Arda Guler: Choir boy look, thundering foot and the hearts of Ancelotti, Montella and Turkey

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Giorgi Mamardashvili kicked the free kick away. As he did so, his Georgian teammates ran over to celebrate as if he had scored. His compatriots in the press stand at the Westfalenstadion turned to their colleagues, grabbed their arms and said: “The best in the world. The best goalkeeper in the world.”

Mamardashvili was the hero as Georgia qualified for a European Championship for the first time since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. When the 23-year-old goalkeeper flew to the left and saved Tasos Bakasetas’ penalty in the play-off against Greece, he also flew his country to Dortmund.

The stop he made on Hakan Calhanoglu was not random either. The Turkish captain made a name for himself ten years ago by firing a free kick from forty meters past Borussia Dortmund for Hamburg.

On Tuesday, Mamardashvili denied Calhanoglu to keep the score at 1-1. Only special goals escaped Valencia’s number 1. Mert Muldur’s supernatural opener deserved its own X-File. When Mamardashvili’s goalkeeping coach Davit Gvaramadze studies the tape, he will undoubtedly classify it under unexplained phenomena; a unique sighting from a Fenerbahce full-back known more for his pace 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 Mert Müldür and Turkey’s tournament so far? 🚀🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/DLNUpkIMiO

— FOX Football (@FOXSoccer) June 18, 2024

Unfortunately for Mamardashvili, another alien appeared half an hour after Georgia’s first point in this competition. Arda Guler looked like a child who had come to watch the match in full gear. His taciturn physique and choir boy look contrasted with the grown men around him. But his presence in the game was out of proportion to his size and 19 years of age.

Nominally on the right side of the Turkish attack, Guler played a role the half spaces. He lets Muldur or the very eager Baris Yilmaz provide the width on that flank. He came up short and showed the ball, taking over playing responsibilities from Calhanoglu, his captain. Some of Turkey’s first chances came from its corner kicks. Kenan Yildiz’s disallowed goal was a tap to the far post after one of his pullbacks. Dribbler Guler only pushed the ball away once and even came back halfway through the first half to stop dribbler Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

It is creditable that he left last season’s Serie A MVP behind. He also defeated Mamardashvili.

Guler has drawn comparisons to 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 graceful figure lies a shooting power that Ozil never possessed – a trait he demonstrated when he rifled Turkey’s go-ahead goal from 30 yards past Mamardashvili hoarse. .

Guler lets fly with a thumping shot… (Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)

…that flies into the back of the net (Matteo Ciabelli / DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

The goal made Guler the first teenager to score in a European Championship since Cristiano Ronaldo 20 years ago. “Personal achievements don’t interest me,” said Guler, sitting next to Vincenzo Montella at the post-match press conference and looking every bit like the teacher’s pet. Montella, with his raven hair combed back in the style of Pier Paolo Pasolini, had pulled Guler back ten minutes before the end and hugged him as he received a standing ovation from a boisterous crowd. It felt like all 23,000 Turkish residents of Dortmund were singing his name.

Jose Mourinho wishes Guler was still a Fenerbahçe player. Instead, the coach who texted him after the match, Guler revealed, was Carlo Ancelotti.

“Mr Ancelotti motivates me a lot,” he said. The head coach of Real Madrid also tried to bring the shy-looking Guler out of his shell. “I would like 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 said admiringly: ‘Hola Madridistas. We are family. Gracias por todos!”

They hadn’t seen him much until then. As soon as he arrived from Istanbul, he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

“He started the season with an injury that lingered,” Montella said. “He played little until the end of March.” But once he did… Guler finished the season with six La Liga goals in ten games, as Madrid also won the league title. He hit the woodwork from just inside the Osasuna half in one of his first games back from injury.

Güler’s relative ability to start confirmed his decision not to go on loan immediately after joining Madrid. Instead of taking an intermediate step, as Takefusa Kubo and Martin Odegaard had done in the past at Real Sociedad, he already felt ready to take on the likes of Vinicius Junior, Rodrigo, Jude Bellingham, Brahim Diaz and Luka Modric.

“The euro is an opportunity for him to show his worth,” Montella said. “He will start in the best possible condition mentally after winning the Champions League and La Liga.”

The matchday in Dortmund also happened to be the coach’s 50th birthday. “I have already received a wonderful gift,” Montella said, gesturing to Guler. “The perfect gift, the best I could get.” If the Italian manages to utilize more of Guler’s potential this summer, Turkey can go far.

(Top photo: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)