When Manuel Neuer, then the goalkeeper at Bayern Munich got a new head coach in the form of Pep Guardiola the game would never be the same! Pep encouraged Neuer to play further up the field as a goalkeeper and actively participate in the team’s ball possession centric system. There’s actually a major benefit to having a ball playing goalkeeper when you’re trying to set up plays from the back to the front. Now, here’s the first issue that I have with the sweeper keeper label. There are goalkeepers that can be decent on the ball without too much pressure and help the team build plays from the back. That doesn’t mean though that they are going to be comfortable playing outside the box most of the time. Being ready to come out and intercept any through ball.
Neuer was both! He was the type of goalkeeper that you could entrust to build the team’s attacking plays from the back with timely passes from his goalkeeper spot. At the same time he was willing to regularly stand further up field than virtually any other goalkeeper in the world at that point. From that spot he would make timely runs just as any top defender would to intercept through balls. Even if he had to come out of the box considerably. For me that is a true sweeper keeper. Is this a type of goalkeeping that young goalkeepers should look to emulate? In my opinion not entirely. In fact, I wouldn’t say that we are in the sweeper keeper age. Are we in the ball playing goalkeeper age? Sure, but that’s completely different.
The Difference Between A Ball Playing Goalkeeper & A Sweeper Keeper
I feel it’s important to differentiate these two because they get mixed up a lot. As I mentioned, Neuer is perhaps the only goalkeeper who is both. At least at the highest level. In fact, in an article that’s been on the site for a while where I discussed Gianluigi Donarumma I made the argument that he was trying to become that full on sweeper keeper that Neuer was. Ultimately Donaruma has made some very high profile mistakes that have caused him dearly. Now he’s more of a ball playing goalkeeper. The main difference between these two types of goalkeepers is the spot on the field in which you may find them.
The best example that I can come up with is Marc Andre Ter Stegen. He’s perhaps one of the most talented goalkeepers on the ball that we have in the game today. Yet, in many respects he’s way more of a between the sticks keeper than he is a sweeper keeper. This is because although he can possess great ball control and technique he doesn’t tend to play so far up the field. There’s a big reason for this. Mainly it’s the fact that he doesn’t feel confident enough to be able to play further up the field. Even if it would seem that with his ball control skills he could certainly be a great sweeper keeper. Ball control skills though are not everything when it comes to being a good sweeper keeper.
Positioning Is The Key To Being A Good Sweeper Keeper
Everyone thinks that you have to be great with the ball at your feet to be a great sweeper keeper. While it obviously helps, don’t get me wrong, you can be ok with the ball at your feet and be a good sweeper keeper. In fact, you can be a good sweeper keeper and be a bad ball playing goalkeeper all warped into one. This is because the real key to being a good sweeper keeper is positioning, and speed. You need to be in a spot, usually further away from the goal line when compared to most goalkeepers. What you also need is timing. Knowing which loose balls you’re going to be able to get to in time and which you won’t be able to get to in time.
Another important element to a sweeper keeper’s game is footwork. What happens to a lot of goalkeepers that want to play further out onto the field is that they get chipped over in long shots and give up embarrassing goals. Even if you’re fully determined to play further out you have to remember that your first responsibility as a goalkeeper is to make sure that the ball doesn’t find the back of the net. To do that you always need to be aware of where you are on the field with relation to your goal. If a shot were taken from the current spot of the ball you need to have a plan with regard to how you’re going to run back towards goal and make the save. The only way to master this art is to practice, fail, and practice again on repeat!
Don’t Be Ashamed To Put The Ball Out Of Bounds
This is a piece of advice that I want to get across to all of the goalkeepers out there. It doesn’t matter if you are looking to be a keeper that likes to play with the ball more or not. Out of bounds is always going to be a preferable option when compared to in the back of the net. The problem with a lot of goalkeepers that want to risk playing more with the ball is that they become so enamored with their own play style that they feel it’s even insulting to them to kick the ball out of bounds. Higuita, and Campos went through these issues, Donaruma again has had some troubles with this. Zack Steffen is another one recently that went through this.
The last thing that you want to do is force a play. Think about it this way if you’re pressured by a striker and you juke him and all goes well what do you really gain? For the most part there’s not going to be a wide open through ball at the other side of that juke for you to play your forward onto goal. If you lose the ball it’s almost certainly a goal the other way. So if you find yourself under pressure, kick the ball out of bounds! That’s one of the reasons why you can be a good sweeper keeper, but ok on the ball. If you intercept through balls consistently and clear the danger that’s a win. A throw in is a better spot for you usually than a 1v1 in front of goal.
