When The Backpass Becomes a Goalkeepers Worst Nightmare

The back pass, oh what a nail biting experience it is for any goalkeeper. Again, I stumbled across a post at The Offside which shows Botafogo goalkeeper Julio Cesar kick nothing but air as a back pass goes horribly wrong. Well, I must admit that yes, the goalkeepers role has shifted significantly, and it has made the game of soccer more exciting, but how does a goalkeeper deal with that heart stopping back pass? There are a couple of ways for the uninitiated, let’s go through them.

1. Communicate: More often than not we stand like stunned mullets when a defender shoots through a back pass. Most of the times, it is second nature for your defence to pass the ball back under pressure. But if you have not communicated that you are unprepared, or under too much pressure to handle the back pass, then you will expect the ball back to you more often than you like. Learn to communicate with your defence when it comes to a back pass situation.
2. Play Wide: Oldest trick in the book, but communicate at the outset of the game that you require your defence to play wide so that you can effectively distribute back passes when under pressure.
3. Practice: This paradigm shift in goalkeeper technique, entails that you practice the back pass religiously. I’ll even go a step further to say that you should practice heading and chesting the ball also. Great goalkeepers know how to calm themselves in this situation, so practice the fine art of being still.

Another thing to remember is that you are not the only one to make a mistake with a back pass. Mistakes will happen and do happen to the best in the world. At the end of the day, it is how you deal with the situation that will dictate how you will progress in your development when it comes to the back pass. As stated in point 3…learn how to be calm under pressure, this is what the best in the world do. Repetition of back pass type drills is also vital during the training week…make it a staple of your goalkeeping diet!