A good football goalkeeper must have a number of specific qualities, some of which are innate, while others are quite amenable to training and development.
The qualities of a real goalkeeper
A football goalkeeper is primarily associated with absolute fearlessness, because he must boldly throw himself at the striker's feet at the exit, and make desperate jumps, trying to pull the ball out of the top corner of the goal, despite the risk of getting a painful ball kick or, even worse, hitting the goal post …
The second characteristic of a decent goalkeeper is excellent reaction. The approximate flight speed of the ball after a strong blow is about 80 kilometers per hour, and the record in this area belongs to the legendary Robert Carlos, after whose impact the speed of the ball was 140 kilometers per hour. Thus, reflexes and quick reactions are the most important attributes of a goalkeeper who plans to succeed and make a career in football.
And the third most important characteristic of a good goalkeeper is composure. Failures happen to everyone, but the goalkeeper, even after the most offensive goal conceded, must pull himself together and continue the game as if nothing had happened. Situations are quite common when the goalkeeper, after making a mistake, is unable to continue the game at a decent level, begins to get nervous, make rather stupid mistakes - in a word, loses his composure.
Goalkeeper skills and how to develop them
If the above characteristics relate more to human qualities, being, in general, character traits that are extremely difficult to change (with the exception, perhaps, of reactions), then now you should pay attention to skills, the development of which is within the power of any healthy person.
Jumping ability. The standard goal height in big football is 2 meters 44 centimeters, that is, it is not too easy and simple for a person of average height to jump to the crossbar. What if the ball does not fly directly over you, but into the upper corner of the goal? The width of the goal is 7 meters 32 centimeters, so if you are standing in the center of the goal, you will have to cover a distance of approximately 3.5 meters in a matter of seconds to reflect a ball flying into the "nine". Training this skill involves performing jumping exercises and developing the explosive strength of the leg muscles.
Coordination. Every movement of the goalkeeper must be perfected to automatism! In a critical situation, there is no time for reflection, so all actions must be performed reflexively. So, the goalkeeper must hit the ball not directly in front of him, but to the side, turning his hands in a special way, the defender must throw himself at the feet with a verified movement in order to pick up the ball and not get injured. There are many such nuances, and the only way to develop these skills is constant training, monotonous repetition of the same exercises in order to acquire the so-called muscle memory.
You must forget about the habit of closing your eyes when the ball approaches, for the goalkeeper this is simply criminal! This skill is quite difficult to acquire, since it is necessary to overcome reflexes, which are based on the instinct of self-preservation, the strongest human instinct.
In addition, the goalkeeper must learn how to manage his defenders, correctly build a defense, correctly set up a "wall" when implementing set pieces, and also accurately put the ball into play, preventing the ball from hitting an opponent in his own half of the field.
