by NathStPaul »
28 May 2021 08:46
6ft Kerplunk NathStPaul I did a very interesting module on penalty situations when I did my FA Level 2 goalkeeper course, there are methods that can be used to give yourself a much better chance of saving a penalty and all are quite basic.
Do you think penalty shoot outs require a different approach to a one off? You're never going to save a properly placed one so why not give yourself a split second more before moving. You're quite likely to get one badly hit/placed/straight down the middle out of the five that you can save by not moving until the ball is kicked.
I don't think the goalkeeper should approach things any differently, I think they are definitely different for the kick taker though as there is far more pressure.
The goalkeeper has to come up with a routine that they can do before the kick is taken, half the battle is won or lost before the penalty kick happens. You have to try and read the players body language, see how confident they are. Will they maintain eye contact with you? Are they distracted by the penalty spot not being to their liking? etc. Do you then have the time to make life difficult for the player? Can you have a drink? Do up a shoelace? The biggest thing you can do as a keeper is move, you have the power to move up and down the line and move your body parts. If you look at De Gea he stood still and if anything, made himself small in the goal. He made no effort to distract or stay big, he had absolutely no confidence at all and the opposition penalty takers would have seen this.
De Gea forgot that there is absolutely no pressure on him at all. The goalkeeper will not save a good penalty, the distance between the spot and the goal dictates that. You have to go into the shootout with that in your mind which in turn relaxes your body and makes it far less stiff and nerve ridden. I would suggest he needs to see a sports psychologist to install this thought into his mind, he has obviously been badly affected by his lack of penalty saving ability previously. If you go into it defeated you will be defeated.
There are also terrible technique issues when it comes to the attempted save. He firstly has never leanrt to read a run up which is likely a training thing from when he was a young player. It is reasonably easy to read a run up and body shape before the ball is struck provided the player does a standard run up. The attempted saves he was then trying to make were even worse, he flops instead of dives and even if he were to get a touch on the ball he wouldn't save it due to the lack of force behind his dive. His complete lack of confidence in himself is his downfall and maybe it is too late for him to change it now.