Giorgi Mamardashvili: Substance Over Style

Giorgi Mamardashvili is a brilliant shot-stopper but is he the right goalkeeper for Liverpool?

Liverpool’s former Director of Research Dr. Ian Graham has been doing the promotional circuit to generate interest in his new book, How to Win the Premier League: The Inside Story of Football’s Data Revolution. From what he has said, it sounds like many teams’ back offices still trail behind the Reds.

"Many clubs operate the way Liverpool did before 2012 and that is fine," he said to Sky Sports. It’s fine from Graham’s perspective, because: "You always need a sucker in the market. If everyone is using data brilliantly, I am out of a job, aren't I?"

There’s little to suggest every club is using statistics to any standard, at least when you look at some of the signings they make. While Graham and his data team worked with complex mathematical models, his comments on more simple matters should be heeded by clubs too.

One of the considerations Liverpool made which many clubs fail to is whether the potential signing plays in way which suits the team. Graham spoke to This Is Anfield about this with reference to Christian Benteke. Brendan Rodgers was “obsessed” with signing the big Belgian but the background staff were less enthused.

“Benteke was the epitome of that kind of misunderstanding of style,” Graham said. “Benteke in the right system, in a system that plays to his strengths, is a very effective striker. Our problem was Liverpool didn’t play that system.”

This notion immediately comes to mind when you compare the data of Alisson Becker and his long-term replacement, Giorgi Mamardashvili. The Georgian’s move to Liverpool for 2025/26 has today been confirmed subject to the usual work permit admin. He had one of the best shot-stopping seasons of the advanced data era in 2023/24, conceding 10.2 goals fewer than Opta expected.

There have only been 11 goalkeepers with wider positive margins in Europe’s top five leagues in the last seven seasons, per FBRef. Mamardashvili is undoubtedly elite in this regard but there is more to the role than saving shots, even if that takes priority.

As the above chart demonstrates, Mamardashvili does not venture outside of his penalty area to sweep up behind his defence too often. He also sends his goal kicks long, anathema to Arne Slot’s patient, possession-heavy build-up style.

Goalkeeper may be the position where stylistic differences matter least. Keep the ball out of the net and we’ll discuss the options later, to paraphrase Sir Bob.

It’s also essential to remember that football statistics are merely a record of what a player did, not what they can do. If Valencia manager Rubén Baraja instructs Mamardashvili to stick to his line and launch his passes, it doesn’t matter if the 23-year-old can dribble into the final third and play through-balls, he won’t do it.

Nonetheless, it’s interesting to ponder if Graham would approve of the signing of the Georgia international. Are there any goalkeepers out there who seem a better fit if we focus on a few vital statistics?

Since joining the Reds, Alisson has outperformed post-shot expected goals to the tune of 0.09 per 90 minutes in the league. He has averaged 2.09 defensive actions outside of his penalty area and launched - hit longer than 40 yards - 17.1 of his non-goal kick passes. The Brazilian has also claimed five per cent of opposition crosses, which is not a particularly high rate but is the benchmark for a Liverpool goalkeeper.

Using hi-tech visualisation software and AI, I’ve created a graphic which shows all of the goalkeepers who have played more than 17 minutes in the period since summer 2018 when Alisson joined Liverpool and meet the above requirements for this timeframe. See what you think.

Impressive, isn’t it?

If we look for top division ‘keepers who’ve hit all four marks in a single season among the last six, we find Alisson, Alisson and Guglielmo Vicario at Tottenham last term. As it’s a tactical choice, let’s assume anyone would be comfortable with a short passing game to increase our sample.

It doesn’t expand it by much. We get a couple of years of Emi Martinez, Nick Pope at Burnley, some guy called Simon Mignolet at Club Brugge in 2020/21, Las Palmas’ Álvaro Vallés last season and a few other goalkeepers with whom you’re likely unfamiliar. And remember, this is examples of single campaigns which meet our criteria, not the six year period which Alisson has delivered to Liverpool for what was a world record fee for his position.

Crucially, none of the men in question was as young as Mamardashvili is now. The Reds have shown the importance of securing a world class goalkeeper who can stay at that level for five to 10 years. There’s little point in replacing Alisson with a placeholder for a year or two.

And as the data has shown, you can’t truly replace him anyway. You certainly can’t recreate him in the aggregate. Let’s tweak our search slightly, by looking at goalkeepers who can match Becker for performance against xG and proportion of crosses stopped, and lower the sweeper-keeper bar to one defensive action outside the box per 90. With an eye on Mamardashvili, we’ll focus on his seasons in the big leagues - 2021/22 onward - and men with at least as many appearances (95). Here are the results, sorted by age.

Valencia’s 6’ 6” Georgian might not have quite displayed the style Liverpool needs but he has the substance. Richard Hughes and co. need to focus on that and discuss the options later.

Statistics correct up to August 23, 2024