Georgia at the European Championship: The team that every tournament needs

Right now, the whole of Europe is watching the Georgians perform their own legend on the biggest stage in the world, the football pitch. The legend goes that when God distributed the land of the earth, the Georgians came too late. God had nothing left for them. But then he liked the Georgians and compensated them with a little piece of paradise – a country that has everything, sun, beach, citrus fruit and wine, mountains and snow and wonderful food.

When the places for the European Championship were awarded in the qualification round, there was nothing left for Georgia: they only finished fourth behind Spain, Scotland and Norway. But there was a small consolation: the play-offs of the UEFA Nations League. There they beat Greece on penalties, where the football gods are at their strongest. That alone must have felt like a piece of paradise for the country that had never played in a European Championship before. Now they have made it to the round of 16.

The Georgian national team is what every tournament needs in order to avoid becoming stuck in predictability and to throw the predictions into disarray: an outsider that all the experts think has no chance and that proves the opposite to everyone else. They were not just given the round of 16 as a gift from God, they fought, ran and countered their way to it. They lost their first European Championship match against Turkey, but it was one of the best in the preliminary round. The fact that the Turks were so upset at the end about this planned victory was mainly due to the Georgians, who put up a rousing fight.

The astonishment leads to the strangest compliments

The Georgian goalkeeper Mamardashwili showed an outstanding performance there, as he did a few days later against the Czechs: three impressive saves within a few seconds; one with his foot like a handball goalkeeper, one with a long body and outstretched fingertips, and finally he punched the ball away from the lurking Czech strikers. The amazement at him leads to the strangest compliments: “1.99 meters tall and as fast on the ground as a two-year-old,” a TV reporter praised him after one of his saves against the Czechs. “Only 23, but radiates the experience of 20 years in the district league,” said one of my colleagues approvingly.

And of course all the numbers are now being unpacked to make the miracle seem even more miraculous: that Georgia has as few inhabitants as Berlin. That coach Willy Sagnol only earns 200,000 euros. (Julian Nagelsmann gets 24 times as much.) Or that the market value of the team without the two biggest stars (Mamardashwili and Kvaratskhelia, together 115 million) is less than 50 million euros.

© ZEIT ONLINE

Newsletter

Finally Monday

How do we want to work? What will we do if there is a shortage of millions of skilled workers? And are younger people really as lazy as some older people claim? In our newsletter we answer important questions about the world of work.

By registering, you acknowledge the privacy policy.

Thank you! We have sent you an email.

Check your mailbox and confirm your newsletter subscription.

The miracle began with a defeat. The Georgians had already come close to their dream of their first tournament before the 2021 European Championship. But they lost the decisive game in the Nations League play-offs against North Macedonia in their own stadium. A traumatic experience after which the old coach was sacked and a new one hired: the Frenchman Willy Sagnol, who proved with an average score of 1.62 that he was a suitable choice not only because of his first name.

Spain is perhaps the best thing that could have happened to them

Sagnol has been working with a group of young and talented Georgian footballers for over three years now, including the goalkeeper and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, also 23 years old. He inspires the fans of SSC Napoli so much that they have christened him Kvaradona. Then there is Georges Mikautadze, 24, who scored 13 goals in 19 games for FC Metz over the past six months and is now leading the scorers’ list with three goals at the European Championships. He scored two penalties for his country on the way to the round of 16. That sounds easier than it is, because the prospect of heroism can weigh heavily on you.

But the Georgians have decided to see it the other way round. They play with the certainty that they can no longer lose, because just taking part is a victory. Their country is traditionally known for wrestling and chess, and for football they seem to have brought the best qualities of both onto the field: strength, speed, endurance, intelligence. They make the best of what they have and are inspired by the most beautiful story that sport knows, and which carried Denmark in 1992 and Greece in 2004: the story of the hopelessly inferior little team that rears up and takes on the big guys.

Now they are up against the biggest and best of the group stage, the Spanish. And yet it is the best thing that could have happened to them. Because the Spanish have nothing to gain in this game, in which everyone expects them to advance. And the Georgians can no longer lose at this European Championship.

Last year, these teams played against each other twice in the European Championship qualifiers, the first game ended 1:7, the second 1:3. But maybe this time a lucky draw will be possible. And then… football gods, who knows!

Right now, the whole of Europe is watching the Georgians perform their own legend on the biggest stage in the world, the football pitch. The legend goes that when God distributed the land of the earth, the Georgians came too late. God had nothing left for them. But then he liked the Georgians and compensated them with a little piece of paradise – a country that has everything, sun, beach, citrus fruit and wine, mountains and snow and wonderful food.

When the places for the European Championship were awarded in the qualification round, there was nothing left for Georgia: they only finished fourth behind Spain, Scotland and Norway. But there was a small consolation: the play-offs of the UEFA Nations League. There they beat Greece on penalties, where the football gods are at their strongest. That alone must have felt like a piece of paradise for the country that had never played in a European Championship before. Now they have made it to the round of 16.