This is certainly one of the more simple questions about goalkeeping. At least on the ground level if you will. Goalkeepers wearing a different color jersey from field players is one of the rules that steam from the beginning of football for sure. The idea was simple enough. Why goalkeeper wears different jersey? Mainly to indicate to the ref which player can touch the ball with his or her hands or not. The last thing that we would want is for a ref to call a penalty kick on the goalkeeper for using his hands. That would be an interesting situation to see. How a ref could get out of such a big mistake.
These days goalkeeper jerseys have evolved quite a bit. I’m usually a big believer in the idea that you have to use technological developments to your advantage. This includes the type of jersey you wear. A lot of people in Sunday leagues are just going to turn their shirt over backward. We see that in some junior leagues too. Particularly when the coach forgets to bring the goalkeeper jersey along. If you’re serious about getting into goalkeeping a jersey is one of the first bits of equipment that you should be looking to buy. We are going to go over what happens with goalkeeper jerseys, and some of the real benefits that go into why goalkeeper wears different jersey.
The Different Jersey Is Not Just For The Ref
We mentioned the main reason of, “why goalkeeper wears different jersey”, and that’s to make sure that the ref doesn’t get mixed up. The other reason why you want to wear a different jersey is to make sure that your teammates can easily spot you. This can go a long way in helping their decision making believe it or not. For example, if a defender is looking to pass the ball back and he can spot you easily he’s more likely to make a better decision. The different jersey can help decide maybe to head the ball back to you or hit it with his chest to make sure that you’re able to grab the ball with your hands.
This same scenario applies to corner kicks and crosses. If your own teammates see that you’re coming out to catch the ball they are going to have a chance to get out of the way. In most cases, goalkeepers jumping up in the air with the ability to use their hands are going to have a massive advantage over other field players that are trying to reach the ball with their head. The last thing that you want is a mix-up between the defender and the goalkeeper that ends with the ball in the back of the net. These situations still do happen. For the most part though, they are things that you are going to want to avoid.
Why Goalkeeper Wears Different Jersey – Protection
Another one of the main reasons why goalkeepers should actively look to wear a different jersey compared to the rest of the players is the fact that goalkeepers need to protect more parts of their bodies. If your son or daughter wants to play in goal and they train on hard ground for heaven’s sake don’t send them out there with a short-sleeve shirt. Some people want to say that scars build character or whatever. The truth of the matter is you want to make sure that you are protecting your elbows and shoulders as best as you can.
It’s not just about protecting your elbows. Short sleeve shirts in goalkeepers can cause scrapes and rashes in parts of the body that you don’t want to have irritation at all! I’ll tell you this quick story about the time that I trotted out to training with a sleeveless shirt. The outfit looked over the top, amazing. The next day though, there was a rash all the way from my armpit to the rest of my body almost. Putting on deodorant for that week was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had! Yes, it’s not a major deal, but typically you want to wear long-sleeve jerseys. Very short, short-sleeve shirts can be a problem. Going sleeveless can be another major issue. You can look awesome wearing some of these outfits, but the consequences are not worth it!
How much protection do you really need? That’s a big debate. I have a whole article on that. Usually, though, you want to wear as much protection as you’re potentially comfortable with. I always feel that you shouldn’t wear anything that limits mobility. That can even apply to really tight jerseys that some goalkeepers love to wear to show off their 6 pack. If something like that limits your mobility it can be detrimental. See exhibit A! You can look great all you want, but you’re really looking for performance. There’s no reason to not look great when you can. It shouldn’t be your main focus though.
What Happens If You Don’t Have A Different Color Jersey?
As with many of the rules of the game, it really depends on where you’re playing, who the ref is and what the rules are. In most Sunday leagues the rules are pretty lenient in that regard. I’ve seen refs who will just let you turn the jersey over others who are very strict with things like this. We even see some of these issues play out in the pro game. Which seems amazing when you think about all of the things that have to happen for a goalkeeper to be allowed to step out onto the field wearing the same color jersey as his team or the other team.
In the pro game what happens is that both teams have to let the refs know what jersey they plan on playing with at least a couple of hours before the game. The refs for the match have to then approve of the outfits that both teams chose. Including goalkeepers of course. This is to make sure that no one is wearing similar colors. Even the refs ideally will wear a jersey color that can’t be confused with the jersey of another team or the goalkeepers for that matter. Even when we go through this whole process before a game there is still a chance that we end up with a mix-up. So you can imagine what happens in Sunday leagues!
