Clean Sheet – Melissa Barbieri 'Catching up with a keeper'

Melissa Barbieri is the goalkeeper and Captain of the Matildas. She is wonderful example of how perseverance, hard work and a deep passion of the game can get you to the top of your chosen sport.

Q How did you first come to start playing football and was goalkeeper your preferred position or like most keepers was the role accidentally thrust upon you by your coach at the time?

"I started to play football because my brothers played. I would always go to their trainings and be a nuisance for all the coaches. One particular coach offered me a bench seat in one of their matches when I was eight in the under twelves. With ten minutes remaining I made it onto the pitch and needless to say I didn’t touch the ball. I did however fall in love with the game. I was the only girl in the under eight and under nine teams then I was banned from playing because I was a girl. I commenced playing again when I was 14 and always loved to play on the left side. I was selected for the National train on squad aged 16 as a left midfielder. I became a goalkeeper when aged 20 as I learned that I had undiagnosed left leg pain and numbness and a surgeon suggested I give up football as it required far too much running. I decided that this was NOT an option so became a goalkeeper instead. Within a year I was back in the National team and within two years made my debut for Australia and going on to play in a World Cup and Olympic Games within four years."

Q Who has been the biggest influence or role model on your football career to date and do you still call on their advice from time to time?

"I would have to say Ernie Merrick. I have had a lot of coaches and Tom Sermanni certainly gave me a lot of football knowledge for the last 8 years but really Ernie Merrick gave me a high intensity-training environment and was very blunt with me as a player. He gave me an opportunity to train with the Victorian Institute of Sport boys for 6 years as well as the Victory A League boys for 3 years once he became the coach there. He never let the notion of me being female get in the way of helping me train hard to became number 1 goal keeper in Australia.I wish I could call upon Ernie but he is hard to track down and never wanted any accolades for making me the player I am today. I usually rely on Tommy for that and now that he is moving to the US it may be a new coach to help me now. My hubby is always a good sounding board too. But he knows nothing about football.. Its more of what’s best for me type discussion."

Q What world football team did you grow up following and how did you come to supporting them?

"From an early age I always supported the Italian National team and after winning the World Cup in ‘82 it made for a massive increase in football memorabilia to our home. Both Mum and Dad are Italian born and when I was growing up the great Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff and striker Paolo Rossi were my football heroes. I then followed both Australia and Italy up until that fateful day in 2006 in Germany when Italy’s Francesco Totti dived in the box and ultimately eliminated the Socceroos from the tournament. I never supported Italy again after that. Much to my father’s dismay!"

Q The ABC and SBS have long been the mainstays in promoting and supporting women's football and sports through via great TV and Radio coverage, whilst the main networks like TEN, Nine and Seven are somewhat reluctant due to a perceived ratings and audience shortfall. What do you see as the biggest barrier to women's sport in this country?

"We can always gripe about the main media moguls not giving us enough coverage... but until our main body and clubs work together to promote our game effectively then why should we complain about the next level up. The problem is that there isn’t anyone in the main football areas who have the ability to think. What about the W League? Or What about the Matildas? How can we also advertise them in this space?  It is improving but really it is still not where it needs to be. Merely relying on volunteers to promote our game or saying that ABC and SBS are doing a great job is not good enough."

Q Do you think that the trialing of games as curtain raisers to some of the big A-League Derby games could help lift the profile and exposure of the W-League?

"We they have attempted that... and it hasn’t worked. It doesn't attract more sponsors or added media coverage. It can open a few people’s eyes to the fact we do play. But in reality what good does it do to pay an extra $10,000 to play before the men?  I would much prefer to see those funds directed towards the players so it can assist them in the important things such as travelling to and from training without the burden of having to car-pool with expensive petrol costs. If clubs want to help raise the profile of their brand and sport.... there are far better ways to do it first."

Q Can you try and describe the feeling in words when you were first told you were to Captain the Matildas and walking onto the pitch with the armband and singing the National Anthem?

"Nope I really can’t explain it, but telling you that my father cried when I told him may give you an idea as to the pride I felt."

Q The small strikers in football like Messi, Maradona etc. are rarely questioned on their size/height and whether it affects their game, but in relative goalkeeping terms you are considered on the short side. It obviously hasn't made any difference to your performance and success on the pitch, but did you consciously have you always had to work harder in certain areas to achieve your goals?

