Before an unforgettable footballing adventure had even begun, a nation had one man to thank.
Such was the magnitude of Georgia’s penalty shootout win over Greece in March — a victory clinched by Giorgi Mamardashvili, and which ensured the country reached its first major international tournament — that every player, coach and member of the football federation received the Order of Honour from the country’s president.
Mamardashvili’s reputation has rocketed after a shot-stopping clinic at the European Championship this summer, with onlookers incredulous as the saves stacked up. It’s no surprise that the “Georgian Wall” has admirers — although Liverpool might not have been the first team on everyone’s list.
A deal for the 23-year-old could be complicated. With Alisson still very much the first choice at Anfield, and showing no signs of easing up, Mamardashvili would arrive as second choice. But Liverpool would be looking further ahead, and are aiming to secure his arrival in 2025 as part of a long-term succession plan for the Brazilian.
The fact that Liverpool believe Mamardashvili is equipped to replace one of their all-time greats says a lot about what he can do.
The power of modern football analytics can catapult young players into the limelight, but even the statistical outliers need that big break.
Mamardashvili arrived unexpectedly quickly at Valencia, as injuries to both Jasper Cillessen and Jaume Domenech cleared the way for the then 20-year-old to make his La Liga debut in August 2021, just two months after completing a loan move to Valencia’s reserve team, where he expected to be playing four divisions below.
Amid COVID-19 restrictions and a mass fan boycott, just under 10,000 people were there to see him make his professional bow. The occasion was a scrappy and ill-tempered 1-0 win over Getafe — largely forgettable, were it not for a red card for the hosts just 31 seconds in — but that adversity provided a platform for Mamardashvili to shine. He made four saves, including a miraculous reaction stop deep into added time to preserve a clean sheet and seal an unlikely three points.
From that instinctive reach, clawing the ball back from over his head after a tricky deflection from close range, he has hardly looked back.
Valencia hang on for the win…somehow! 🦇
Mamardashvili did well to keep Getafe from scoring in stoppage time and look how much it meant to him 👏 pic.twitter.com/ngC3vMUweP
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) August 13, 2021
Mamardashvili was promoted permanently to the first-team squad after those heroics, his initial loan made permanent for just €800,000 (£680,000; $870,000), and although he had to bide his time when senior options returned, he has since made the No 1 spot his own.
For a young goalkeeper flung straight into the deep end, the moments of quality far outweighed the tougher days in his first season. There was a 3-1 defeat to Sevilla, flummoxed early on by an awkward bouncing ball, and a 4-1 thrashing by Barcelona.
But for every sobering performance, there was a match-saving one — none more spectacular than in a goalless draw at Athletic Bilbao, featuring two saves for which he’s quickly become renowned. First, sticking out a leg and making himself as big as possible to deny Inaki Williams in a one-on-one, and then a sprawling, last-gasp stop to keep his team in the game.
That was the display that elevated Mamardashvili to undisputed starter, one of just three players to play every minute of the following La Liga campaign. His stock rose as Valencia’s plummeted, stepping up to make 105 saves as Los Che found themselves sliding towards the bottom three.
Combining his two-metre frame with those instinctive reflexes, Mamardashvili can look unbeatable on his day, frustrating Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad and Real Madrid at various points throughout the year.
That height also allows him to be authoritative and decisive from crossing situations, another crucial skill that helped him close out nervy games in a relegation fight.
“He is an excellent communicator, comes for crosses and is extremely hard-working in training,” national team coach David Webb told The Athletic, while scout Mikha Gabechava outlined to Anfield Watch how his “leadership, communication and presence” breathes confidence into the defensive line.
As the below graphic illustrates, he has been able to command his six-yard box since the start of 2022-23, dealing with 92 per cent of crosses flung his way. Only Cadiz’s Conan Ledesma has claimed more in that time, with a tendency to punch at the near-post.
Valencia survived a nail-biting La Liga finale, and while Mamardashvili had little to do on the final day, it was his save to deny Federico Valverde at Mestalla weeks before, quickly followed by a spectacular stop to keep out Toni Kroos’ free-kick, that kept the team above the safety line with the finishing line in sight.
The sheer speed of his reaction aside, this was another “clutch” moment to add to a rapidly growing collection.
An unbelievable save! 🧤
Giorgi Mamardashvili helps keep Valencia ahead with some of the best reflexes you are likely to see 😱 pic.twitter.com/kcgci67UmZ
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) May 21, 2023
The most recent season is where things really took off, with Mamardashvili’s performances shining through the data.
Using expected goals on target (xGOT), a metric that calculates a shot’s quality based on its placement within the goal and shot angle, we can estimate how many goals the average goalkeeper is expected to concede based on the shots that they face. Comparing that with their actual concession can indicate how they have performed in their shot-stopping role.
As the table below indicates, no ’keeper came close to matching Mamardashvili’s numbers: he was modelled to have prevented over 11 goals throughout the season. Only Jan Oblak has bettered that in a single La Liga season since such data collection began.
Things only got better at the European Championship, where the 23-year-old was key to his country’s historic run to the last 16.
Making an astonishing 11 saves against the Czech Republic, Mamardashvili’s tournament was littered with big moments. This stop from a vicious Hakan Calhanoglu free-kick, swatting a ferocious drive away with a strong right arm, was reminiscent of Manuel Neuer, and underlined growing authority.
A courageous underdog, Mamardashvili would face a different challenge at Liverpool, with plenty of additional responsibility with the ball at his feet.
It is not an area of his game that has particularly stood out throughout his development, with scurries outside of his penalty area usually undertaken out of necessity rather than a desire to bait the opposition forward.
Under pressure and with the ball coming towards him, Mamardashvili will often go long. There were a few notable miscues at the Euros, while he lost possession more times than any other keeper in La Liga last season, mostly with first-time clearances out of defence.
As we can see from his distribution map, most goal kicks would reach the opposition half – 17 of them finding striker Hugo Duro – while open-play passes see a more even spread of simple short passes and long-ball attempts.
Still a young player, there is plenty of time to work on his distribution, and there are signs that things have improved from his first season on the big stage. Gennaro Gattuso, his Valencia manager in 2022-23, demanded more composure from him, and Mamardashvili generally got the job done.
With an eye to eventually replace Alisson, he has already shown that he can do the hard part. Match-winning, logic-defying saves are as integral to Mamardashvili’s game as they are to the man who has dominated the Premier League’s shot-stopping tables for the last six years.
Moving early on a profile like Mamardashvili’s suggests that Liverpool have their goalkeeping plan in shape.
(Top photo: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images)
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