Positioning on the goalkeeper

In game situations when a goal is scored, what remains in our minds is the last action of the Goalkeeper, but the complete process of his action is not always analyzed to determine when the error actually occurred, if there was an error.
An issue to analyze is the position of the Goalkeeper prior to the moment in which he has to proceed. The game is dynamic, so the goalkeeper constantly position and reposition himself according to the different situations that occur, whether they are direct shots, aerial balls, short crosses, offensive-defensive transitions or in the dynamics between different situations.

The position of the Goalkeeper in a defensive situation is determined by the location of the ball, taking as references the position of his teammates and the rivals, the possibilities of the rival to attack and his own mental capacity of anticipation. Thus, depending on the location of the ball, we can identify location zones for the Goalkeeper, so that he can keep an ideal distance from his defensive line that allows him to intervene behind his last teammates if necessary.

Because in modern football the time the goalkeeper has to resolve a situation is short, his position is decisive for reading and analyzing distances correctly (time and space management), and directly influence his decision-making. A movement that starts from a bad position is conditioned by a different distance from what should be the ideal for such the situation.

Many times when a Goalkeeper acts untimely, it is analyzed the sequence and frequency of his steps, his decision-making speed and the correctness of the latter, but not if at the beginning of the movement his position was the ideal to allow him to correctly understanding what the situation required and making the best decision.

In future article we will deepen the definition of different areas of action depending on game situations and the position that the Goalkeeper should adopt before them.