"No not at all. Only once the younger players coming through ranks started becoming taller than me did I really notice it. I have always been athletic enough to account for anything high. My strengths of communication have made it easier for me to stop shots before even making a save. Now that I am older and when I return from maternity leave I ensure that I’m 100% in the areas that may be affected by my lack in height. I will need to work very hard in the gym to regain my power but ultimately really it’s not about my height as it is more about being at my best."

Q What things do you like to do to help you relax when you are away from the rigors of training and playing international football?

"I like to watch TV Shows like Supernatural, Sons of Anarchy etc. Switching off from football is the key when on tour so I don’t mentally wear out."

Q What is the biggest game of football you have either played in to date or had the pleasure of watching?

"I have played in two World Cup Quarterfinals, which are very special, but I will always remember the day the Socceroos beat Uruguay at the Olympic Stadium Sydney in 2005. From the booing of the Uruguay National anthem because of what had occurred in the away tie in Uruguay to the amazing saves by Schwarzy (Mark Schwarzer) and the Mark Viduka miss to finally seeing John Aloisi converting the last penalty shot that ultimately sent them to the World Cup in 2006 ... What a game!"

Q We all know goalkeepers are different and have a special union with each other, but when playing, do you have a unique way with which to prepare or perhaps do strange things like put your left boot on first or wear lucky gloves?

"Nah I’m a field player at heart so I’m not your typical crazy goalkeeper but I always like to have a bit of a boogie in the change room, which can often make people think I’m a little crazy."

Q Who in your opinion has the biggest shot in Women's football? Here or abroad?

"In games it is hard to gauge the power... but Laura Alleway from the Brisbane Roar and the Matildas has nearly broken both my elbows in shooting practice - so I think deserves the guernsey of being the most powerful shot in World football."

Melissa Barbieri can be followed on Twitter: @Bubs_11 

backpagefootball.com

Clean Sheet 9

Well the Christmas season has come and gone but there was plenty of football both here and abroad to keep the most passionate of fans satisfied.  The EPL as usual was jam packed with matches to fill the largest of hard drives and cause endless arguments over the TV remote in many households.

To the A-League and Round 15 saw four clean sheets recorded for the men with the gloves. Matt Ryan continues to impress here and abroad and still tops the clean sheet statistics with seven for the season. But it is Ryan’s very small goal conceded tally of just nine that places him in the most wanted category for European clubs in particular Rangers. Fortunately for his Manager Graham Arnold, Ryan’s trial with Rangers was put on the back burner due to a minor shoulder injury suffered in the impressive two goal win on Sunday over Western Sydney Wanderers at Parramatta Stadium. Given Central Coast’s position atop the A-League ladder, Ryan’s presence at the back would be a tremendous boast to their Premiership aspirations after coming so close last season.

Adelaide United’s Eugene Galekovic will be hoping his New Year return to clean sheet form will continue after his side’s unfortunate 6-1 Western Sydney ‘Nightmare before Christmas’ and the doubling of his goals conceded in a single game.  Nathan Coe (Melbourne Victory) and Mark Birighitti (Newcastle Jets) are also performing well with Birighitti getting on the board for is first clean sheet of the season.  Birighitti made a courageous return to the team after suffering a painful cheekbone injury in mid November that was set rule him out for up to eight weeks. The club's first clean sheet of the season  will please Manager Gary Van Egmond no end, as they are second only to Sydney FC for goals conceded. The save of the week has to go to Mark Paston for his low down reflex effort against the Brisbane Roar on New Year’s Day.  This weekend’s clash between the Melbourne Victory and the Central Coast Mariner promises to be an exciting clash and its wonderful to see the Victory Club and the A-League branching out their supporter base by playing the game at Aurora Stadium in Launceston. 

Moving to the EPL and after a busy festive period, many squads have had the opportunity to rotate and rest players for the third round of FA Cup fixtures. There were a few clean sheets recorded including the surprise win over Chelsea by QPR. Julio Cesar pulled off one of the saves of the round by denying Fernando Torres in recording his eighth EPL goal of the season. It was Cesar’s second clean sheet and went a long way in helping his relegation poised side record their first away win since November 2011 and first win at Stamford Bridge in 30 years.

