III. — THE GREAT GOALKEEPERS
— Gabriel Hanot | 15/06/1924 —

Greats, the Spaniard Zamora, the Swede Lindberg, the Dutchman Van der Meulen and the Swiss Pulver, both in terms of height and playing ability. Only the Italian de Prè is of average stature. Whether under attack from close range, as in the Italy-Spain match, or receiving shots from afar, as in the Swiss game, the Transalpine goalkeeper seemed to give his all. He will be remembered by all those who took part in or watched the Switzerland-Italy match for an amusing incident during the game when centre-forward Dietrich, having shot a very powerful ball from 20 metres out, fifty centimetres from the ground, de Pra knelt down to block it, was knocked to one side by the power of the shot and remained on his back for a few seconds, his legs close to his face, the precious sphere of leather held tightly to his chest. Stunned, partners, opponents, referee and spectators did not make a move, so extraordinary was the attitude of the Italian keeper. Some thought he had been stunned, groggy, as the boxers say, by the violence of the shot. In reality, de Prà had tried to get back on his feet by somersaulting on himself, but as his momentum was insufficient, he found himself immobilised in the middle of his run.

The other four goalkeepers, who were taller on their feet than de Prà and had a bigger wingspan, always gave the impression of staying in the thick of the action and reserving their chances for serious occasions. Pulver, solidly covered by his full-backs Ramseyer and Raymond, positioned himself well and blocked the ball safely, except in the match against Uruguay, when he lost his footing, as did the rest of his team-mates. The ball almost slipped from his grasp several times and bounced around, before being finally brought under control when he repelled an attack by Cea, Pulver was unfortunate enough to send the ball back to the feet of the Uruguayan forward who scored the goal. Finally, Pulver, carried away by his ardour, made the mistake, when Romano won a third goal for Uruguay from a corner, of running towards the ball too quickly; the ball passed over him and fell on the head of the opposing winger, who was completely unmarked.

The Dutchman Van der Meulen also had somewhat loose blocking. But he was, with the Swede Lindberg, one of the most attacked and most prominent goalkeepers of the tournament. These two men, whose height is around 1 m. 87, and who, with raised arms, almost touched the crossbar of the goal, picked the high balls like one removes an apple from a tree; they had "exits" that were sometimes daring, but always useful: the number of balls that they removed from the heads of opposing forwards is very considerable. Furthermore, Van der Meulen and Lindberg proved that diving for the ball at ground level no longer holds any secrets for them. Overall, Lindberg showed himself superior to his direct rival, through flexibility, ease, composure and above all through clearance of the ball. The magnificent Scandinavian athlete, who kicks with both feet, like all real goalkeepers, but who uses his left foot more readily, sent the ball, almost with every clearance, some twenty meters beyond the half-back line. If you consider that the Colombes playing field is 110 meters long, you will recognize that a shot of around 70 meters, impressive in itself, singularly relieves the backs and half-backs, at the same time as it gives the forwards excellent opportunities to attack the opposing camp.

That left Zamora, who was beaten by his own full-back and captain Vallana. The Spanish keeper, before conceding this unfortunate goal, was hardly put to work by the Italians. His only dangerous act was to dive at the feet of Baloncieri, who was shooting. The dive was made with such haste and urgency that Zamora had no time to stretch out his arms and he blocked the ball with his head and shoulders, not without damage to his scalp. On the other hand, Zamora saved some clear shots, but with such perfect control that he thrilled his fans. If I had to name the goalkeeper of a world team of my choice, I think I'd choose Zamora.