The Goalkeeper: Soccer’s Last Line of Defence

There are actually two kinds of defence a team can employ in a soccer match. The first are the defending midfielders on the middle of the field and the second is the 4-man defending group right at the back. With their ability to compress the space and converge on where the ball is, you can be sure of a pretty dependable line of defence.

However, they can easily be penetrated with a really skilled striker or offensive midfielder. If all else fails, the last line of defence falls on one man only: the goalkeeper.

Role

A goalkeeper is given the chance of directly defending the goal and preventing opposing strikers from getting the ball through. Thus, they are located directly in front of the goal around the penalty area. Goalkeepers will assume a wide stance with arms outstretched and palms facing out, ready to catch any ball with their hands or body the moment an opposing striker makes a shot. Wikipedia have a nice, short little bit on the Goalkeeper which is worth a read.

When the opposing team is on the offense, it is the job of the goalkeeper to leap in front of the goal as the striker shoots to save it or knock the ball out of its intended trajectory. Most coaches prefer large men for goal keepers as they can take up a larger area of the goal to defend. Coaches even prefer older goalkeepers as they tend to be more knowledgeable about deflecting all kinds of striking techniques than younger ones.

Techniques

There are a lot of techniques a keeper can employ to catch a ball as it flies through the goal. If the shot is flying overhead, they can employ a diamond catch which is simply raising their arms over their head and in front of the body to catch the ball.

If the shot is directly aimed at the keeper, they can use the chest catch wherein they surround a ball with their arms and trap it in their chest. For low-rolling balls, a scoop catch will be the most effective technique.

For more advanced shooting techniques like a corner shot or curl, a goalkeeper will have to rely on other defensive moves. The first one is the dive wherein they literally pounce right in front of the ball, all limbs outstretched, in the hopes of catching it with any part of their body. Crosses, high jumps coupled with a diamond catch, are also effective in countering an over-head corner shot but a goalkeeper has to make sure that their timing is right to properly catch a ball.

Requirements

In order to be a good goalkeeper, you must be of considerable size and weight. This allows you to cover a considerable portion of the goal and be light enough to leap to catch and deflect shots. Goalkeepers should also possess endurance in order to absorb the impact of a shot for more than once in a match.

Finally, a person should posses the ability to read a striker’s movements and predict their shots right before they make it. That way, they can instantly counter the shot with the right block and prevent the team from scoring.