Yann Sommer is one of those goalkeepers that always seemed to end up on everyone’s underrated list. However, in the last World Cup without necessarily having an awesome tournament he caught the eye of quite a few people. With certain folks even going on to suggest that he would be the perfect candidate to replace Manuel Neuer at Bayern Munich after he broke his leg in a skiing accident. There are actually valid reasons to suggest that Yann Sommer is a good candidate to replace Neuer. He’s been one of the most consistent goalkeepers in the Bundesliga since joining Borussia Mönchengladbach from FC Basel in 2014.
There’s one minor detail though that to me makes him not the ideal replacement for Neuer. That’s the fact that he just turned 34 years old. We’ve seen older goalkeepers sign with big time clubs before. Edwin Van Der Sarr signed with Manchester United in his 30s, and had a ton of success at Old Trafford. However, with how dominant Bayern Munich have been it could make sense to try out a younger goalkeeper for the remainder of the season to see if he can take over for Neuer in the future. Instead of bringing on a 34-year-old known commodity. Even if bringing on Sommer could certainly help sure up that back line from now until Neuer gets back… if he gets back.
Speaking of Sommer being a known commodity since there’s a lot to go on because his career has been so extensive it can be fair to ask, How good is Yann Sommer? While perhaps also exploring why he never made that move to a bigger club earlier in his career.
Height Is The Elephant In The Room For Sommer
If we had to pick one reason why Yann Sommer perhaps never made the jump to a major club in his career, height is certainly the main issue that he had to deal with. Sommer stands at 6 feet tall or 183 cm. When you’re listed at 6 feet tall you’re probably not 6 feet tall, they’re rounding up for you. Right off the bat his height is traditionally too small to play for example in the Premier League. The only goalkeeper listed at or below that height in the Premier League is Spanish goalkeeper David Raya of Brentford. Who by the way at the time of writing leads the division in saves by a wide margin!
Even if there are a ton of things that you can do as a goalkeeper to make up for being a bit shorter there is a bias against shorter goalkeepers. Particularly in the Premier League, and that certainly hurt Sommer’s career. It’s not that he couldn’t play in other leagues like Serie A or La Liga, and he had decent Champions League showings with Basel. Actually the year after vowing out in the group stage of the Champions League with Basel he was signed by Borussia Mönchengladbach. I’d hate to come to a conclusion so early in the article, but Sommer’s height certainly limited his career prospects. It goes to show though that scouts really have a hard time evaluating goalkeepers. With Sommer they ignored his multitude of virtues just because he was a little on the short side. What are does virtues you ask?
A Textbook Example Of How To Be A Short Goalkeeper
If you’re a goalkeeper who is a bit on the short side even if you’re still waiting for the growth spurt this is the guy that you want to emulate. In fact if you model your game after this guy, and then you get that bump in height you could be unstoppable. Why do I say this? Sommer’s game is the clear example that goalkeeping is mostly about footwork. If you can keep your feet under you for as long as possible you’re going to have a better chance to reach even the hardest shots. Regardless of whether you’re 5 feet tall, 6 feet tall or 7 feet tall.
Penalty kicks have certainly made Yann Sommer famous but really what allows him to stay alive on penalty kicks are his quick feet, and his balance. That can apply to 99% of plays as a goalkeeper. In one of his most famous penalty kick saves he fakes like he’s going one way, but he’s able to fake plant and then dive the other way. Again that’s due to footwork, balance, and a ton of power in those legs to be able to dive without too much momentum. What I just described is the holy grail of goalkeeping. If you have that down, and your saving technique is decent with moderate catch abilities you can go real far in this business.
Why The Quick Feet Are So Important For Short Goalkeepers
I’ve spoken about this in other articles on the site already. The main reason why you want to keep your feet under you as a goalkeeper for as long as you can is because it’s going to allow you to get as close to the ball as you can before you have to make a determination on what you want to do. Let me explain how this applies to every play. If shot’s taken on goal from a considerable distance you want to take as many steps as you can towards the ball or where the ball is heading before you make the decision to dive. There are two reasons for this. Generally if you dive closer to the ball you’re more likely to make the save. Also, if the ball trajectory changes it’s going to be easier for you to adjust to those changes while you’re still on the ground.
When it comes to 1v1 plays and close range shots this is where Yann Sommer is really a master at work. What you want to do as a shorter goalkeeper is make sure that you are as close to the ball as you can be before the shooter takes his or her shot. Of course, you also want to make sure that you get as much of your body in front of the ball as you can. What you’re trying to do with that is cover up as much of the goal as possible to force the shooter to alter their shot or literally hit you and allow you to make the save. When Sommer comes off his line for a 1v1 or a close range shot he does this beautifully usually being up close to the shooter every single time.