Meanwhile at Liverpool, Pepe Reina continued to keep Brad Jones warming the bench as his side took care of Sunderland at Anfield.  The win helped place them into eighth place on the ladder. This week will be the ultimate test for The Reds as they travel to Old Trafford to take on their fiercest rivals in Manchester United.  They last met back in September where United took the points in an emotional and spiteful clash following the red card handed to Jonjo Shelvey for his sloppy challenge on Jonny Evans.  David De Gea has been in good form in the box for the Devils after keeping six unanswered goals in a very lean Christmas period for their opponents.

Joe Hart has his chance to share clean sheet honours with Stoke City’s Asmir Begovic as Man City travel to Emirates Stadium to try and silence the guns of Arsenal. Hart comes off the back of two consecutive clean sheets against Stoke and a FA Cup third round win over Championship side Watford. The match promises to be an interesting clash as there is never too much between the two sides if their one all draw at The Etihad back in late September is anything to go by.

That’s all for another week, the best of luck to your team this week and here’s hoping for a plethora of scoreless draws so we get the keepers back in the back page headlines where they belong.

Random Clean Sheet Trivia Question

What keeper has the highest goals conceded tally in the EPL and what is the number?

(As at the end of Round 21)

Football Quote of the week:

"If I could, I'd vote for myself. Being too humble isn't good. In Portugal, we say 'Too much humility is vanity'."

Ronaldo on the Ballon D'or 

backpagefootball.com

Penalty Shoot-outs – ‘A focus on the sticks’

It is a football topic that polarises both football and many non-football supporters. Many love the theatre and contrasting emotions that a penalty shoot-out brings to opposing teams, officials and more importantly the fans. From a goalkeeping perspective it focuses on the man in box and gives them a chance to shine or to start looking for the largest rock to hide for rest of humanity. The sheer nature of penalties in determining a match gives rise to the argument of it being unjust after a long battle of regular and extra time. Others believe it gives a chance to teams who have fought their way back into a contest. Before the advent of penalty shoot-outs, matches that remained level at the final whistle were more often than not decided by a coin toss or a replay.

There have been many outspoken critics of the shoot-out since its inception such as the great Brazilian manager Luiz Felipe Scolari who described it as a “lottery rather than a test of skill”. Even the controversial FIFA President Sepp Blatter has voiced his opinion saying that “Football is a team sport and penalties is not a team, it is the individual.” He recently stated "Football can be a tragedy when you go to penalty kicks. Football should not go to one to one, when it goes to penalty kicks, football loses its essence.”

The brief history and the development of the penalty shoot out in deciding the outcome of tournament and many league cup matches dates back to the Yugoslav Cup from 1952, but it was Israeli Yosef Dagan who floated the idea of the penalty shoot-out following his homeland losing a 1968 Olympic quarter final by the drawing of lots. Dagan’s proposal to FIFA was accepted by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) at the AGM on 27 June 1970.

It is understood that the first penalty shoot-out in a professional match occurred in 1970 between Hull City and Manchester United in a semi-final of the Watney Cup. The Watney Cup was a short lived pre-season tournament that saw the two top teams with the highest goal aggregate in the four divisions do battle. It was in this game that the legendary George Best was the player credited with the first kick in a penalty shoot-out.

The very first international tournament winner to be decided by a penalty shoot-out was in the 1976 European Championship final match where Czechoslovakia took on the might of West Germany. It was the Czechs who ran out winners that day 5-3 and helped secure the shoot-out as the preferred method over scheduling replays.

With the advent of the penalty shoot-out has come the obvious disappointments to many international football sides.  The most famous teams to continually falter at the last hurdle are the English, Dutch and Italian sides. The most infamous of shoot-out records falls with the England national team. Since the UEFA Euro ’96 Tournament England have lost five shoot-outs in succession in eight major tournament finals. It has long been known that for England to win a title they need to shake the shoot-out curse as their only taste of success last occurred in their quarterfinal clash against Spain in Euro ’96. The most memorable of England’s penalty misery occurred when David Beckham sprayed his shot over the bar into the crowd against Portugal at the Euro 2004 tournament. Their poor record continued again last year at the Euro’s when they lost out to Italy 4-2 after Ashley Young and Ashley Cole both missed their attempts. What was memorable about that encounter is the way Italy’s Andrea Pirlo with ice running through his veins casually chipped his shot past the England Joe Hart.

