It’s really hard a lot of times to pinpoint what makes a particular player good or bad. Especially at some of the top levels where pretty much everyone who is there has at least a high volume of talent. With goalkeepers, there are certain characteristics or physical attributes that can certainly come in handy when playing the position. Yet, there cases like that of Kaylor Navas, goalkeeper for PSG wherein looking at him, you’d probably not guess that he’s one of the top goalkeepers in the world. That’s particularly why his case is certainly an interesting one. How is it that a man from San Isidro de El General, a small town in Costa Rica made it this far? Particularly without possessing what we would call a textbook goalkeeping style.
Quite a few years back now I saw Keylor Navas goalkeeper for Levante at the time almost single-handedly robbed Atlético de Madrid the La Liga title that season. He came out in one of the last games of the second part of the season like a man possessed. This was before the World Cup and Real Madrid. There was something in Navas that seemed to jump out of the page. That was literally the fact that he could jump from post to post without a care. At 34 some of the same skills still allow him to hold down his current place at PSG.
Keylor Navas Height
As I mentioned before one of the most remarkable things about Keylor Navas is that in many respects he is not someone who is going to wow you at first sight with his size. He is listed as being 1.85 meters or around 6ft in height. As I mentioned in my article on goalkeepers that are under 6 feet tall a lot of times you really can’t trust the official measurements. Although, for Keylor the official height does seem to be quite about right. In knowing that he is not the prototype tall goalkeeper though Keylor always seemed to put an extra effort into working on his agility. That’s what I would say his calling card is.
Is Keylor Navas The Most Agile Goalkeeper In The World Today?
As I mentioned watching Navas goalkeeper for Levante at the time, I recall seeing him run a drill in which the coach would literally take a tennis racket and launch tennis balls into the net and Keylor would have to save them. Using tennis balls for reaction and agility training in goalkeeper is nothing new. The power though that the goalkeeper coach at the time was putting on those backhands was special. So was Keylor’s ability to make the save every single time. With this type of exercise, we showed his tremendous agility and hand-eye coordination that led him to success at Real Madrid years later.
At Madrid even in the first year when he had to sit behind Iker Casillas, he showed that he was much more agile than the aging Spaniard. The Navas goalkeeper effect can really show up in the training ground. Where you really see the quick feet and how high he’s jumping on short notice. These types of drills are not something that you’ll see just about any goalkeeper out there take with this type of ease. Of course, you then have to take the drills to the game. It’s great to be agile and be able to jump all over the place. If you don’t have the second aspect of Navas’ game though it could all be for not.
Keylor Navas Goalkeeper Timing
As a goalkeeper, you can be quick and agile all you want, but that sadly doesn’t necessarily guarantee success. When you have the perfect timing down though even being a little slower doesn’t hurt that much. When you look at Navas a lot of what you’ll see is him appearing in the right place at the right time. Usually, he’s going to be near the ball. We have other goalkeepers like Marc Andre Ter Stegen who have tremendous range. He can be caught out of position and still make the save with his long arms. Navas does not have the luxury of having that range that’s why he has to be near the ball more often. It always seems though that he is quick and perfect in his first step.
For a lot of older goalkeepers, this is something that goes away. We see it sometimes even with Manuel Neuer these days. The guys who had perfect timing, but age slowed them down just a step and it’s costing their game. At 34 Keylor Navas does not appear to have lost a step at all. Particularly in his recent battle with Manuel Nuere’s Bayern side. He always found himself relatively around the ball with a chance to make a save and did so on most occasions. There’s an argument to be made that those saves actually gave PSG the win.
Not Superb Hands, But Great Hand Speed
Some people will shy away from criticizing top players. If you’ve seen some of the other articles on the site, you know that’s not something that I’m all too worried about. It’s not intended as a knock through to say that Keylor Navas doesn’t have the safest hands in the world. I wouldn’t say that he has brick hands either. A lot of times that same speed that he plays with can even give him some trouble in this department. He’s able to get his hands down so fast that a lot of times he ends up stabbing the ball to make a save that you can’t believe.
That same type of movement can make it much harder for him to catch a lot of balls out of the air. If you see some of the guys with great hands like Jan Oblak you see how effortless it seems how the ball just sounds different when it’s hitting their hands. That’s not what you get with Navas. In many ways though, those stabs at the ball to make the saves that he needs to make work just as well. You’ll see him at times even take something off the ball with the first save and then come back around and grab it. It almost seems like he works on his hands like a boxer.