What’s The Key To Being A Good Ball Playing Goalkeeper?
A lot of coaches now feel like they are the second coming of Pep Guardiola, and they want to implement a passing, and ball possession play style within their squads. To be able to do that effectively, having a goalkeeper that can control the ball and make clean passes is certainly important. I said two words there though that were the key to everything. Control the ball and make clean passes. If you’re Messi on the ball, and you want to play goalkeeper more power to you. For the most part though, those of us who play in goal are not Messi on the ball. What you have to rely on is simple mechanics to control and pass the ball.
Another important element is being able to see the field and understand how the game is developing. Let’s say that you get a pass back on the right side of the goal. For starters, you want to leave the goal to receive the pass. You never want to call for the ball when you’re standing between the sticks because if you don’t control the pass it’s a goal. Usually when you get a pass from the right side that side is going to be crowded with players. The best thing you can do is look to switch the field making a pass to an open teammate. Those are just two or 3 motions that you have to master, and you’ll be a serviceable ball playing goalkeeper. Remember if you don’t have an open teammate or don’t feel comfortable on the ball the sideline is always your friend.
Does It Help To Kick The Ball Far?
Obviously yes! For example, I suggested that as a goalkeeper you can choose to switch the field as it is often called when you make a pass across to the other side of the field. It’s a two edged sword though if you try to do that, and you don’t have enough leg power. What can happen is that you’ll leave a flat ball in the middle of the field. If the leg strength is still not there at your age or your playing level, then go back to plan B. Kick the ball out of bounds and live to fight another day. Coming back to kicking the ball far though, it helps create options for you when you have the ball at your feet.
Technically you can be a ball playing goalkeeper who relies on short passing, and be a quite good one. That’s why I would make the argument that kicking far isn’t necessarily a must-have to be considered a good ball playing goalkeeper. The thing is, if you kick far what you’re going to have are options to choose from. You can take the short pass option you’re going to be able to switch or just simply kick the ball up field in any direction, and you’ll be getting it out of harm’s way. So obviously it does help, but just like you don’t have to be Messi on the ball to be effective you don’t have to be Ederson. You do, however, need to be smart with your ball placement. That’s going to be the real thing you want to work on plus kicking further.
Coach Wants Me To Be A Sweeper Keeper What Do I Do?
I really dislike it when coaches want to force goalkeepers to play in a specific spot. Ultimately though you’re going to have to adapt much like a player would to a new position. The good thing about being effective as a sweeper keeper that I hope this article shows is that there are few elements that you can tweak about your game to make the transition. Comfort-wise that can be a problem because if you’re more of a between the sticks keeper that’s what you’re going to gravitate to. However, if you’re forced to make this type of transition you know what you need to work on to be successful. I’m just going to go through the list again to help you make sense of the ordeal.
You need to find a spot on the field that you’re comfortable in as a starting spot. If you’re going to be a sweeper keeper your starting spot is going to be further up the field. You need to then learn to adapt your angles and the way you walk the goal to the new position. You can almost do choreography moves to get this. In that you’ll stand at your preferred starting spot, and then be forced to move according to where the ball is. The second part will be learning how to position yourself to run back towards that goal from that spot. This can take time because you do have to in a sense time your steps to get the feel for how many you need to take to reach the goal.
Practice With Through Balls, Long Range Shots, & Pass Backs
At the same time you need to get used to seeing which loose balls you’re going to be able to attack and when you should start falling back. There are plenty of creative drills that goalkeeper coaches can come up with to help you with. Ultimately it’s as simple as having someone standing with a ball that’s going to force you to quickly adjust to a new ball position, and have them play through balls or take long shots. Sooner rather than later you should be getting a feel for your new starting spot within goal.
As far as becoming a ball playing goalkeeper goes, that also comes down to practicing fundamentals. A lot of times as goalkeepers we get away from the very basic things that you need to know how to do as a soccer player. Control the ball, and pass the ball. Again, you can get this down with very simple drills. Ideally you’ll have a goal or markings to allow you to see where you would be if a goal was behind you.
That’s going to help you understand your positioning during a game. If you control a pass back then make a pass yourself to different targets for long enough you’ll get better. The key to everything is to rehearse it day in and day out so that when you get out on the field that position is second nature to you. You won’t feel afraid or awkward when playing too far up field. Which is the main reason why certain goalkeepers don’t do it. They feel confident enough to play like Neuer, and sometimes that lack of confidence comes from lack of practice