For now it seems the penalty shoot is the necessary evil existing in the world game and to me seems the most equitable solution to a match ending in stalemate beyond regular and extra time. As cruel as the final outcome can be to the players and fans, it does provide the game with great theatre and suspense. After watching the Euro 12 clash in the early morning hours at my favourite Italian restaurant in Brisbane’s café precinct it is plain to see that the both sets of fans embrace it as a necessary evil. The Italian fans were euphoric in their celebrations as the England supporters had to deal with the disappointment of yet another cruel loss. One thing is for sure that however the game is decided it will never extinguish the passion and love of the game.

SoccerSouls.com

Penalty Spot - A one on one with the keeper

This is the first article in what hopes to be an ongoing series, giving football fans a little insight into the world of a top flight goalkeeper. A big thanks to Melbourne Heart’s Clint Bolton for giving up his time to stand in front of the spot and be peppered with a few off the cuff questions.

Clint is arguably one of the most experienced keepers in the Hyundai A-League and NSL with around 480 games under his belt since joining the Brisbane Strikers way back in 1993. He was part of Frank Farina’s team who went on to win the NSL Title in front of 40,446 parochial Queenslanders at Lang Park in 1997. He kept a memorable clean sheet that afternoon after going head to head against Sydney United’s Zeljko ‘Spider’ Kalac. Clint’s strong work ethic and his ability to stay fit and injury free has helped him be one of the most consistent performers in the game.

Goalkeepers have always been known as being a little bit different and at times left of centre. Do you follow any strange pre-game routines or have any idiosyncrasies that you would care to share with everyone?

"Other than just relaxing and getting into a good frame of mind before each game, I like to down a bowl of porridge on match day. To keep myself focussed on the game for the full 90mins, I believe it’s vitally important to always keep the communication and talk up between the players."

In your opinion who has the hardest shot in the A-League?

"Last year I would have to say it was Carlos Hernandez (Melbourne Victory) as he could really fire it like a rocket, although it may surprise a lot of people to know that Alessandro Del Perio’s shot is very powerful for a player of his height and size. The nature of his kicking style with a minimal back-swing makes his shots deceptively quick from the free kick spot and very difficult to judge."

Who was/is the biggest influence on your keeping career?

"The biggest influence on my football career would have to be Jimmy Fraser (Former NSW and Australian Representative goalkeeper 1969 to 1976 and Coaching Director – International Goalkeepers Academy Sydney). Jimmy has been a tremendous supporter of my career and is a real old school coach who also has the great ability to tell the odd awful joke."

"John Filan (Former Australian keeper and current Goalkeeping Coach Sydney FC) has also had big impact on my career from when he coached me at my time at Sydney FC from 2008-2010."

What are your passions away from the pitch?

"I am a huge music fan, in particular Hard Rock and Metal. Australia has a very strong underground Hard Rock/Metal scene and I love to head to as many gigs as possible in my spare time. I love nothing more then heading north to visit my old man to go Barramundi fishing up in the rivers and estuaries of Far North Queensland. I’m not too good with sea sickness when it comes to heading offshore so I stick to the safety and calmness of the inland systems. It’s a great way to unwind and relax after a busy A-League season."

What team/player’s jersey did you wear to training when growing up?

"I grew up playing for my local junior side in Bundaberg called ‘Aston Villa’. I then adopted the Birmingham club and have followed their progress ever since. They have had a difficult time of it in the EPL of late but with a big emphasis on youth in the side, their future is looking good."

Can you remember where you were when Mark Schwarzer and Jon Aloisi helped the Socceroos qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup?

"I certainly can like most Australia football fans. I was glued to the TV at home and can recall every moment from Schwarzer’s first save to Duke’s (Mark Viduka) unfortunate miss. With Schwarzer then keeping out a second, I just had a deep belief that Aloisi was the man for the job and wouldn’t miss. It was an emotional moment and I freely admit to getting a little teary like many Aussies who were lucky enough to witness that most memorable sporting moment. I only wish I had been there to experience the atmosphere of the packed Olympic Stadium."

Who is your favourite international keeper past or present?

"That would have to be Manchester United and Denmark Legend Peter Schmeichel. While he wasn’t known as the most technically brilliant and considered a little unorthodox in his methods, I always admired his keeping style. I liked his unorthodox nature because I feel I am similar in many ways to how he approached the game."

Who is the Heart’s serial practical joker/pest in the dressing sheds or on road trips?

"Well after a memorable end of season trip to Bali after Season 1, I would have to say the title falls to  Aziz Behich. His small stature certainly belies his behaviour in the sheds and he’s always one to try and make the players laugh through his ‘Rooster Behaviour’. A fun guy to have around and he strives to maintain the positive atmosphere on road trips and in the dressing room."

