A review of the key demands for a football goalkeeper

Abstract

This review evaluates previously published findings relating to the needs of a football goalkeeper during match performance. Whilst there has been much interest in some aspects of goalkeepers training, performance analysis and needs analysis, these have been from closed skill penalty situations or reported as comparisons with outfield players. This paper identifies important demands, assesses the implications for coaching and as a result highlights where the focus for effective future research should be to further enhance the development of goalkeeping performance.

Are there any differences in the agility performance tests among goalkeepers depending on the type of surface? A crossover study

“…TT and ST present 4 and 3 changes of direction and the maximum sprint distance is about 9 m (including lateral movements) and 6 m, respectively. Thus, whereas both tests are not goalkeeper-specific agility tests, they seem to be in accordance with goalkeepers' demands (e.g., number of changes of direction, sprint distances, types of displacement) [3,4,43].…”

“…our study is a pioneer in performing TT and ST in young soccer goalkeepers and provides a useful reference of agility performance between soccer and futsal Brazilian goalkeepers (regional top-level) by 2 different tests on grass and wooden surfaces. Considering an intragroup variability for the body mass and body composition and the influence of BFM on the agility scores for goalkeepers in specific agility tests [4], we adjusted the sport-surface interaction by taking into account these variables. Even so, futsal goalkeepers presented a moderate dispersion in TT.…”

“…Agility is an essential feature in the athletic performance of soccer and futsal players [1][2][3][4]. Although these sports exhibit comparable technical characteristics, the dynamics of the game and hence physical demands are different [3,4]. For goalkeepers, agility performance supports multiple game actions, since goalkeepers must respond to the different movements of the ball or players during the match [5,6].…”

“…The proposed hypotheses were: (a) agility performance is better on the wooden surface for both tests, and (b) futsal goalkeepers are more agile than their soccer counterparts. Considering that available data regarding goalkeeper-specific skills are limited [1,15,29] and that goalkeepers' performance is related to agility [1,3,4], a better understanding of the features related to this variable will assist coaches, athletes, and researchers to improve the assessment approaches in sports, as well as in experimental designs.…”

Specialist role coaching and skill training periodisation: A football goalkeeping case study

“…Despite the importance of all five areas, this outcome may be justified by the statistical relevance and predominant importance of these two categories for successful GK. 40,41 Notably, when calculating each of the three GK’s average training minutes spent on the core areas, the standard deviation values display rather large discrepancies; this finding may be explained by one GK having missed several months of training due to injury.…”