Gianluigi Buffon, arguably the greatest goalkeeper of all time was still going strong at the ripe old age of 45. Manuel Neuer is thinking about coming back to play at the highest level even after a broken leg in his mid to late 30s. Memo Ochoa wants to be the first player ever to take part in 6 World Cups. As things stand with the Mexico national team he’s going to have a great shot of getting there. Why is it though that goalkeepers tend to have considerably longer careers than most field players? This phenomenon is not new at all. It’s just that the length of the careers of some of these modern players like Buffon and the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo or Luka Modrić have reached ages that were unthinkable.
Zlatan Ibrahomic is another recent example of a field player stretching his career over 40 at a top level. We’ve had goalkeepers playing into their 40s though for a long time! This is not a new trend like it is with field players. Dino Zoff won a World Cup in his 40s as the captain of the Italian national team. Even goalkeepers like Edwin Van Der Sarr were able to extend their careers into their 4th decade of life at top level teams. There are more goalkeepers that have been able to extend their careers to almost middle age. Why is this case, and what would amateur goalkeepers who want to play at a high level at an older age need to do to mimic this success?
Goalkeeper Is A Less Physically Demanding Position?
This is typically what people say when they talk about goalkeepers being able to have longer careers than field players. The concept is simply and not necessarily untrue. In the sense that goalkeepers are not going to have to run all over the field like other players do. This means that an old goalkeeper can sit bat comfortably and play until he or she is even older because we don’t have to run. Again I think there is some truth to this. Especially in situations where we’ve clearly seen older field players lose their careers then and there. So this was the case for Barcelona legend Carles Puyol. It was a 1v1 in El Clasico versus Angel Di Maria that ended his career. Goalkeepers have the saving grace of mostly not being made to look silly.
Still you need to have enough bursts of speed to be able to put yourself in the right position. Especially on plays when you need to be a bit further off the line. You could argue that keeping that burst is easier than keeping stamina. I would not agree with that at all though. What you can do is get better at anticipating how plays are going to develop. That’s going to put you in the right spot. Another reason why I don’t think that this sense of goalkeeper being a less physically demanding position is true is because I know goalkeeper training. To me older goalkeepers actually have to shift their training methods to things that will be more tolerable for them at an older age. Goalkeeper coaches are going to play a major role in this.
Limit High Impact Training
You need to keep at least a couple of bursts of speed per game in your arsenal. At the same time if you’re going to be able to continue to play you need to get your body in good shape for gameday. A lot of times that means that you’re going to want to limit the beatings that you take during training. The first thing that you’re going to want to do is cut down on the number of times that you’re hitting the ground in training sessions. What I’ve done for example is almost refused to hit the ground in dead ball exercises. Even if we’re just warming up I want live ball drills. I’m going to be pacing myself. So usually I’ll hit the ground from my knees first at least a couple of times before I even think about a full on standing dive.
Apart from limiting the times you’re hitting the ground you’re going to want to cut back on high impact training in the gym as well. If you’re one of those that loves cross-fit like exercises of jumping onto a stool, I’m sorry, but you need your knees for the field. The weight room can be a good friend if you’re using it correctly. Especially to exercise your legs. It’s a good way to make sure that you keep that leg strength up without having to do a ton of jumping exercises that I would prefer at other points in my career. Again it comes back to limiting the high impact exercises, and how you can replace those with other things to still get the workout in.
Replace That With Exercises To Improve Flexibility
This may sound weird, but if you aren’t doing yoga as a goalkeeper your older age could be a great moment to start. There are a couple of perfectly reasonable arguments in favor of yoga. We’re talking about a method of exercise that traditionally helps increase flexibility. Also, it’s considered a low impact activity. You want to make sure that where you’re getting your lessons really follows this second idea of the activity being low impact. Another great reason why this is a great activity for older goalkeepers is the mental aspect of yoga. Clear your head and allow those moments where you made mistakes on the field to flow away. I’m not too familiar with goalkeepers who have a very “Zen” mindset. Without a doubt I’d say it’s worth exploring.
