how Georgia, coached by Frenchman Willy Sagnol, managed to be among the best teams on the continent

Covered with praise after the first qualification of the Caucasians for the Euro, the former coach of the Bleus Espoirs above all benefited from the unfailing support of a very invested Federation.

Georgia is waking up at the highest level. The selection will play its first international competition since independence obtained in 1990. Led by the Frenchman WIlly Sagnol since 2021, the Crusaders will experience a moment of history, Tuesday June 18, against Turkey, by playing their first match in a major tournament, after a tight qualification in the play-offs against Greece (0-0, 4-2 tab).

“The players all told me that they wouldn’t go to Germany for tourism: that’s good, I already know”asserted Willy Sagnol, former Bayern Munich player, in an interview with The Team, on March 28. “Continuing to celebrate this qualification is no longer the right thing to do, we are here to play, to fight until the end. We want to show that we deserve to be here.”assured captain Guram Kashia at a press conference.

The only neophyte of Euro 2024, Georgia is a little thumb in Group F, alongside Portugal, the Czech Republic and Turkey. But his qualification journey bears the mark of his coach: humble and resilient, after the disillusionment of the Euro 2021 play-offs, ended with a surprise defeat against North Macedonia in Tbilisi (0-1).

“He is the hero of Georgia”, said Nikolo Kvekveskiri about Willy Sagnol, after a friendly match against North Macedonia on June 9. A qualifier that the person concerned refuses, preferring to highlight a collective success: “We should consider this victory as a reward for this Federation, estimated the 2006 world vice-champion in an interview given to the UEFA website. She tries to help young people progress. I hope that participation in the Euro will provide the Federation and the Georgian nation with experience that will push us to achieve new feats in the future.”

The former coach of the Girondins de Bordeaux is aware that if this country of 3.7 million inhabitants, better known for its rugby, has climbed among the 24 best European selections, it owes it above all to the long-term work of the Georgian Football Federation (GFF).

An investment illustrated by the creation of a National Academy in 2014 and which quickly translates into a number of licensees more than doubled, going from 14,676 in 2015 to 37,600 in 2021. The result is the recent emergence of some of the largest talents from the history of the country, like Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Naples), hero of the Neapolitan title in 2023, elected best player in Serie A and 17th for the Golden Ball the same year.

“The Federation put some interesting things in place several years ago on infrastructure and academies. At one point, there weren’t even stadiums for kids to play.”

Willy Sagnol, Georgia coach,

at FIFA.com

The reward for this in-depth work first came with a first participation in the Euro Espoirs in 2023, co-organized with Romania, and an epic ending in the quarter-finals. Five players from this U21 team are traveling to Germany this summer, including Bordelais Zuriko Davitashvili and goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia), among the best in the Spanish championship.

Talents on which Willy Sagnol knows how to rely: despite a minimalist game, Georgia finished undefeated in Nations League C to reach the Euro play-offs, before validating their ticket by dismissing Kazakhstan (2-0) then Greece (0-0, 4-2 tab). Of the teams qualified for Euro 2024, Georgia is the one which scored the least during the qualifiers (1.4 goals per match) and held the ball the least (43.4% possession), but also the one whose goalkeeper , Giorgi Mamardashvili, was the most decisive (34 saves).

A pragmatism assumed by Willy Sagnol: “The players have progressed but some play in Poland, in Greek L2 or in Cyprus and we must be realistic about our ambitions in the gamehe confided to The Team. We have a team of hard-working warriors, capable of controlling the game against certain teams, but not against Spain or Portugal.” The solid three-way Caucasian defense is led by captain Guram Kashia, record holder for selections (112), and the offensive sector is well endowed with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, but also the Franco-Georgian Georges Mikautadze (Metz) or the talented Giorgi Chakvetadze (Watford ).

Even more than these few individuals, Willy Sagnol was able to count on the great confidence of the Georgian Federation after a very delicate start (seven defeats in nine matches). The one who, by his own admission, would have “was able to move on to more lenient and more visible projects”praised this mutual trust precisely on the evening of his greatest accomplishment as a coach, after the qualification against Greece: “In football, you can’t change everything in one month or six months. You always need time.”