Clint Bolton can be followed on twitter @bootsa22

backpagefootball.com

Clean Sheet 8

Only two clean sheets to speak of in the A-League this week. The Mariners’ Mat Ryan continued on his winning ways after a busy week making his Socceroos debut at the EAFF qualifying tournament in Hong Kong. Watching the game against the Heart, it was apparent that Ryan’s confidence is sky high as he surveyed the 18 yard box like he’d just put an offer in on the real estate. Ryan has gone to the equal top of the A-League clean sheet tally along with Ante Covic who also had a fine night out in the Sydney Derby. As bad as the defensive woes are for Sydney FC, they appear to be performing better under new manager Farina, however their midfield and forward play was poor and pedestrian at times. The passes failed to stick and the turnovers were all too frequent. The normally dependable attacking flair of Brett Emerton wasn’t there and I cannot remember seeing him miss three passes in succession like he did in the second half.

Western Sydney Wanderers are a very cohesive unit under Tony Popovic and his side followed his match plan to the letter by totally out enthusing their cross town cousins in all facets. What can be said is how wonderful the Sydney Derby atmosphere was at Allianz Stadium. The Wanderers support base is very impressive despite the club’s infancy, and teams heading to Parramatta Stadium should never underestimate their power to lift their side to victory.  A local Derby is what every player and fan wants to be part of. From the long time rivalries that exist in the EPL between United/City; Liverpool/Everton; Tottenham/Arsenal; Leicester City/Nottingham Forest all the way through to the recent A-League Victory/Heart clashes. It’s what makes our game great. Even for a local Brisbane lad like myself, I‘m always drawn into watching a Derby clash around the globe, no matter where my club allegiances lie. This Saturday night sees another Derby with the Heart hosting the Victory at AAMI Park. I’m putting my money on the Heart to bounce back from the Mariners loss to narrowly get the points against Ange’s men.

Back to goal keeping and the Phoenix’s Mark Paston will be a little disappointed with his keeping performance after being kept very busy by the Adelaide United strikers. Paston failed to get a glove on the strikes from Carrusca (2) and Ferreira. Contrastingly United’s skipper Eugene Galekovic was in great touch by only conceding a solitary goal. It is certainly no fluke that Adelaide is sitting in second place on the ladder this year. Witnessing the players celebrating with their captain after his added time penalty heroics, you can see the genuine team spirit that exists in the playing group. It surprises me that Adelaide’s keeping captain Galekovic hasn’t recorded a vote towards the Alex Tobin Award this season. Although I’m sure most keepers prefer their performances go under the radar and not drawing too much attention from the outside world.  On this occasion though he deserved at least a point maybe two…

To the EPL fixtures and only two clean sheets greeted the statisticians this week. Tottenham snuck home at White Hart Lane against Swansea with Hugo Lloris moving to three clean sheets in seven games for the French international. Lloris looks to have cemented himself ahead of Brad Friedel for Spurs since signing from Lyon before the summer transfer window. AVB must have a high opinion of him as his appointment back in October ended Freidel’s long run of 310 consecutive games in the Premier League.

In other clean sheet news West Brom and West Ham played out a scoreless draw at the Hawthorns. As the score line suggested, the game lacked any attacking flair or creativity but the result helped to stop the recent run of losses for Steve Clarke’s chargers. Boaz Myhill earned his first clean sheets after starting in his seventh game of the season. It is still unclear when Ben Foster will return after groin surgery but in the meantime Myhill has tackled his return with vigour and enthusiasm by doing extra hours in the gym and shedding a few kilos in the process. West Ham keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen continued his impressive stats and sits in equal second on the clean sheet table with six for the season. West Ham’s season so far has probably exceeded expectations, but with a seemingly good draw over the next few rounds they have the opportunity to move up a couple of places and consolidate their position.

Great news this week for Australian and Liverpool with keeper Brad Jones agreeing to a contract extension that will see him remain at Anfield for a few more seasons at least. Jones has been an impressive fill in for Pepe Reina this season and the Spaniard will need to remain in good touch so as not to give Manager Brendan Rodgers too many reasons to give Jones more game time.

Random Clean Sheet Trivia Answer

What is the record number of goals conceded by a goalkeeper in a FIFA World Cup match and by which keeper/country?

