GOALKEEPER: THIS FLYING MAN
— Eduardo Lacombe | 21/02/1979 —

At the origin of football, in 1863, the goalkeeper was nothing more than an extra, a kind of sentry called to avoid the harassment of opponents.

In 1871, it is admitted that he can use his hands in the entire dimension of the field. It was only in 1913 that this prerogative was taken away from him, with the delimitation of his area of ​​action. With skill, courage and constant reflexes, goalkeepers, before the war, were nothing more than a defender and athletes, such as the French Pierre Chayrigues, the Spaniard Ricardo Zamora — considered the best of his time, — the Czech František Plánička or the Italian Giampiero Combi.

With evolution, the goalkeeper will not have to dedicate himself only to defenses. He himself realizes the need to become more offensive. The counterattack begins with the goalkeeper himself, like Frenchman Julien Da Rui, whose passing accuracy became famous. In the post-war period, goalkeepers from Eastern European countries — the Iron Curtain — had the opportunity to innovate the game of anticipation. Giving, by themselves, special importance to the replacement of the ball, transforming a passive position into a true defender-attacker, as it is currently considered. Among these precursors are the name of the Soviet Lev Yashin, perhaps the best goalkeeper of all time, and the Hungarian Gyula Grosics.

Today, the goalkeeper is an integral part of the team. Last of the defenders, practicing zone marking or using the sight as a defensive weapon, the goalkeeper must be concentrated, ready for any intervention, also knowing how to use his feet like any defender.

Among the great modern goalkeepers are the names of the German Sepp Maier, the Italian Dino Zoff, the Yugoslavian Ivan Ćurković and the Swedish Ronnie Hellström.

The natural and particular qualities of a goalkeeper are:


On the athletic level — flexibility, grip and reflex.

On the technical level — the firmness of the defenses, the return with the foot or with the hand.

On the tactical level — direct and guide your teammates.


He will be calm, focused and courageous.