SAZI HADEBE | Make no mistake, keepers are under far more pressure in today’s game

There were so many fascinating football talking points after the Liverpool vs Real Madrid Uefa Champions League first leg last 16 game at Anfield on Tuesday night.

There were serious discussions pertaining to our expectations of goalkeepers these days; lessons about how not to apply zonal marking, especially when you’re trying to defend a set-piece in front of goal; of course the passive marking that so irritated Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp after his side had been clobbered 5-2 by the reigning European champions. 

But because of the limitations of this space, I’ll just have to zoom on what we expect from goalkeepers these days and leave the other discussions for another day. 

I like what Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has forced everyone to do with goalkeepers. It’s very positive for football, and makes you wonder how the likes of Peter Balac and Patson Banda, goalkeepers who were household names in SA football in the 70s and 80s, would have coped with the demands of manning the goals today. 

Since the back-pass rule was introduced in 1992, prohibiting keepers from handling back passes from their teammates, football has never looked the same. The rule revolutionised football as we know it, and its effect is still felt now. The rule forced coaches to come up with plans to help goalkeepers become not just ball handlers but players as well.

Three decades have passed since the back pass rule was introduced, but players are still trying to adjust to it. 

Glovemen have taken so long to adjust because they were first told to just clear the back pass to safety and far away from their goals.

It’s Guardiola who’s put everyone under pressure in recent years, insisting that football can’t afford to carry goalkeepers who can’t play with the ball. Unsatisfied with goalkeepers just clearing the danger by kicking the ball anywhere, Guardiola insisted they should be part, or an extension, of infield players and not panic when they receive a back pass. 

Tuesday's game showed it will always be difficult to find goalkeepers suited to what Guardiola demands. Even Guardiola’s own No. 1 goalkeeper at Manchester City, Edersen, makes mistakes similar to those Allison and Thibaut Courtois made on Tuesday.

Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams has become a master at playing from the back and handling back passes from his teammates. He looks comfortable, but what helps the Bafana goalkeeper is that, unlike Courtois, he uses both his feet. 

Keepers will remain keepers, no matter what we want them to become. Maybe the ones who can perfect what is being asked of them today are yet to be born. Football is all about the first touch and the speed with which you get rid of the ball before it is snatched by whoever is pressing you.

If that has always been difficult for infield players, you can just imagine the pressure now placed on keepers whose jobs was once just to make sure their teams don’t concede goals.

Real striker Vinicius Jr couldn’t believe his luck when Allison’s attempted clearance bounced off his legs and into an empty net. All Vinicius was doing was the usual pressing that every striker has been taught because obviously keepers have been told not to waste possession by just kicking the ball away. 

Mo Salah benefited from the Madrid keeper being one-footed and has a problem whenever he gets a back pass placed on the one he only uses to walk. Courtois even fell over after losing what looked like a harmless back pass. 

What I saw in the mistakes made by Allison and Courtois reminded me of what I usually witness in PSL matches where teams fail to score because they don’t put much pressure on the keepers.  

Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams has become a master at playing from the back and handling back passes from his teammates. He looks comfortable, but what helps the Bafana goalkeeper is that, unlike Courtois, he uses both feet. 

But Williams’s success with handling what is expected of today’s goalkeepers, is also linked to PSL strikers not pressing as much as Salah and Vinicius do. If Williams faced hard-pressing strikers on regular basis, he too would have made a couple of mistakes by now. For a Sundowns keeper it is a little easier to play from the back because that’s their way of playing and usually all their defenders are comfortable on the ball. This is not something you can say about most defenders in the PSL. 

The winning goal Sundowns’ striker Cassius Mailula scored against Orlando Pirates in their recent league match, saw Pirates’ goalkeeper Sipho Chaine give possession away because of high pressing. Unlike Williams, Chaine still looks nervous whenever he has to deal with a back pass.

Now if you can’t hoof the ball forward because the coach has told you to manage back passes, you’re bound to make mistakes like Chaine. It’s not that Chaine is a bad player, he’s just not used to the ball at his feet and it’s made worse when he can’t trust his defenders with the ball. 

After scoring that goal, Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena was quick to tell everyone it came from their training sessions where the frontmen are instructed to pressure the opposition goalkeeper when a back pass is played. 

A commentator during Tuesday’s match suggested that perhaps it’s now time we have infield players as goalkeepers because what is being asked of goalkeepers is way above their pay grade. In goalkeepers, who he says are even more important than the strikers these days, Guardiola has created something that has made football more exciting. And, indeed, today’s football looks good until your goalkeeper capitulates the way Courtois and Allison did on Tuesday.