Congratulations go to @paulbroad who correctly identified that Luis Guevara Mora (El Salvador), leaked a record 10 goals in their match against Hungary in the 1982 FIFA World Cup (Spain)

Keeper Quote of the Week:

"The joy of seeing Yuri Gagarin flying in space is only superseded by the joy of a good penalty save."

Lev Yashin
Russian Goalkeeping Legend  and nick-named ‘The Black Spider’

backpagefootball.com

Clean Sheet 7

 

Sadly the A-League only threw up two clean sheets this week courtesy of John Aloisi’s Melbourne Heart holding out the Perth Glory and the Central Coast Mariners win over the out of form Newcastle Jets. Clint Bolton recorded his second clean sheet of the season, although the three points is always the first priority.

The ageless Bolton has been a consistent performer and possesses a calmness and leadership quality that many younger keepers would love to aspire to. The win helped the Heart stay within reach of the top four; however the same cannot be said of Perth and Brisbane who are the unlikely partners for Sydney at the bottom of the competition table. Bolton’s reflex save from a sharp shot from Perth’s Travis Dodd displayed his class under pressure and tireless work ethic.

Although Clint Bolton was awarded by many football pundits with the save of the week, my stand out keeper of the week went to Sydney FC youngster Vedran Janjetovic. Frank Farina’s recent faith in Janjetovic was repaid after he pulled off two cracking saves. The first showed mountains of courage as he rushed from the safety of the six yard box to slide head on and pick-pocket the ball out from underneath Paul Ifill’s nose. The other displayed much more athleticism after diving full stretch to his left to reel in a powerful Jeremy Brockie header.  The away win should help build some much needed confidence in the Sydney FC camp before they host the local derby at Allianz on Saturday evening. It appears Vedran is part of Farina’s immediate defensive plans and if his form continues, he could make things difficult for Ivan Necevski to win back his spot in the side. He’s obviously relishing his time under the Sydney FC goalkeeping Coach Zeljko “Spider” Kalac who he credits as his main reason in signing with the club.

Justin Pasfield’s strong performance against the Newcastle Jets delivered his first clean sheet of the season. Justin stepped into the Mariners senior side with Mat Ryan making his International debut for the Socceroos at the EAFF qualifying tournament in Hong Kong. Unfortunately for Pasfield, Ryan is in the form of his career which may not provide too many future opportunities to impress the coaching staff. The bonus of being part of a winning and competitive environment will certainly build his value going forward.

Moving on to the EPL, and the Arsenal, Aston Villa, Stoke, Southampton keepers all recorded clean sheets this week, although all the talk rested solely on the Manchester derby at the Etihad. It’s always unfortunate when the talk turns to happenings off the pitch, but the game itself was an arm wrestle from start to finish and it was difficult to turn away even with a late night calming Brisbane downpour on the tin roof calling me to my slumber. On the keeping side of things, David De Gea performed very well in comparison to his cross city rival Joe Hart with some very fine stops to keep United with their noses ahead at the final whistle. Hart  seems to be searching for his fine form of last season, however City, like many of the top Premier League clubs, is built on huge finances and sometimes the team harmony that managers so often strive for becomes a distant mirage that is rarely reached despite the wealth, table position and on pitch success. Chelsea’s Petr Cech again impressed as did Asmir Begovic who picked up his eighth clean sheet of the season for Stoke City in a scoreless draw at Villa Park. For the six keepers that have played all 1440 minutes of the season thus far, Begovic has faced 195 shots, and leads the group with only 12 goals to breach his line. Very impressive stats indeed!

The weekly ‘Keeping Clanger’ unfortunately goes to Nathan Coe. Not so much for his keeping performance but for the Victory defensive group who certainly didn’t do him any favours at the back. The Adelaide attacking line were afforded far too much space by the Victory back four and Ange Postecoglou will hope to fill the gaps before taking on Brisbane Roar this weekend. They won’t want a repeat of their Round Two encounter where they leaked five goals in a night that keeper Lawrence Thomas is still having nightmares over.

Random Clean Sheet Trivia Question

What is the record number of goals conceded by a goalkeeper in a FIFA World Cup match and by which keeper/country?

Tweet and follow me on @clarkies2340 with your answer for a mention in next week’s article,

Keeper Quote of the Week:

You’ve got to believe that you’re going to win, and I believe we’ll win the World Cup until the final whistle blows and we’re knocked out.

