Be Aggresive In Your One To One?
In a recent trial game between Newcastle United and Juventus, Sam Allardyce slammed Gianluigi Bufffon for his one to one with striker Andy Caroll. The Magpies' boss called it 'common assault', Claudio Ranieri claims that Buffon is a 'gentleman'. I don't understand the fuss that Allardyce is kicking up? The one on one situation is ultimately do or die. Goalkeepers must throw in 150% effort, concentration and pure energy to combat any attack during a one to one. Following are some tips in regards to smashing the attack during a one to one:
Be Big: The more you can cut out the angle of your opposing player...the better your chance of shutting out any attack in a one to one situation. Being a visual deterrent and narrowing the angle of the attacking player is vital. Peter Schmeichel used to use a brilliant tactic. Having grown up as a handball goalkeeper, he would use his massive frame with a technique I call the "Star Dive". The star dive is where you run out, cut off the angle, make yourself big and launch forward with arms and legs splayed out like a star. If you saw Schmeichel do this, you'd notice how effective he was at curbing a one to one situation...scary stuff for any attacker indeed!
Attack At The Feet: Every goalkeeper is different. Some stop at a certain point when rushing out to meet their opposing player, others continue all out until they meet their attacker. I used to love utilizing my speed and timing over a short distance to attack the player while the ball was at his feet, head down, ready to take his shot. It takes a lot of practice and hard work, but is very effective. Attacking the feet means that you dive out and trap the ball at the attackers feet with your hands. End game for any attacker...but, very hard to accomplish!
Never Stop: Above it was mentioned that some players stop at a certain point. The key to an effective one to one is momentum. With momentum you have great power, quickly shut off any angle and mentally close off any attackers chance of a clear shot on goal. The other key benefit of utilizing the power of momentum is that you have the speed to meet an attacker at a point when they are ready to take their shot, which is the best moment to foil any attack.
So Sam...how about you chill out on our Gigi? The one to one is an extremely high contact situation (depending on the goalkeeper), and Buffon did well to prohibit the Newcastle attack with an albeit physical encounter. Buffon is definitely not the type of player to blatantly take out another player for the sake of malice. Overall, every goalkeeper should learn to be aggressive in their attack. Yeah it sounds a little crazy, but this is the what a goalkeeper is built for.
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John Stevanja
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Reader Comments (9)
John,
What level have/do you play at? Your points are excellent, you seem to have the tactics of 1 on 1's down. I am asking because I just took a colegiate goalkeeper coach Job. While I have run college training sessions as a player I have never assumed the resposibility of a coach at any level higher than High-school. I was wondering if you had any Conditioning or drills you could send to me. I have a lot to work with but I feel like the more input I have on training sessions the better my keepers will be. I have attached my e-mail to this message.
Thanks
Josh O.
I played at a national level...not the socceroos. I represented my state at schoolboy level, plus I played and trained in Europe as a teenager.
We have a free 10 week goalkeeping report that you can sign up for. We also have The G-Code which is an e-book for goalkeeping fitness. Maybe you want to check this out a little further.
Here's what i usually do:
Depending on the possition of the striker (coming straight at me, feom the left wing/right wing) varies the time i charge out to close the gap. Also i look for any heavy touches that give me the advantage to chase out when the balls furthest away from the striker!
When i make my run, its usually after the striker entered into the last 3rd of the pitch, run at him and stop (but stay on my toes) when he's about 2-3 arms lengths away (So he doesnt run past me and leave me in "no mans land") Then (from what my coach told me that always sticks in my head) i Dont act, i just react!
Also, keep an eye on the flight of the ball when it comes to a 1on1, cos if its a long ball, and the ball is bouncing in front of the striker, coming out too late, can leave you just getting chipped over your head!
That is awesome advice, especially where you attack the goalkeeper when the ball is furthest away from them. It takes much speed and agility, but if you have that locked down, it is a very powerful tool.