Between the Eurocup, the America's Cup and the Olympic Games, Bordalás has made a first part of the preseason with few troops under his command. However, there is a position in which from day one he has been able to evaluate his players and where in fact all of them await a decision throughout the weeks: The goal.
Jasper Cillessen, Jaume Doménech, Cristian Rivero and Giorgi Mamardashvili They have been competing since the first minute of the preseason to get a hole under the sticks. Each one looks at their stay at Valencia in one way and waits
On the one hand there is Cillessen, Bordalás goalkeeper. The Alicante native was clear from day one that in the absence of offers that would really bring real benefits to the club, he wanted the dutch to be his goalkeeper. So he let a Jasper know that at the beginning of summer he looked at his future at the club in an uncertain way and doubted whether to leave, but that communication with Bordalás gave him the confidence he needed, especially after not being called up for the Eurocup.
With the apparently defined ownership there are three goalkeepers who oppose the Dutchman's position. The young Cristian Rivero is one of them, who after its renewal until 2024 I was hoping to seek a loan to compete. It was not so, however, because from the club they told him that they had him for the goal in this campaign to fight for the title or be the second goalkeeper. At 23 years old, Rivero needs minutes and compete to accumulate experience in your gloves. His first appearances as they liked, the reports about him are outstanding (he was in Luis de la Fuente's pools) and this preseason is key for him depending on what Bordalás decides.
On the other hand he is always willing Jaume Doménech. The one from Almenara faces his seventh season in the first team and despite the rumors He is clear that he is not going to move from the club. Although he is aware that the competition has multiplied with Rivero and Mamardashvili, the one from Almenara has decided to stay and in fact no one from the club has communicated anything different to him. With two, three or four teammates for the goal, the '1' who will fight for minutes as he has been doing since 2016 and where, in fact, he has always ended up playing, so he rules out his departure.
And finally there is a surprising Giorgi Mamardashvili. It was known about him that it had been a market opportunity well captured by the sports management che, however the first sensations he has left in training have surprised even some of his teammates for the solidity it has shown under the sticks. The Georgian feels fully integrated and after 12 days as a black and white he assumes that his role will be to play a priori with the subsidiary but sees the opportunity to fight for minutes in the first team. So much so, that the dilemma of the three goalkeepers has become one of four.