Even if you don’t loke into Yoga or any other type of exercise outside of goalkeeper training, stretching is going to be a must. Everyone in their older years regardless of the type of exercise that they’re doing is going to tell you that you need to stretch more beforehand. When it comes to goalkeeping this should be a must even for the early ages. Especially if you play indoor, futsal, 7v7s. Since a lot of the shots that you have to deal with in these types of games are from close range you have to be able to move any part of your body to block a shot at some point. Doing that all stiff and cold is never going to be a great idea.
A Great Diet Is Going To Go A Long Way
A lot of people are going to think this is obvious, but then you look at pro players in any sport that you’d like, and you realize it’s not as easy to implement. What you don’t want to do as a goalkeeper is get stubborn about your “playing weight”. Your “playing weight” at 26 is not going to be the same at 30. It’s definitely not going to be the same at 40. I heard Charles Barkley talk about how he had to considerably lower his playing weight as he got older. With goalkeepers if you don’t lower your weight in the simplest form what you’re doing is forcing your older bones, joints, and ligaments to handle that extra weight every time you go to the ground. To me that’s one of the main reason why we see more injuries amongst older players.
Since your metabolism is going to slow down with age you can’t ate the same amount of food that you used to. Of course, all of these tips that I’m giving out are very general and based on my personal experience. I would encourage pros, and even amateurs who still want to play at a high level to talk these things through with nutritionists and professionals. You may even have to alter your workout routines if you’re someone who’s really built up muscle over the years. It could be a good idea to cut down on some of those muscles if your priority is still to play goalkeeper or a more active sport.
Cut those show muscles down! If not they are not only going to be weighing you down. That extra weight even from what seems like something good can cause all sorts of injuries because of what goalkeepers do.
Are Older Goalkeepers As Capable As Younger Players?
We could have a round table with coaches, players, fans and everyone in between to talk about this subject, and we’d never be able to come up with a definitive answer. Why do we typically see though managers leaning towards the veteran option when it comes to goalkeepers? It’s perhaps the position where managers are most reluctant to start a novice player. There’s a saying in Mexican football that goes a little bit like this. “For a goalkeeper to become good he has to make about 100 mistakes”. The second part of the saying warns about making all of those mistakes in a single season. The idea behind the saying rings rather true. You’d think that an experienced goalkeeper is less likely to make amateur mistakes. That’s what most managers cling to and that’s why older goalkeepers tend to overwhelmingly start for most pro clubs.
On a physical level it’s a young man’s game. That’s true in any sport. Younger players are going to be able to deal with higher intensity training. I’ve just spent the first half of the article talking about how you need to adapt your training to be able to extend your career. The thing is, goalkeeping isn’t always about who can dive the most times or even kick the ball the furthest. Like the saying states there’s typically a learning curve for younger goalkeepers. Perhaps the key for those younger goalkeepers might be to find ways to “flatten the curve”. Potentially learn elements of goalkeeping without having to make key mistakes throughout their careers.
Positioning & Experience Are Key
The reason why more experienced goalkeepers tend to get the nod is usually down to positioning. You need to be able to dive from post to post if you’re able to take two steps before the shot and force the shooter into missing high or wide. I’ve tried to come up with a better phrase than “walking the goal”. It sounds a lot better in Spanish. In any case, what I mean by this is exactly knowing where you need to be when the ball is at any point on the field. If you’re standing in the right spots on a consistent basis you’re going to be able to effect more plays even without putting in maximum effort. The same thing goes for a position like center backs. That’s arguably why we see that position have a bit more longevity.
Just to finish up I wanted to complete an idea that I wrote in the last section about the lack of experience in younger goalkeepers. I get the sense that today with all the tools that we have to analyze the game we can get players comfortable “feeling” their position within the goal. You have to have a feel for positioning because you’re playing a game that’s typically always happening in front of you. What you’re guarding is behind you, most times that feel only comes with flight hours.
That’s why we run into this problem a lot of coaches don’t give young players a shot, that limits their flight hours and effects their natural positioning. As a farewell tip from this article if you’re coming up in your career, try and go where you can play even if it’s at a lower level. That can boost your personal playing level more than just training with what’s supposed to be a higher level team.
