FIFA needs to stop "gaslighting" goalkeepers

[Michael Varn]

FIFA needs to make a rule change. And if this rule changes, other governing bodies on every level of world football will follow suit.

This rule went into effect across the world after the World Cup final in 1990. Now if this rule changes, all goalkeepers can breath a sigh of relief!

For the last 30 years professional keepers as well as amateur and youth keepers have not been able to pick up the ball when it is played back to them. This has gone on long enough. Profesional goalkeepers over the years have looked like idiots giving up the most rediculous goals because of this. And it is probably worse on the amature and youth level.

There is a reason for this. Goalkeepers spend the lion's share of their time on the practice pitch useing their hands, not their feet. Now the other ten players on a team spend much more time dealing with balls that are rolling in their direction with their feet.

But when goalkeepers have to deal with this, they can look like 10 year olds when they miss the ball and end up on their backsides when they can only watch helplessly as the ball roles slowly into the net.

It's time to let goalkeepers be goalkeepers again!

Let them pick up the ball when it is right in front of them. That is what they are suppose to do. But FIFA will not let them do it. Now granted, if the ball is played back like 5 times in a row, that is a delay of game, and a penalty is warranted. But my suggestion is to let them pick it up once, especially if there is pressure.

Now if you don't agree or if you'r not sure about what Iam saying, İ would like to draw your attention to another World Cup final. Croatia vs France. 2018. Pay close attention to how Croatia scored their second goal. Roll tape!

Now if this goal was consequential, you would not be hearing about this from me now for the first time. The rule would have been changed immediately after the match.

But, if this all got started after W.C. 1990, W.C. 2018 should end it!

Now, my playing days as a goalkeeper were over before 1990, but if I had to deal with this, I would probably have had to play a different sport!

Now, if you are aware of some soccer leagues that let the goalkeepers operate the old way, please share this with me.

 

[Michael Varn]

Now as you can see by my other avatar on my profile page, I was an 'old school' goalkeeper, and we did things differently in the 1980's. And I look forward to future discussions about how the position has changed over the years and decades.

Stay tuned!!!

 

[espola]

FIFA needs to make a rule change. And if this rule changes, other governing bodies on every level of world football will follow suit.

This rule went into effect across the world after the World Cup final in 1990. Now if this rule changes, all goalkeepers can breath a sigh of relief!

For the last 30 years professional keepers as well as amateur and youth keepers have not been able to pick up the ball when it is played back to them. This has gone on long enough. Profesional goalkeepers over the years have looked like idiots giving up the most rediculous goals because of this. And it is probably worse on the amature and youth level.

There is a reason for this. Goalkeepers spend the lion's share of their time on the practice pitch useing their hands, not their feet. Now the other ten players on a team spend much more time dealing with balls that are rolling in their direction with their feet.

But when goalkeepers have to deal with this, they can look like 10 year olds when they miss the ball and end up on their backsides when they can only watch helplessly as the ball roles slowly into the net.

It's time to let goalkeepers be goalkeepers again!

Let them pick up the ball when it is right in front of them. That is what they are suppose to do. But FIFA will not let them do it. Now granted, if the ball is played back like 5 times in a row, that is a delay of game, and a penalty is warranted. But my suggestion is to let them pick it up once, especially if there is pressure.

Now if you don't agree or if you'r not sure about what Iam saying, İ would like to draw your attention to another World Cup final. Croatia vs France. 2018. Pay close attention to how Croatia scored their second goal. Roll tape!

Now if this goal was consequential, you would not be hearing about this from me now for the first time. The rule would have been changed immediately after the match.

But, if this all got started after W.C. 1990, W.C. 2018 should end it!

Now, my playing days as a goalkeeper were over before 1990, but if I had to deal with this, I would probably have had to play a different sport!

Now, if you are aware of some soccer leagues that let the goalkeepers operate the old way, please share this with me.

They attempted to fix a problem and created another and looked foolish in the process.

I have suggested for years a smile solution that could have been easily implemented back then - 0nce the keeper had released the ball from his hands, he can't touch it again with his hands until it has been touched by an opponent or a stoppage and restart of play has occurred.

 

[Messi>CR7]

FIFA needs to make a rule change. And if this rule changes, other governing bodies on every level of world football will follow suit.

This rule went into effect across the world after the World Cup final in 1990. Now if this rule changes, all goalkeepers can breath a sigh of relief!

For the last 30 years professional keepers as well as amateur and youth keepers have not been able to pick up the ball when it is played back to them. This has gone on long enough. Profesional goalkeepers over the years have looked like idiots giving up the most rediculous goals because of this. And it is probably worse on the amature and youth level.

There is a reason for this. Goalkeepers spend the lion's share of their time on the practice pitch useing their hands, not their feet. Now the other ten players on a team spend much more time dealing with balls that are rolling in their direction with their feet.

But when goalkeepers have to deal with this, they can look like 10 year olds when they miss the ball and end up on their backsides when they can only watch helplessly as the ball roles slowly into the net.

It's time to let goalkeepers be goalkeepers again!

