It's believed that how tall a goalkeeper is determines how well he's going to perform, and while growing up as a kid, I remember how those of us who were tall were usually considered as goalkeepers during street football due to the perception that we should naturally have a better jumping technique and saving capacity than short ones.
Even as adults, some of us still believe in the perception that goalkeeping is all about height. However, while some people believe that the combination of the right techniques and a little bit of height will make a goalkeeper a successful one, some people, depending on their understanding about goalkeeping, consider height as one of the key factors that defines the effectiveness of a goalkeeper
Here are the attributes a successful goalkeeper should posses
- Response
- Jump
- Agility
- Reflex
- Jump power
- Diving technique
- Punching technique
- Vertical leap heigh
- Catching technique
- Footwalk
Football is not like it used to be in the olden days when almost anybody, regardless of the height can be made a goalkeeper. But now that we are playing modern football, a goalkeeper is expected to be tall (at least to some extent) and must be technically good too. If a goalkeeper possesses the above attributes and has a little height he should perform well if nothing is wrong with him 😁
Although there are still successful short goalkeepers who perform better than tall goalkeepers. We have the likes of Casillas and Hart who are not tall but are very good at what they do. On the other hand, we also have great tall goalkeepers like van der Ser and Courtois who are successful
The only thing I see here is if a goalkeeper is short he will have to work more on his agility, spring and reflexes so that he can be dominant in the air.
Although, there's no denying the fact that having a good height is a very good attribute of a goalkeeper but it still cannot be the only factor that makes a great goalkeeper neither does it define how successful he would be. In as much as he can dive well, has a great response, quick decision making skill and should know how to control the ball, I think that's all that matter most
What's your take on short goalkeepers?
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