FIFA goalkeepers’ summit analyses latest trends(FIFA.com) 23 Oct 2014

The role and training of the modern goalkeeper in light of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ and its impact on FIFA’s goalkeeping coaching methodology was at the core of the three-day seminar that concluded today at the Home of FIFA in Zurich. The event was opened by FIFA President Blatter who hailed the outstanding goalkeeper performances at Brazil’s showpiece.
During the seminar 18 goalkeeper instructors from all six confederations joined theoretical and practical sessions in areas such as coaching methodology, fitness training and mental aspects of goalkeeping.
“The World Cup in Brazil showed a new style of goalkeeping embodied by Manuel Neuer,” said FIFA goalkeeping expert Alex Vencel, a former Czechoslovakia and Slovakia international. “We also saw some others such as Keylor Navas, David Ospina, Sergio Romero and Guillermo Ochoa who are great representatives of a new generation, who grew up having a full understanding of the goalkeeper as an outfield player. In terms of goalkeeping coaching there is a need to permanently update our methodology to ensure a global improvement in quality.”
Esteban Pogany, a former Independiente, San Lorenzo and Boca Juniors player and current goalkeeping coach of Argentina’s youth national teams, remarked: “In Brazil we have a new generation of goalkeepers with an attacking attitude.
“In Argentina we had the same with Amadeo Carrizo in the ’60s, Hugo Gatti and Ubaldo Fillol in the ’70s and ’80s, three outstanding goalkeepers who were also seen as full-field players. However, they were the exception to the rule. Nowadays, as seen at the World Cup, it’s common.”
The participants described the back-pass rule implemented after the 1990 FIFA World Cup as a turning-point in goalkeeping. “Now we are fully seeing the impact of such law change. A modern goalkeeper interacts far more with the feet than with the hands. Hence, goalkeeping coaching needs to integrate technical and tactical aspects of the standard field player coaching,” stated Patrick ‘Packie’ Bonner, goalkeeper of the Republic of Ireland from 1981 until 1996.
“If I compare my own experience as a goalkeeper of Costa Rica at the 1990 World Cup to Brazil 2014, I can say that there is a huge difference in terms of goalkeeping. The back-pass rule prompted the new generation of goalies to give a great deal of importance to their work with the feet as shown for instance by Keylor Navas in Brazil,” reflected Luis Gabelo Conejo, goalkeeping coach of Costa Rica’s national team.
Miguel Angel Espana, goalkeeper coach of Spain’s youth national team, also pointed out the emergence of a new goalkeeper prototype: “In the past there was the idea that tall goalkeepers were not skillful when it came to play with their feet and build-up attacks. This stereotype is now changing thanks to the good goalkeeping training done at club level.”
FIFA has scheduled 28 goalkeeper seminars in different countries during 2014.