Peter Shilton (Former England, Leicester City and Nottingham Forest keeping Legend)

backpagefootball.com

Clean Sheet 6

Round nine of the A-League threw up some goalkeeping changes due to Mat Ryan and Eugene Galekovic being absent as a result of their Socceroos squad call up. This made way for some reserve keepers to show their wares to club management. Paul Izzo stepped into the Adelaide United goal on debut and impressed many pundits with his sharpness in the box. His save from a quality strike from Central Coast’s Josh Rose displays how healthy goalkeeping talent is in this country. So many writers tend to heap too much early praise and expectation on young talent, but Izzo’s calmness under pressure belies his age and I’m sure it won’t be too long before the Joey’s Australian U-17 rep gets more game time at senior level.  Justin Pasfield was called into the Mariners courtesy of Matt Ryan being in Hong Kong on Socceroos duties and helped his side take the top spot on the competition ladder. For Pasfield it will be a case of taking his rare chances or as such time as number one keeper Mat Ryan secures an overseas contract.

Another keeper to be promoted into the run on team was Sydney FC’s Vedran Janjetovic. With Frank Farina taking over the reins at the embattled club, Janjetovic was brought in at the expense of regular gloveman Ivan Necevski who has had to endure a very tough time at the back. The goals conceded column at Sydney FC certainly cannot be contributed to Necevski, but perhaps an early freshen up paired with a solid tactical change and mindset in defence can build the confidence of the struggling unit. The change certainly paid dividends as Janjetovic recorded the first clean sheet for the club this year.

My save of the week was a tough decision and was harder to split than a knotted piece of old hardwood. Melbourne Victory’s Nathan Coe was a fine candidate after his lowdown dive prevented the powerful Shane Smeltz header finding the net, but it was stand in Sydney keeper Vedran Janjetovic who’s effort to stop Fred’s rocketing header that narrowly gets the chocolates for my save of the week.

To the EPL and the commentator curse strikes again. If you remember my article from a week ago, I was singing the praises of the West Bromwich Albion keeper Ben Foster. Since my last post, Foster has gone under the knife in Germany for a groin injury and is recovering aiming to return to the pitch in three weeks. Hopefully his return to the Baggies will see them continue their impressive season and consolidate their position on the ladder. My positive piece certainly didn’t help their chances on the weekend, losing to Stoke at The Hawthorns. My future self imposed media ban will certainly go a long way to helping their chances of winning the three points in future games this season. Another big apology goes out to Norwich stopper John Ruddy. I prematurely put some big raps on his performances for the Canaries only to learn that his torn thigh courtesy of the Everton clash will see him sidelined for three months. Norwich will now rely on replacement keeper Mark Bunn to fill Ruddy’s shoes and hopefully continue the club’s unbeaten Premier League run since a defeat to Chelsea way back in early October.

Joe Hart’s save on the weekend against Everton will help give him some much needed confidence, but it was Asmir Begovic’s seventh clean sheet which has helped Stoke climb above Arsenal and into ninth place on the table. Begovic has played all 15 games this season and if his clean sheet form continues, Stoke City will make life very difficult for teams at the pointy end of the season. I only hope my reports don’t have a negative effect on his form or fitness coming into the festive season and beyond.

The weekly ‘Keeping Clanger’ unfortunately goes to Ante Covic from Western Sydney Wanderers. I never like highlighting the low points of a keeper’s game but Ante’s miss against Wellington was right up there. The fluky windy Wellington conditions inside the “Cake Tin” totally bamboozled Covic as he was clean bowled by a long strike by Jeremy Brockie. His effort to bounce back and finish strongly with a couple of classy saves displayed his mental toughness and his ability to put an error behind him quickly and move on.

Random Clean Sheet trivia answer
Last week’s quiz asked, “Which goalkeeper has the longest clean sheet record of all time in soccer?”
Sadly I didn’t get a correct response to the quiz, but for the record the longest clean sheet record in the EPL is currently held by the great Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar for a staggering 1,311 on field minutes back in season 2008-09.I will search for another goalkeeping stat to quiz my many thousands of weekly readers and twitter followers for next week’s edition. Please stay tuned.

Quote of the Week

Football is a fertility festival. Eleven sperm trying to get into the egg. I feel sorry for the goalkeeper.

Bjork (Singer – Iceland)

I’ve always liked Bjork’s offbeat music style, but never thought she had such a deep understanding of the greatest position in football.

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