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Roland Goriupp: The choice of the right distance
Ein Bericht von Artur Stopper | goalguard.de
One of the most difficult tasks of the goalkeeper is certainly to always adapt his position optimally to the distance to the shooter. In a hundredth of a second, he has to decide whether and if so how far he should go towards the attacker, whether it is better to keep his position or whether he should even move back a bit. But what help can be given to the goalkeeper for his decisions?
Roland Goriupp, head goalkeeping instructor at the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB), presented his view on the correct distance adjustment of the goalkeeper at the goalkeeper seminar day of Safehands - the art of goalkeeping, which takes place annually in Bregenz. His theses were based on research results from the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB), in which 412 goals from the first leagues of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal were examined over the period from December 2021 to February 2022. In addition, the analysts included 313 goals from the Austrian Toto youth league and the goals from the 2022 Women's European Football Championship (95 goals) in the analysis.
Of a total of 10 aspects evaluated in the study, Goriupp picked out three at the event in Bregenz: How did the goals against happen? How were the goals scored? From which positions did the goal scorers score? The goal of the ÖFB's study was to find out what challenges are posed to the goalkeeper in this situation and to use this knowledge to develop a guiding principle for training on the pitch.
Roland Goriupp, head goalkeeping instructor at the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB), presented his view on the correct distance adjustment of the goalkeeper at the goalkeeper seminar day of Safehands - the art of goalkeeping, which takes place annually in Bregenz. His theses were based on research results from the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB), in which 412 goals from the first leagues of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal were examined over the period from December 2021 to February 2022. In addition, the analysts included 313 goals from the Austrian Toto youth league and the goals from the 2022 Women's European Football Championship (95 goals) in the analysis.
Of a total of 10 aspects evaluated in the study, Goriupp picked out three at the event in Bregenz: How did the goals against happen? How were the goals scored? From which positions did the goal scorers score? The goal of the ÖFB's study was to find out what challenges are posed to the goalkeeper in this situation and to use this knowledge to develop a guiding principle for training on the pitch.
1. How do goals happen?
The following graph represents the way in which the goals were scored.
The graph shows that ...
- 43 % of goals come from controlled offensive play
- 28 % of all goals are scored after quick turnaround situations
- 29% of all goals were scored directly or after standard situations
... were scored. There were certainly differences between the leagues of the various countries, which in part also reflect the playing philosophy of a country. Germany was particularly high, with 34% of goals scored after switching situations, while in Portugal 56% of all goals were scored after controlled offensive play. Roland specifically looked at the challenges for the goalkeeper in the opponent's fast switching game and asked what conclusions can be drawn from these figures for goalkeeper training.
In Goriupp's opinion, the most difficult part for the goalkeeper is defending the large space between the defensive chain and the goal line. It is precisely this situation that the goalkeeper is usually ill-prepared for, as this situation only occurs in 11 vs. 11 play over the large pitch. However, since in everyday training mainly practice forms take place on a smaller pitch and in small groups, the goalkeeper is hardly prepared for this requirement. The consequence for the goalkeepers is that they too seldom have the opportunity to gain experience in this game situation. Goriupp concludes from this that game forms must be integrated into the training again and again, in which exactly this goalkeeper behavior is demanded.
Another problem arises from this training practice for the second and third goalkeepers. While the regular goalkeeper has a high learning and experience value in defending space, at least in match play, the goalkeepers without match substitutes almost completely lack this experience. As a result, they are increasingly outperforming the regular goalkeeper.
Furthermore, the results of the study show that especially in the youth sector, many more goals are scored after switching situations. In youth training, the goalkeepers certainly gain even less experience in this training area and are therefore even less prepared for this game situation.
- 43 % of goals come from controlled offensive play
- 28 % of all goals are scored after quick turnaround situations
- 29% of all goals were scored directly or after standard situations
... were scored. There were certainly differences between the leagues of the various countries, which in part also reflect the playing philosophy of a country. Germany was particularly high, with 34% of goals scored after switching situations, while in Portugal 56% of all goals were scored after controlled offensive play. Roland specifically looked at the challenges for the goalkeeper in the opponent's fast switching game and asked what conclusions can be drawn from these figures for goalkeeper training.
In Goriupp's opinion, the most difficult part for the goalkeeper is defending the large space between the defensive chain and the goal line. It is precisely this situation that the goalkeeper is usually ill-prepared for, as this situation only occurs in 11 vs. 11 play over the large pitch. However, since in everyday training mainly practice forms take place on a smaller pitch and in small groups, the goalkeeper is hardly prepared for this requirement. The consequence for the goalkeepers is that they too seldom have the opportunity to gain experience in this game situation. Goriupp concludes from this that game forms must be integrated into the training again and again, in which exactly this goalkeeper behavior is demanded.
Another problem arises from this training practice for the second and third goalkeepers. While the regular goalkeeper has a high learning and experience value in defending space, at least in match play, the goalkeepers without match substitutes almost completely lack this experience. As a result, they are increasingly outperforming the regular goalkeeper.
Furthermore, the results of the study show that especially in the youth sector, many more goals are scored after switching situations. In youth training, the goalkeepers certainly gain even less experience in this training area and are therefore even less prepared for this game situation.
