With the abundance of top flight fixtures - with some teams playing over 60 games a season - the role and importance of the backup goalkeeper is getting bigger and bigger. No longer do they just play in meaningless friendlies or only when the
The Genius of Gigi
In the 2011 indie film “Win Win,” a nebbish wrestling coach played by Paul Giamatti asks his star athlete what it’s like to be so good. “I guess it just feels like I’m in control,” he answers. Giamatti nods and wistfully says, “That must be
The importance of goalkeeper training
The weather has not yet appreciably warmed in New York, but we are in full swing after the mid-winter break. Running goalkeeper sessions on windy, zero-degree nights with keepers of all ages and abilities has revealed a very telling pattern: the best
The Dust Bowl
When I was a kid and football madness ruled my life, I built a pitch in my back garden. It wasn’t much of a pitch, really; just two wooden five-a-side goals sunk into the earth about thirty yards apart. I strung second-hand nets onto the goals, and
Robert Enke
Tonight it’s warm. My windows are open to a breeze that comes across the Gulf Stream and coral reefs of the Florida Keys. My dog Blake lies asleep at my feet. Every half-hour or so he looks up at me, making sure I’m still with him. He might wonder
Soccer Players and Fast Cars: A Sometimes Dangerous Mix
While playing for River Plate, Diego Buanotte had to recover from injuries he suffered in a car accident in which he was involved on December 26 - 2009. Buanotte was the "lucky one" as three friends traveling with him in the car were killed. His