Reuters Soccer Blog

Ball not to blame for goalkeeping howlers

The standard of goalkeeping in the early stages of this World Cup has not been the best but blame cannot lie with the controversial Jabulani ball.

Keepers and even strikers have criticised the adidas ball for being too light but the makers have said it is the roundest and truest ball ever created.

If we look at the three major keeping howlers so far in South Africa, I don’t think any of them are down to the ball.

England’s Robert Green let Clint Dempsey’s shot through his fingers in a 1-1 draw with the United States simply through a lack of technique and maybe nerves. The ball was bouncing along the ground so swerve was not an issue.

Algeria’s Faouzi Chaouchi made a bizarre attempt to save Robert Koren’s goal in Slovenia’s 1-0 win, trying to shovel the ball wide but making a horrible hash. Again, the ball did not swerve and was bouncing, it was simply poor technique and maybe the roar of the vuvuzelas affecting concentration.

Paraguay keeper Justo Villar gifted holders Italy a 1-1 draw in their opener when he flapped at a corner allowing Daniele De Rossi to prod home. I didn’t see any deviation in the ball and De Rossi read the flight right even if the keeper did not.

The pressure of a World Cup is unimaginable especially for goalkeepers like these three who are not household names around the globe.

Football mourns loss of a great talent and a modest man

Robert Enke had none of the extrovert qualities associated with the great goalkeepers in German football folklore, larger than life figures such as Sepp Maier and Oliver Kahn.

He didn’t quite reach the same levels of achievement on the field either but this modest man will certainly be remembered as a great talent.

Enke, who has committed suicide at the age of 32, was the best of an outstanding crop of German keepers and would likely have been chosen to keep goal at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Maybe there he would have fulfilled his exceptional potential.

That he had even made it into the Germany squad was testament to his character and professionalism.

Enke had to struggle to get his career back on track after a disappointing spell at Barcelona in the 1990s. Barca snapped him up on a free transfer after an excellent three years at Benfica but he was never able to make an impact at the Nou Camp, with his time there effectively cut short by a single poor performance in a Cup game.

He moved on loan to Fenerbahce and dropped down to the Spanish second division with Tenerife before he fought his way back into the top flight in 2004, back in Germany with Hanover. He eventually won the first of his eight German caps in 2007, eight years after being called up to the squad for the first time. It was a promotion that was long overdue in the eyes of most fans and players.