Odysseas Vlachodimos Wins LaLiga's Best Save of February Award
Sevilla's on-loan Newcastle keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos has won LaLiga's Best Save award for February after a stunning stop against Girona.
Odysseas Vlachodimos is having himself a proper season at Sevilla — and LaLiga has taken notice, handing the Greek goalkeeper the Best Save of the Month award for February.
The Save That Did It
The winning moment came in matchday 23 against Girona, a game that ended 1-1 at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. Vlachodimos turned in a brilliant all-round display that afternoon, but the cherry on top was a penalty stop from Cristhian Stuani right at the death. The specific save that clinched him the award, though, was his stop from Viktor Tsygankov — a moment that kept Sevilla in the game when they needed it most.
It’s the sort of stuff that gets the Nervión faithful off their seats, and rightly so.
Back-to-Back Nominations
This isn’t the first time Odysseas has been in the conversation, either. He was nominated for January’s award too, after a stop against Ilaix Moriba, but that one went to Joan García. This time round, he came out on top of the vote ahead of David Soria and Sergio Herrera — two very decent keepers in their own right, so fair play to him.
His Season by the Numbers
For a fella in his first season in Spanish football, the stats are well impressive:
- 21 league appearances, plus one in the Copa del Rey
- Most starts of any Sevilla player this campaign
- 4 clean sheets — against Rayo Vallecano, Osasuna, Oviedo, and Getafe
- 66 saves in the league, loads of them at crucial moments
He’s basically been Sevilla’s most consistent performer all season, which tells you a lot given the club’s well-documented struggles to find their footing this term.
The Elephant in the Room
Here’s the thing that’s going to cause a few headaches in the Sevilla boardroom — Vlachodimos is on loan from Newcastle with no purchase option. He’s not theirs to keep, at least not automatically.
But he’s clearly nicked the hearts of the Sevillistas, and the club are reportedly going to try and find a way to hold onto him next season. Whether Newcastle play ball is another matter entirely, but you’d imagine Sevilla will have a proper go at sorting something out.
For now, though, the Greek shot-stopper is just getting on with it — making saves, winning awards, and quietly becoming one of the best keepers in LaLiga this season. Not bad for a new boy.