A campaign to get him out of the country and a difficult childhood marked by dyslexia: the complex story of the Georgian captain

Guram Kashia, the leader of one of the surprises of Euro 2024, has a difficult and long journey behind him. He was even asked to leave the national team even though he was a historic player, although his childhood was not easy either: “When I was little, I was called stupid and uneducated; I had a lot of complexes,” he says.

Georgia has a date with history . The Black Sea countries, as an independent country, are participating in their first continental competition. This Sunday, They will be looking to succeed and beat Spain to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Euro 2024 .

The squad led by Willy Sagnol has some remarkable figures. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia He is the big star and occupies all the stars. He is also Georges Mikautadze current tournament scorer, with three goals; and Giorgi Mamardashvili the most outstanding goalkeeper in the championship.

Behind them is a combative and collaborative team. They are all led by Captain Guram Kashia . The center is historic, because He is the one with the most appearances in the history of the national team. with 113 games. This Sunday, against Spain, there will be 114.

A story of struggle

Kashia is a leader on and off the field . His defensive ability was essential in the low block that the former World Cup player posed with France as they reached the round of 16 in their first appearance at a European Championship. The defender He is the second player in the competition to make the most clearances (25) and the third to make the most blocked shots (8).

However, he also has influence off the field of play. He is a strong advocate for the rights of the gay community, which has landed him in trouble at home. On October 15, 2017, as captain of the Dutch team Vitesse, he decided to use a rainbow-colored genet, which drew criticism.

In Georgia, one of the most conservative countries in Eastern Europe and where this group is most persecuted, he attacked them. Critics made him close his social networks. This deepened to the point that the Georgian March organization (MG) demanded that the central defender be expelled from the team.

The former president of the country, Georgy Marguelashvili defended himself: “The campaign against Kashia is unacceptable. Everyone has the right to express themselves. We must respect the rights and freedoms of people », he noted at the time.

UEFA rewarded his actions and paid tribute to him. In detail, was the winner of the first edition of the Equal Game award, created to “champion diversity, inclusion and equality in football”.

Complex childhood

Kashia’s story doesn’t end there. The Georgian captain shaped his personality from a very young age. He defines his childhood as “complex”, since he suffers from dyslexia and only discovered it as an adult.

I am dyslexic. Throughout my childhood I thought I was weird and uneducated. All the teachers told me that ” he began by telling as part of the Away Meeting project.

I couldn’t read out loud, the letters were jumbled. I read something, I think that’s it but I leave things out. All my childhood I grew up with the idea that I was bad at reading. If the teacher asked me to read something, I couldn’t. So he told me, ‘Sit down, you stupid, uneducated “he added.

The centre-back detailed how he discovered his condition: “I had a brutal complex throughout my childhood. Until I went to Holland and started learning English. The teacher told me to go get tested for dyslexia. I didn’t even know what that word meant. I went and passed the tests “, he indicated.

In this sense, Kashia claims that “14% of the Georgian population suffers from dyslexia.” He is also frank about the future he could have had: “If I hadn’t been a professional athlete, I wouldn’t have known I was dyslexic for the rest of my life. “, he stated.

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Source: Latercera

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