Courtesy: AFC.com

Kuala Lumpur: The FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012 Thailand has seen a goalkeeping evolution which Asian goalkeepers should keep up with to improve their game, FIFA Technical Study Group member Mico Martic has said.

The study of the goalkeepers in the world’s futsal showdown has revealed new tendencies and clearly shows that there is a correlation between goalkeeper quality and team final ranking.

Martic has made a presentation at the FIFA/AFC Futsal Seminar on the FIFA/AFC Futsal World Cup 2012 legacy for Asia in the Malaysian capital attended by 48 coaches and AFC Elite Futsal Coaching Instructors.

The main objectives of the seminar are to analyse the performance of Asian teams at the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup Thailand, compare their show with that of the top teams, discuss new trends in futsal and exchange information on latest trends.

Martic has given a summary on the physical constitution of the goalkeepers and their technical and tactical capabilities during Thailand 2012 in his presentation.

“Tall goalkeepers are rare as shown by Miodrag Aksentijević (SRB), Kyrylo Tsypun (UKR) Peter Spathis (AUS),” he said. “Mainly the goalkeepers are under 180cm in height and the smaller the goalkeepers, the quicker they are such as Tiago de Melo Marinho (BRA) and Stefano Mammarella (ITA).

“The group stage team goalkeepers need to work more on their technical and tactical capabilities. However, the goalkeepers for the teams who advanced to the second phase tended to play in the outfield, stop counterattacks and had a good reading of the game, as shown by Santiago Elias (ARG) and Merida Carlos (GUA). Juan Lozano (COL) had the biggest pressure because Colombia were playing extremely defensive futsal.

“In terms of technical characteristics, European goalkeepers had a proactive positioning and tended to put their knees down during 1v1s, whereas South American goalkeepers had focus on quickness and attractive saves.

“The goalkeepers also had excellent preparations, high concentration during the matches, were excellent motivators and team leaders.”





Posted by Kevin Hartwell