1-1. Only special strikes eluded the Valencia No 1. Mert Muldur’s supernatural opener deserved an X-File of its own. When Mamardashvili’s goalkeeper coach Davit Gvaramadze studies the tape, he will no doubt classify it under unexplained phenomena; a once-in-a-lifetime sighting of a Fenerbahce full-back, renowned more for his speed than the sonic boom unleashed in Dortmund.
Turkish delight in Dortmund! ⚽️#BBCEuros #Euro2024 #TURGEO pic.twitter.com/ENbdVJPr8I
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 18, 2024
Absolute class. 👏
Is this the goal of the tournament so far from Mert Müldür and Turkey? 🚀🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/DLNUpkIMiO
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 18, 2024
Unfortunately for Mamardashvili, half an hour from Georgia’s first point in this competition, another alien appeared. Arda Guler looked like a kid who had come to watch the game in full kit. His waif-like physique and choir-boy looks contrasted with the grown men around him. But his presence in the game was disproportionate for his size and 19 years of age.
Nominally on the right side of Turkey’s attack, Guler played in the half-spaces. He let Muldur or the very eager Baris Yilmaz provide the width on that flank. He came short and showed for the ball, taking playmaking responsibilities off Calhanoglu, his skipper. Some of Turkey’s earliest chances arrived from his corner kicks. Kenan Yildiz’s disallowed goal was a tap-in at the far post from one of his pullbacks. Pushed off the ball only once, the dribbler Guler even tracked back midway through the first half to stop the dribbler Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Creditably, he upstaged last season’s Serie A MVP. He upshot Mamardashvili, too.
Guler has drawn comparisons with Mesut Ozil for the elegance he shows on the ball. He clearly hasn’t joined him in the weight room where Ozil is spending much of his retirement, but behind his dainty figure is a shot power Ozil never possessed — an attribute he demonstrated when he piledrived Turkey’s go-ahead goal past Mamardashvili from 30 yards.
Guler lets fly with a thumping shot… (Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)
… that flies into the back of the net (Matteo Ciambelli / DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
The goal made Guler the first teenager to score at a European Championship since Cristiano Ronaldo 20 years ago. “I don’t care about personal achievements,” Guler said, as he sat next to Vincenzo Montella in the post-match press conference, looking every bit like the teacher’s pet. Montella, his raven black hair slicked back in the style of Pier Paolo Pasolini, had withdrawn Guler 10 minutes from time and embraced him as he received a standing ovation from a vociferous crowd. It felt like all of the 23,000 Turkish residents in Dortmund were singing his name.
Jose Mourinho must wish Guler were still a Fenerbahce player. Instead, the coach texting him after the game, Guler revealed, was Carlo Ancelotti.
“Mister Ancelotti is motivating me a lot,” he said. The Real Madrid head coach also tried to bring the timid-looking Guler out of his shell. “I want to introduce you to a ‘chico muy interesante’,” Ancelotti addressed the crowd during Real Madrid’s Champions League celebrations. He passed the microphone to Guler, who, after some encouragement, came forward and adorably said, “Hola Madridistas. We are family. Gracias por todos!”
Up until then, they had not seen much of him. No sooner had he arrived from Istanbul than he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
“He started the season with an injury that dragged on,” Montella said. “He played little until the end of March.” But once he did… Guler finished the season with six La Liga goals in 10 appearances as Madrid also clinched the league title. He hit the woodwork from just inside the Osasuna half in one of his first games back from injury.
Guler’s relative ability to hit the ground running validated his decision not to go out on loan straight after joining Madrid. Instead of taking an intermediary step, like Takefusa Kubo and Martin Odegaard had done in the past with Real Sociedad, he already felt ready to compete with Vinicius Junior, Rodrigo, Jude Bellingham, Brahim Diaz and Luka Modric.
“The Euros are an opportunity for him to show his worth,” Montella said. “He goes into it in the best possible mental condition after winning the Champions League and La Liga.”
Matchday in Dortmund also happened to be the coach’s 50th birthday. “I already received a beautiful gift,” Montella gushed, gesturing to Guler. “The perfect present, the best I could get.” If the Italian manages to unwrap more of Guler’s potential this summer, Turkey could go far.
(Top photo: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
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