Let them pick up the ball when it is right in front of them. That is what they are suppose to do. But FIFA will not let them do it. Now granted, if the ball is played back like 5 times in a row, that is a delay of game, and a penalty is warranted. But my suggestion is to let them pick it up once, especially if there is pressure.

Now if you don't agree or if you'r not sure about what Iam saying, İ would like to draw your attention to another World Cup final. Croatia vs France. 2018. Pay close attention to how Croatia scored their second goal. Roll tape!

Now if this goal was consequential, you would not be hearing about this from me now for the first time. The rule would have been changed immediately after the match.

But, if this all got started after W.C. 1990, W.C. 2018 should end it!

Now, my playing days as a goalkeeper were over before 1990, but if I had to deal with this, I would probably have had to play a different sport!

Now, if you are aware of some soccer leagues that let the goalkeepers operate the old way, please share this with me.

Good discussion topic, but respectfully I have to disagree.

It's true that goalkeepers don't work on their feet as much as the field players, but they're also not being asked to do as much. They don't need to dribble 20 yards and win 1v1. Most of the howlers I have seen are due to miss-judgment of how much time the GK has to play the ball.

@toucan's last paragraph is right on. What you are suggesting is to award the subpar GKs, and punish those GKs with good foot skill by taking way one of their advantages.

 

[Kicker4Life]

The rule change 30 years ago was a benefit to the game. PERIOD!

 

[Michael Varn]

Naaaah ... don't go backwards on this rule. There was a reason to change the rule. Teams used to pass the ball back to their own keeper so he could just so he could pick it up and send a long punt forward. It added 20 punts to the game. There was little incentive to build up, and possession-play nearly did not exist. Defenders did not have to know how to handle the ball because they only had two jobs. Clear it, or pass it to the keeper so he could punt it.

Yes, sometimes keepers give up stupid goals if they don't handle the ball well. But the answer isn't to make the game easier for keepers; the answer is to teach keepers to handle the ball with their feet.

But there is still a question about time. Practice sessions are finite in terms of time. There is simply not enough time for keepers to be as proficeint dealing with the ball with their feet as the other players are. Keepers have to do other things with their time!

 

[Michael Varn]

FIFA needs to make a rule change. And if this rule changes, other governing bodies on every level of world football will follow suit.

This rule went into effect across the world after the World Cup final in 1990. Now if this rule changes, all goalkeepers can breath a sigh of relief!

For the last 30 years professional keepers as well as amateur and youth keepers have not been able to pick up the ball when it is played back to them. This has gone on long enough. Profesional goalkeepers over the years have looked like idiots giving up the most rediculous goals because of this. And it is probably worse on the amature and youth level.

There is a reason for this. Goalkeepers spend the lion's share of their time on the practice pitch useing their hands, not their feet. Now the other ten players on a team spend much more time dealing with balls that are rolling in their direction with their feet.

But when goalkeepers have to deal with this, they can look like 10 year olds when they miss the ball and end up on their backsides when they can only watch helplessly as the ball roles slowly into the net.

It's time to let goalkeepers be goalkeepers again!

Let them pick up the ball when it is right in front of them. That is what they are suppose to do. But FIFA will not let them do it. Now granted, if the ball is played back like 5 times in a row, that is a delay of game, and a penalty is warranted. But my suggestion is to let them pick it up once, especially if there is pressure.

Now if you don't agree or if you'r not sure about what Iam saying, İ would like to draw your attention to another World Cup final. Croatia vs France. 2018. Pay close attention to how Croatia scored their second goal. Roll tape!

Now if this goal was consequential, you would not be hearing about this from me now for the first time. The rule would have been changed immediately after the match.

But, if this all got started after W.C. 1990, W.C. 2018 should end it!

Now, my playing days as a goalkeeper were over before 1990, but if I had to deal with this, I would probably have had to play a different sport!

Now, if you are aware of some soccer leagues that let the goalkeepers operate the old way, please share this with me.

Yes, this revolution could start from the bottom up, not nessesarily from the top (FIFA) down.

 

[JumboJack]

But there is still a question about time. Practice sessions are finite in terms of time. There is simply not enough time for keepers to be as proficeint dealing with the ball with their feet as the other players are. Keepers have to do other things with their time!

The train your defenders to not get into a situation where their only option is to pass it to the keeper.

This is a good law.

 

[Dargle]

But there is still a question about time. Practice sessions are finite in terms of time. There is simply not enough time for keepers to be as proficeint dealing with the ball with their feet as the other players are. Keepers have to do other things with their time!

The modern youth GK attends at least two team practices a week where they do the same foot skills drills with their teammates at least for half of each practice (before going into goal for the last half) and then attends at least 1-2 club GK sessions and 1 private GK session a week to work on technique, repetitions, and strategy. They also are held to the same standard as their outfield players on things like juggling on their own etc. So, while time is finite, the reality is that most kids playing goal these days accept that they just have to do more than their teammates. Coaches often don't realize or appreciate that, but that's what happens. The goalkeepers who don't do that don't advance very far.

 

[dad4]

.

But there is still a question about time. Practice sessions are finite in terms of time. There is simply not enough time for keepers to be as proficeint dealing with the ball with their feet as the other players are. Keepers have to do other things with their time!

