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Soccer IQ for Goalkeepers

A modern goalkeeper is the first attacker as well as the last defender, and most of his decisions are made with the ball at his feet.

The keeper sees the whole pitch, so he is the one who should spot the free player and the press coming. His reads decide whether a team plays out or goes long, and whether a save turns into a counter.

Worked plays

5 plays from Footy Eye's training pool, with the best read and why.

  1. Play 1

    The situation
    Keeper, ball at your feet. Their striker’s curved run shadows one centre-back; the other has stepped away with grass ahead.
    Best read
    Flat to the free centre-back, touch forward
    Why
    A curved run buys the striker one lane and costs him the other: once his angle commits, the far centre-back is free with the pitch ahead, so weight it flat and slightly in front. The shadowed centre-back receives with a presser arriving blind twenty yards from goal.
    The other options
    • Clip it long down the channel The clip lands in a contest down the channel, possession up for grabs.
    • Into the shadowed centre-back, let him turn The striker arrives on his blind side and wins it near your box.
    • Roll it to the pivot dropping short The pivot takes it with his marker tight on his back.

  2. Play 2

    The situation
    Keeper, out of your box with the ball. Their striker has finally committed, ten yards away. Behind him the picture has changed.
    Best read
    Play the centre-back he abandoned
    Why
    Stepping out was bait, and its whole value is the second in which somebody leaves a man to deal with you, a second that expires when he arrives. Let it go now and your centre-back has the ball with the presser behind him. Carrying on makes your last defender a dribbler in his own third.
    The other options
    • Carry on and take him on He tackles you outside your box, and the goal is empty.
    • Hit it long while you have time He closes the angle, and your hurried kick goes straight to them.
    • Touch it back and make him follow He keeps coming, and you’ve backed into your own box.

  3. Play 3

    The situation
    Keeper, ball at your feet. Their front two haven’t committed; their winger has tucked inside off your far full-back.
    Best read
    Play the near centre-back, let them commit
    Why
    A press has no free man until you make one: the pass into the side they lean on is the bait, and when their line slides, half the pitch is empty. The diagonal is a fifty-yard ball to a man who’s only free because nothing has happened; their winger is under it when it drops.
    The other options
    • Fire the long diagonal to the full-back now The diagonal hangs, and their winger steps in under it as it drops.
    • Stand on it until somebody commits Nobody comes; you stand on it and their shape stays set.
    • Through the middle to the pivot Their front two close the gap and cut it out by your box.

  4. Play 4

    The situation
    Your line is squeezed on halfway and their midfielder clips it in behind. You’re the keeper.
    Best read
    Race out and clear it outside the box
    Why
    A high line is only as good as the keeper behind it: the space your defenders leave is yours to defend. Meet it outside your area and put it in the stand; the ball is closer to you than to him. Staying on your line hands them forty yards and a one v one.
    The other options
    • Set on your line for the shot Their striker runs onto it unchallenged and bears down on goal.
    • Come to your six-yard line and spread He gets there first and takes it round you as you spread.
    • Stay home, shout your centre-back to recover Your centre-backs can’t catch him, and he’s through on goal.

  5. Play 5

    The situation
    You’re the keeper. You hold the shot — their side is still committed forward and your full-back is already clear.
    Best read
    Throw it flat to the full-back
    Why
    A save is a turnover, and the next six seconds are your attacking-transition window. A flat throw arrives faster and truer than any kick, at a man facing forward with grass ahead. Rolling it short invites the striker still running, and holding it spends the only advantage you have: the clock.
    The other options
    • Roll it short to your centre-back Their striker closes your centre-back as the ball arrives.
    • Kick it long for your striker to chase Your striker competes for it, and it’s a 50-50 upfield.
    • Hold it and let your team reset Their players jog back, and your full-back is marked again.

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