Speaking of boxing, as they say in that sport styles make fights. In looking at Navas’ handwork it seems like he’s one of those goalkeepers that wants to “attack” the ball all of the time. As you see him setting up you’ll see he makes an extra effort to keep the arms kind of low and palm facing forward. At times from this position, it can be hard to react and wrap both hands around the ball to make a catch. There’s even a couple of frames where you can see when he does make some catches that are with some help from the gloves rather than great hand position. Is it ideal to want to punch the ball out all the time? Probably not, but if you have a style that works committing to it can be a better idea.
Decent Feet All-Around
The Navas goalkeeper style is probably not one that people associate with tremendous footwork or ball control with his feet. I’ve always contended that good feet is something that he does have but doesn’t use much. That could be more down to how comfortable he feels in certain positions. For example, if you’re going to play as much with your feet as Manuel Neuer you need to take the risk of playing further off the end line and getting chipped once in a while. Keylor is kind of conscious about his size or lack of it. That’s why you won’t see him venture off like other goalkeepers that play well with their feet.
Ultimately if you’re not too confident about playing too far off the line just don’t do it. Everyone wants to praise the Neuer style, but for most keepers that try it, it brings more mistakes than benefits. One wrong move in those positions can lead to a direct goal. You can be decent with your feet like Keylor is not shying away from getting the ball passed back to you without taking some of the mega risks. Navas is really able to walk that fine line really well.
How Long Can He Keep This Up?
At 34 the exit ramp is looking closer and closer for Keylor Navas just based on his age. I would not dare to say that his play on the field has shown considerable signs of decline. The thing is, a lot of the attributes that allow him to play at a top-level are precisely the ones that fade away with age. He needs the speed and the quick feet to be able to keep the perfect timing that he currently has. We are seeing more and players well into their 30’s play at a high level. The only thing that would worry me about Keylor is some type of nagging injury of which he’s had a couple of over the last few years.
To be able to maintain that speed you need to do a lot of footwork exercises you need to make sure that you’re still explosive and jumping up and down. A lot of times people don’t realize what type of toll this takes on a goalkeeper’s body. The workouts as you age have to remain intense while potentially finding a way to reduce the impact on your body. As a goalkeeper, you’re literally falling to the ground over one hundred times per training session. When you’re running up on forty that may not seem like fun.
Keylor Navas Goalkeeper: What Makes Him Special – Conclusion
If there is one thing that could encapsulate Keylor Navas as a goalkeeper it would have to be that agility, athleticism, and speed. He is very much the anti-Premier League type of goalkeeper that I love to hate on, on this site. Certainly not the tallest guy out there, but his tremendous footwork allows him to be at the right place at the right time most of the time. He’s embraced some of his defects as well. There is no way that he could be called a soft hands keeper that makes everyone feel at ease. Again, that’s not necessarily a knock. He’d rather stab at the ball and see it fly towards the corner than have it slip through his fingers and hit the back of the net.
Is the style one that could be replicable? I very much think so, and that’s why I feel it’s relevant to talk about goalkeepers like Navas. In not having all of the given physical tools to make life easier on him he built speed and he built that athleticism. When you combine speed with a good sense of positioning in goal you have the chance to build that very good timing that he happens to showcase on most outings. His life story from very humble beginnings in Costa Rica is also one that is worth showcasing without a doubt.
Bonus Keylor Navas Next Career Move
At the time of writing, it seems that if allowed Keylor would love to keep going at PSG. The reality is that despite his age it’s going to be hard to see the club finding a decent replacement. The only thing that could kind of make sense would be if David De Gea became available. If PSG with their cash could lure Gianluigi Donaruma away from Milan that type of move would make sense. Otherwise, if Keylor wants to continue he probably could for about 2 or 3 more years at a great level if he continues to work as hard as he does. About a day after writing this article, Keylor Navas resigned with PSG through 2024. I don’t think that changes what I mention below.
After a couple of years though, I do see an MLS move for Keylor in the future. For a lot of central American players, the move makes sense because it can help them take care of family in taking them to the United States. Plus, for Keylor, it could still mean fattening his bank account at the tail end of his career. I know that a lot of people don’t like to see players that were former stars getting paid a ton of money to play in leagues like the MLS. For someone like Keylor who went through a tough career path to get to where he is today, it seems fair. He’d be getting some of the money that he didn’t get earlier in his career at Albacete and Levante at the end maybe Miami or LAFC.