Sure, time is limited. But we don't outlaw long balls so that forwards have more time to focus on dribbling. We just tell forwards that traps and dribbling are both part of the game. If you want to play at a high level, learn both.

 

[Kicker4Life]

.

Sure, time is limited. But we don't outlaw long balls so that forwards have more time to focus on dribbling. We just tell forwards that traps and dribbling are both part of the game. If you want to play at a high level, learn both.

Forwards can’t delay the game by holding on to the ball. There is a good reason the rule was changed and in 30 years no one has complained.

 

[kickingandscreaming]

In addition to the reasons stated above, I don't like the idea of changing rules to make it easier on the defense in what is already a low scoring game.

 

[Michael Varn]

Naaaah ... don't go backwards on this rule. There was a reason to change the rule. Teams used to pass the ball back to their own keeper so he could just so he could pick it up and send a long punt forward. It added 20 punts to the game. There was little incentive to build up, and possession-play nearly did not exist. Defenders did not have to know how to handle the ball because they only had two jobs. Clear it, or pass it to the keeper so he could punt it.

Yes, sometimes keepers give up stupid goals if they don't handle the ball well. But the answer isn't to make the game easier for keepers; the answer is to teach keepers to handle the ball with their feet.

Yes, we will simply have to agree to disagree. But it is not fair, pure and simple. Perhaps if something like this happens to your team, and if it's costly, you may be inclined to rethink your opinion on this. Because I will be honest with you, if I was the ref in the 2018 final, and that second goal was the difference (2-1 Croatia) and costly, I would disallow the goal! I would prioritize FIFA''s mission statement about fair play. This brings up another issue about the refs. Do they actually have the discretion on any level of soccer to disallow goals in the interest of fairness even though the goal was legal?

Because if you are Hugo Lloris, you may agree with this. After that goal agianst him in the final, he had his head down for a reason. He did not want two thirds of the planet's population to see his face because it was EMBARACEING!!!

 

[Michael Varn]

Yes, we will simply have to agree to disagree. But it is not fair, pure and simple. Perhaps if something like this happens to your team, and if it's costly, you may be inclined to rethink your opinion on this. Because I will be honest with you, if I was the ref in the 2018 final, and that second goal was the difference (2-1 Croatia) and costly, I would disallow the goal! I would prioritize FIFA''s mission statement about fair play. This brings up another issue about the refs. Do they actually have the discretion on any level of soccer to disallow goals in the interest of fairness even though the goal was legal?

Because if you are Hugo Lloris, you may agree with this. After that goal agianst him in the final, he had his head down for a reason. He did not want two thirds of the planet's population to see his face because it was EMBARACEING!!!

I will end my participation in this discussion with one last parting thought. If you go on youtube, you will see a montage of the worst goals ever given up by goalkeepers in the modern era. Alot of these goals are are given up this way.

 

[socalkdg]

My kid is as good with her feet as she is with her hands. Started as a striker her first 2 years, never stopped training with her feet. Trains 2 days a week with her team, almost all footwork and passing. Trains 3 days a week with her keeper trainer. Just because you can't do something well doesn't mean you change the rules, you work harder at it.

 

[outside!]

It would seem that allowing the goalkeeper to use their hands on a bad pass back would endanger the keeper since it would put their head closer to the feet of the attacking player. On a personnel level, I love it when a keeper demonstrates that they can actually play football.

 

[espola]

I have noticed in this thread, just like in all previous similar threads, the adherents present many different reasons why the change was made.

 

[dad4]

I have noticed in this thread, just like in all previous similar threads, the adherents present many different reasons why the change was made.

Really? They all seem to be variants on delay of game problems.

 

[espola]

Really? They all seem to be variants on delay of game problems.

That was my initial thought too. The first time I heard about this was from a friend who was a soccer coach and referee. He laughed about it, saying it demonstrated how far from the actual play on the field that the rulemakers were. If you want to know more, look at how FIFA/IFAB had to rush out a revision (the "obvious trickery" that is so obvious they didn't even bother to describe it) after players found out how to defeat it. My personal opinion - when FIFA/IFAB makes a rule change that takes hours to explain to referees, they screwed up.

What I found out back then was that FIFA was concerned that the best international teams had gotten so good at stalling with passback-punt-passback-punt that it was affecting the tv ratings and thus the value to advertisers, cheapening the value of the World Cup rihts, FIFA's bread and butter asset.

 

[Michael Varn]

The modern youth GK attends at least two team practices a week where they do the same foot skills drills with their teammates at least for half of each practice (before going into goal for the last half) and then attends at least 1-2 club GK sessions and 1 private GK session a week to work on technique, repetitions, and strategy. They also are held to the same standard as their outfield players on things like juggling on their own etc. So, while time is finite, the reality is that most kids playing goal these days accept that they just have to do more than their teammates. Coaches often don't realize or appreciate that, but that's what happens. The goalkeepers who don't do that don't advance very far.

From my point of view, all of this extra stuff that you say youth goalkeepers are doing today to improve ball control skills with their feet is simply TMI, that is to much information. This time would be much better spent training and perfecting goalkeeper specific skills.