Why Don’t We See More Goalkeepers With Sommer’s Quick Feet?
There are some examples of goalkeepers with quick feet. Keylor Navas is certainly a high flyer; he could’ve been a Mexican luchador if the goalkeeping thing didn’t work out (I know he’s from Costa Rica, and they don’t have as much lucha down there). He’s maybe not Sommer on the footwork side, but the explosiveness on those legs from close range is amazing. Neuer of all people has great footwork for his size, Ter Stegen is definitely up there on the list of goalkeepers with quick feet that keep themselves alive on every play for as long as possible. For the most part though we don’t see goalkeepers with Sommer’s quickness all that often anymore. There’s a simple reason behind this.
It’s just that goalkeepers are taller these days and taller goalkeepers tend to rely more on their natural length. A lot of times forgoing much of the quick footwork drills. Even if they do the drills they don’t apply the quick feet to their game. Many times it’s just because it’s more comfortable to sit back and know that you have natural arm length that gets you saves if you’re in the right spot. However, I would argue in a game you’re always changing your position in regard to the ball and a lot of times this happens really fast. If you have good footwork you can react much better whether you have that natural height or not. Ultimately it takes a lot out of you physically to be an active goalkeeper like Sommer and some of the guys that I mentioned. Most modern goalkeepers are content to sit back a bit more.
Yann Sommer Abilities That Can’t Really Be Taught
I could talk on and on about the footwork aspect in Yann Sommer’s game for days on end, but I do want to move on to his hand speed as well. He’s a lot like Memo Ochoa, Ter Stegen, and even Navas to where he’s able to make those saves at close range because he has some great hands that just seem to find the ball. Ironically a lot like Ochoa his ball security is not his top ability. A lot of times he deflects balls that other goalkeepers would be able to hold on to. If we’re being strict that flaw along with the height could also be blamed for the lack of that one big move in his career. However, from close range shots it’s magic what he’s doing.
The reason why I say that you can’t teach what he does is that these are reflex saves that a lot of times are just innate in some goalkeepers. It’s like the Spider Sense, literally you see the ball and you react to it, but you don’t think about that reaction. Maybe you can’t teach someone to have the reflex saving capabilities that Yann Sommer has, but of course this is a part of your game as a goalkeeper that you should be working on constantly. Close range shots, weird deflections. Goalkeeper coaches have gotten really creative with drills to force goalkeepers to react to short range deflections on shots.
To get better at reflex saves there’s no secret sauce it’s practice, practice, practice. Until you get to the point where your body is going to feel comfortable reacting to a deflection even if you have to bend yourself in any which way. What you’re doing in training is in a sense allowing your body to learn how to react to get the best result. That, and sometimes some luck gets you highlights like the ones that Yann Sommer has with impressive reaction saves.
So Is Yann Sommer Really That Good?
If Yann Sommer is really that good, why didn’t that major transfer come? Was it just the height? Talent wise a goalkeeper compared to the guys in his generation I would put Neuer head and shoulders above him even though they’ve had great duels in the Bundesliga. Just because Neuer at the peak of his powers was way more effective as a sweeper keeper, and he had the height advantage! On a side note for young goalkeepers who are a bit taller, and truly work on their footwork and their leg strength Neuer is the comp. That’s who you can strive to become. Other than that maybe Navas had a just bit better overall ball security. I do feel Navas can be his direct comparison as far as the type of goalkeeper.
Navas ended up at Real Madrid winning Champions League titles, and Sommer went to Borussia Mönchengladbach. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but talent wise Yann Sommer is vastly more talented than Iker Casillas. It’s not even close! Iker was incredibly consistent though throughout his whole career, and again Sommer’s sometimes been hot and cold. He’s the perfect bittersweet example that talent is not everything. Ultimately he wasn’t as “lucky” as some other goalkeepers with less talent that did get a chance to play in the clubs and shine in the brightest of lights like Casillas.
It was really cool to see that Yann Sommer got some recognition at the World Cup. Certainly long overdue, and as fate would have it he conceded 6 goals in what is likely his last World Cup game. That’s the life of a goalkeeper for you right there. Talent wise, up there with the best of them. He perhaps didn’t do too many things wrong throughout his career, but circumstances robbed us of an interesting goalkeeper who many of us would’ve loved to see in a more starring role.
