Giroud, ‘Most goals in France A match’, transformed into GK → Serie A selected as ‘Team of the Week’
French striker Olivier Giroud (AC Milan) not only made his debut as a goalkeeper, but also had the rare experience of being selected as a goalkeeper in the league’s team of the week.
Global soccer media ‘GOAL’ reported on the 9th (Korean time), “AC Milan striker Olivier Giroud was selected as a goalkeeper, not a striker, in the Serie A Team of the Week after his heroic performance against Genoa.”
Milan won 1-0 in the away game against Genoa in the 8th round of the 2023/24 Serie A season held at the Comunale Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy on the 8th. With this win, Milan reached 21 points (7 wins, 1 loss) and took the lead in Serie A, overtaking Inter Milan (19 points, 6 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss).
In this day’s game, Milan won with American winger Christian Pulisic’s winning goal in the 42nd minute of the second half, and Giroud was able to overcome a critical crisis at the end of the second half to preserve the victory.
In the game that day, with Milan using all of their substitution cards, goalkeeper Mike Maignan pushed Genoa attacker Caleb Ekuban outside the penalty box with his body during extra time in the second half and received an immediate red card. Milan, who had exhausted all their replacement cards, eventually handed the goalkeeper’s gloves over to striker Giroud, who had to protect the goal until the end of the second half.
In situations where all replacement cards have been exhausted, it often happens that one of the field players takes on the role of goalkeeper instead due to injury or expulsion.
Tottenham Hotspur, who played against Greece’s Asteras Tripolis in the third match of the UEFA Europa League group stage in the 2014/15 season, was in crisis when the team’s goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was sent off in the 43rd minute of the second half. Coach Mauricio Pochettino, who had used all of his replacement cards, eventually made a ‘super strong move’ and appointed striker Harry Kane, who scored a hat trick in that game, as the goalkeeper.
Manchester City also ordered fullback Kyle Walker to wear goalkeeper gloves after Claudio Bravo, who played as a substitute due to Ederson’s injury, received a red card and was sent off in the away game against Atalanta in the 2019/20 Champions League group stage. Since he is not a professional goalkeeper, Walker had a few clumsy scenes during the game, but fortunately, the game ended with a scoreless score.토토사이트
Giroud, who had an unexpected debut as a goalkeeper, luckily overcame the crisis by hitting the goal post with the first Genoa free kick he faced. Afterwards, Giroud quickly advanced and threw his body to block the ball during Genoa’s attack in the penalty box, and Genoa lost the opportunity to attack. In the end, the game ended with the final whistle blowing, and Giroud kept the goal despite Maignan being sent off, giving the team three points.
When the game ended with Giroud’s save, the AC Milan team members all surrounded Giroud and cheered. AC Milan also expressed their gratitude for Giroud’s incredible dedication. According to the newspaper, AC Milan said in a statement, “Olivier Giroud went down in Milan’s history with his courageous defense.”
Giroud, the 2018 Russian World Cup champion and French striker who previously made a name for himself while playing for Arsenal and Chelsea, successfully completed his first goalkeeper role since his debut as a professional soccer player. Since it was his first time playing goalkeeper, he became a hot topic among fans by closing his eyes tightly during his save.
Giroud’s goalkeeper debut became a hot topic in Italy, and the Serie A secretariat showed good sense in selecting Giroud as the goalkeeper when announcing the ‘Team of the Week’ list through social media on the 9th. With this, Giroud not only achieved victory in his goalkeeping debut, but also had the rare experience of being included as a member of the Team of the Week.
Milan also went so far as to sell Giroud’s goalkeeper jersey, saying, “We decided to include Giroud in the goalkeeper list to recognize his hard work. Fans can also purchase goalkeeper jerseys with Giroud’s number and name engraved on them.”
The Giroud goalkeeper uniform released by Milan received a huge response. ‘Sempre Milan’, a media outlet specializing in AC Milan, announced the news of the ‘rare’ uniform being out of print, saying, “All sizes of the uniform were sold out in less than 24 hours.”
Giroud, who had an unexpected debut as a goalkeeper, has now joined the French national soccer team to complete the international schedule in October. France summoned 23 members of the national team, including Giroud, for the ‘Netherlands-Scotland’ two-game series.
Giroud, a 37-year-old veteran striker, is the player with the most goals in French soccer history, scoring 54 goals in 125 international matches wearing the uniform of the French national soccer team. Attention is being paid to whether Giroud will be able to increase his A-match scoring record during the second consecutive A-match match this October.
rockandrunbrewery.com