The Goalkeeping Way Back Machine: Episode 18…Gyula Grosics

Gyula….Gyula, I’m getting flashbacks of that scene from Ferris Buellers Day Off? Well, Gyula Grosics did not ditch the football field like Ferris ditched class, but just like Ferris when it came to goalkeeping, he is in a league of his own (not that Ferris was a goalkeeper in any way, he was just so cool in an 80′s kinda way). So, with that opening paragraph flying way over your heads, I wanted to school you on the significance of Gyula Grosics and why he made such an impact to the modern art of goalkeeping.

Grosics was part of the Hungarian “Golden Team” of the 50′s which included the maestro Puskas. From 1954 to 1962, Grosics helped lead Hungary to three World Cups, narrowly being defeated in the finals by a powerful Germany (3-2) in their first outing during the 1954 campaign. But why is Grosics so significant to goalkeepers everywhere? Well, if you did not know (I certainly didn’t), Grosics was the goalkeeper who mastered the art of acting as a sweeper in aiding attack and defence, thus creating the “sweeper-keeper”.

In effect, Grosics began the catalyst in what would later become the modern role of the goalkeeper. Today may be the first time you heard of Grosics, but what he created was a style of play that helped aid attack and bolster the defence, which is a staple for the modern goalkeeper. Now I could not find any video that solely showed snippets of Grosics in action, but the video below shows highlights of that fateful first outing against a tough German squad in 1954…goalkeeping history in the making.