French striker Giroud selected as goalkeeper in the ‘Best 11’

Olivier Giroud (37, AC Milan), renowned for holding the record for the most goals in international matches for the French national soccer team, has been included in the 'Best 11' as a goalkeeper rather than his usual position as a striker.

On Monday, the Serie A secretariat in Italian professional soccer revealed the 'Best 11' for the 8th round of the 2023-2024 season, designating Giroud as the goalkeeper. Despite being in his late 30s this season, Giroud has scored four goals in seven league games. Last season, Giroud tied for 5th place in league scoring with 13 goals to his name. Notably, he boasts 125 appearances for the French national team, scoring 54 goals.

Among strikers, Giroud, known for his orthodox target-oriented striker style, unexpectedly found himself as the standout goalkeeper of the round due to his performance when he took over the goalkeeping duties for eight minutes during the Sunday match against Genoa. Giroud was subbed in as a forward in the 21st minute of the second half. The twist in the situation occurred when AC Milan's starting goalkeeper, Mike Maignan, received a red card in extra time during the second half while they were leading 1-0. Maignan was penalized for making contact with his knee against an opposing player who was in contention for the ball.

The issue arose when AC Milan had already exhausted all five of their allotted player substitution cards. As a result, AC Milan had no choice but to hand over Maignan's goalkeeper gloves and uniform top to Giroud. During the second half of the match, an additional 15 minutes of extra time were added, and Giroud found himself guarding the goal for 8 of those minutes. Remarkably, with just one minute remaining in the game, Giroud tightly closed his eyes and managed to block a crucial shot attempt by the opponent as they surged towards the goal.

"I believe they assigned me the goalkeeper role because I'm the tallest (193cm),” Giroud said after securing the victory with a one-goal lead. "Blocking the opposing team's scoring attempt was just as exhilarating for me as scoring a goal."


Bae-Jung Kim wanted@donga.com