KV Oostende forward David Atanga has come to the defense of Lawrence Ati-Zigi amidst ongoing criticism of the St. Gallen goalkeeper.
Ati-Zigi, who has faced scrutiny for his performances with the Ghana national team, has the support of Atanga, who insists his former teammate is a talented goalkeeper deserving of more respect.
Atanga urges fans not to judge Ati-Zigi solely on statistics, which he believes don’t accurately reflect the goalkeeper’s true abilities and contributions. Speaking to Mothers FM, Atanga said, “Ati-Zigi has received a lot of criticism from some football fanatics.
He has been labelled as a subpar goalkeeper by many. Truth be told, Ati-Zigi is not a bad goalkeeper. Even the greatest goalkeepers in the world, including Manuel Neuer, have bad days and make mistakes from time to time.”
He continued, “I urge anyone who thinks he is not a good goalkeeper to monitor him at his club, and after watching him, you can decide whether he is good or bad. We shouldn’t only base our judgment on statistics.”
Atanga highlighted the importance of considering the context of a goalkeeper’s performance: “A goalkeeper can concede goals during a game but still make a lot of saves. We played together at Salzburg, and he was nearly turned into an outfield player.
Ati-Zigi is a very good goalkeeper; there is just a lot of pressure when playing for Ghana. In our last two games against Mali and the Central African Republic, our defenders underperformed, and the goalkeeper was blamed.”
Ati-Zigi has been Ghana’s first choice since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, briefly losing his spot to Richard Ofori during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, but has since reclaimed his position. Atanga’s comments aim to provide a more balanced view of Ati-Zigi’s abilities and the challenges he faces, calling for greater support and understanding from fans.
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