Very rarely will we see the ref totally just stop the game until the goalkeeper gets another jersey. Again, this is certainly not normal in the amateur scene. We may see it in the pro game from time to time. What some of the more conscious refs will do in the amateur scene is point out that there are similar jerseys on the field. Ask both teams if they are on board with playing the game in that condition. For the most part, there’s no major issue when things like this eventually play out.
How Many Jerseys Should You Have As A Goalkeeper?
For some of us buying goalkeeper gear, is an addiction. The easy answer would be to say that there is no such thing as having too many jerseys! A good number though if you’re only playing on one formal team could be three. Obviously, you’re going to want to have 3 that have different colors. You can get really greedy and have game jerseys and training jerseys. If you don’t want to spend too much cash you can have 3 and use those up for training and for games. When they eventually wear out you can replace them one by one. That way you won’t have to put in too much cash into this passion. You’re probably going to want to save some cash when you realize how much gloves cost!
Another thing that you can do is use the away jersey that your team gives you. A lot of teams will have home and away jerseys. So you can use the opposite color to the one that your team is using in a game. You’ll just put that jersey over a goalkeeper jersey that you use on a regular basis. In that case, you can buy black or white goalkeeper jerseys that are pretty much plain. What’s going to make the difference in color is going to be the jersey you wear over them anyway. In short, you can make it work with maybe one or two jerseys. I would still say 3 is a good number. If you go beyond that it’s also great!
How Much Could You Expect To Pay For A Goalkeeper Jersey?
One of the weirdest things about goalkeeper gear that throws a lot of newbies off guard is the fact that the price ranges are all over the place. If you buy for example a particular team jersey, let’s say a Barcelona goalkeeper jersey then you can expect to pay over 100 dollars or euros. You can get a regular “stock” jersey for around 30, 35 dollars. In other parts of the world, you could pay maybe around 20 dollars for a jersey. I guess the more accurate question is how much should you want to pay for a goalkeeper jersey? There’s no real performance benefit between the 100 dollar option that’s a team jersey and the 30-35 dollar ones. For the most part at least! Usually what we see is that the team jersey is just the stock jersey with specific team colors and decals.
What you really want to watch out for is the fabric that a particular jersey is made from. In the olden days, we used to wear jerseys that looked more like a heavy sweater. Those could really hamper your performance because they could get heavy. Usually, you want to wear the regular polyester dry-fit fabric that’s going to stretch nicely. As I mentioned there are a ton of jerseys that you can find from this fabric. It can get tricky though to differentiate jerseys because of the different price ranges. Make sure it says polyester or a fabric that can simulate that type of feel. Full cotton and some of these other materials that used to be popular are even hard to find these days!
Why Goalkeeper Wears Different Jersey: Find What Works For You
In a lot of these articles, I could probably end them by saying the same thing. Find what works for you in goalkeeper jerseys as far as price goes. Also, as far as the type of jersey that you want to wear. I talked about this in the article about protective padding on your clothes. How much padding is really needed? It depends on how much pain you can handle sometimes. I mentioned then, that movement was a big thing for me personally. You want to wear something that doesn’t necessarily limit the amount of movement that you have. When it comes to color though, as was mentioned pretty much since the beginning, having a different color jersey can benefit both you and your team. There are many reasons as to why goalkeeper wears different jersey.
A lot of people can say it makes a minor difference. Most people are aware of who the goalkeeper is regardless of what he or she is wearing. That’s mostly true, even in Sunday leagues it doesn’t happen often that you’re standing on the sidelines wondering who the goalkeeper actually is. In the heat of the game though mistakes do happen because of a color mixup. It happens all of the time if you’re playing a pickup game. Wait, are you on my team? It’s ok if you’re just kicking the ball about to concede a goal and you can have a laugh. If you’re in a competition you’re not going to have a laugh. At least most goalkeepers I know wouldn’t laugh about it.
Even if the ref is lenient with the rules and doesn’t force you to wear a different jersey this is something that you’re probably going to want to do. The good thing is, you’ll probably be able to find something within your budget. If you really become obsessed with goalkeeper gear as I’m sure many of us do it’s also a great deal. It’s a good excuse to go shopping. When it comes to goalkeeper gear shopping I’m Paris Hilton! There is in my mind no shame in that. Ultimately, why goalkeeper wears different jersey, because we can and we want to!