2. Types of finishing the goal
The research revealed another interesting aspect, which is shown in the following diagram.
According to the study, 53% of all goals are scored with the right foot, while 30% are scored with the left. Only 16% of goals are scored with the head. And another figure became apparent in the research. 67% of all goals are scored from the ground, 33% volley. Again, an interesting figure in comparison is that more headed goals were scored by women than by men! Again, the question arises as to what these study results mean for goalkeeper training. In Goriupp's opinion, the volley shot on the hand has its justification in goalkeeper training, as the result shows. However, 2/3 of all balls should be shot from the ground, as these balls are closer to the game.
3. Position of the finish
The third point of analysis, and the most important one for Goriupp, was the question from which position the shooters come to score. The result is illustrated in the following diagram:
Only 9 % of all goals from a distance of more than 16 m
- 17 % from 11 - 16 m
- 50 % from distance of 6 to 11 m
- 24 % within the goal area (0 to 5 m)
In summary, these figures make one result clear: 73 % (i.e. ¾) of all goals are scored from the zone between the goal line and the penalty kick. But what do these figures mean for goalkeeping? What conclusions can be drawn from them?
- 17 % from 11 - 16 m
- 50 % from distance of 6 to 11 m
- 24 % within the goal area (0 to 5 m)
In summary, these figures make one result clear: 73 % (i.e. ¾) of all goals are scored from the zone between the goal line and the penalty kick. But what do these figures mean for goalkeeping? What conclusions can be drawn from them?
Distance adjustment as a means to success!
One thing is clear for Roland Goriupp: Too many goalkeepers nowadays go into the 1-on-1 block far too often and far too early instead of reacting from a good basic position and balance. He therefore calls this behavior somewhat contemptuously the "token block". But what goalkeeper behavior does he suggest? For the chief goalkeeper trainer of the ÖFB, the distance is decisive for the respective goalkeeper behavior.
a) Shots from a greater distance (over 16 m)
Although many goalkeepers stand 2-3 m in front of the goal in this game situation, Goriupp rather advocates the opposite behavior, namely increasing the distance. The idea behind this is that by increasing the distance, the goalkeeper gives himself more reaction time. Learning from the behavior of the best goalkeepers is his principle. That's why he selected video sequences of Thibaut Courtois from the Champions League final against Real Madrid, in which the Belgian showed exactly this behavior. When he took a shot from 20 meters away, he backed away 1-2 meters before the shot and thus gained more reaction time.
b) Shots from 11 and 16 m
For shots from this distance, Goriupp also advocates the goalkeeper dropping back towards the baseline in order to give himself more reaction time by increasing the distance. Again, he used example scenes of Courtois and Ederson to illustrate this behavior. While Courtois increased his reaction time with 1-2 jumps back, Ederson gained time for a foot defense.
c) Shots between 5 and 11 m
Undoubtedly, this distance is the most difficult for goalkeepers. But even here, for Goriupp, increasing the distance is an effective means, if the goalkeeper does not get into the block with a distance of less than 3 meters. In the end, according to Roland Goriupp, the chance of the keeper always depends on two parameters:
- from the defensive area that a goalkeeper can muster (bigger goalkeepers have a large defensive area).
- from the reaction time, which is available
Calculations show that a goalkeeper needs about 1.1 seconds from the center of the goal to the very bottom right or left of the post. So he has little time, so he can give away time by unfavorable positional play. On the contrary, every hundredth helps the goalkeeper not to let the ball pass the goal line.
A mathematical model supports this thesis. Mathematical calculations show that when the ball is shot from just outside the penalty area at only 80 km/h, the defense rate is 53%, while this value is reduced to 28% when the goalkeeper advances 2-3 meters. Undoubtedly, moving forward reduces the shooting area, but at the same time it also reduces the reaction time.
Roland Goriupp's conclusion is therefore: If there is no possibility to get within a blocking distance of 0 - 3 m to the shooter, it is better to increase the distance in order to gain reaction time, if the goalkeeper at the same time technically and coordinatively succeeds in getting into balance in time and reacting from the basic position.
- from the defensive area that a goalkeeper can muster (bigger goalkeepers have a large defensive area).
- from the reaction time, which is available
Calculations show that a goalkeeper needs about 1.1 seconds from the center of the goal to the very bottom right or left of the post. So he has little time, so he can give away time by unfavorable positional play. On the contrary, every hundredth helps the goalkeeper not to let the ball pass the goal line.
A mathematical model supports this thesis. Mathematical calculations show that when the ball is shot from just outside the penalty area at only 80 km/h, the defense rate is 53%, while this value is reduced to 28% when the goalkeeper advances 2-3 meters. Undoubtedly, moving forward reduces the shooting area, but at the same time it also reduces the reaction time.
Roland Goriupp's conclusion is therefore: If there is no possibility to get within a blocking distance of 0 - 3 m to the shooter, it is better to increase the distance in order to gain reaction time, if the goalkeeper at the same time technically and coordinatively succeeds in getting into balance in time and reacting from the basic position.
