In the next 4 parts of a unified article, I will try to present the ideal player’s profile in each position for a team who wishes to play positional play football. For the purpose to offer more information in a more clear way, I will upload the article in 4 parts. In the first part, I will present the position of the sweeper Goalkeeper.
For our reference, the formation of the team is 1 – 4 – 3 – 3. It provides a brief example of how basic player tasks may come together to create a common team objective and playing behavior.
The most characteristic example in our days, of a team who implements Positional Play at its best, is Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. You can find a detailed article on their tactics in the MBP post “MANCHESTER CITY’S OFFENSIVE PHASE ANALYSIS“
The sweeper goalkeeper
Throughout history, this has been a consistent feature of possession-based teams. The start was with the great Ajax and Dutch National team back in the 70’s. The sweeper goalkeeper is responsible to initiate the above provide continuity when the team starts the attack from behind.
In all positional play teams, the sweeper goalkeeper is expected to play a third defender who helps with the build-up. The protection of the goal posts can be of a secondary role. This exactly is the role of Ederson of Manchester City.
Another key characteristic of the sweeper goalkeeper is to have the ability to recognize the opponent’s strategy in terms of pressing. The goalkeeper should identify if the opponent is pressing in a high or medium block and with how many players. This reading of the game will help him to decide how to start the game. If he will start it with short passing or with a long ball looking for the 2nd or third line of pass.
The involvement of the goalkeeper during the build-up is something that should be regularly practiced during the training. Positional and Possession games are ideal to train this kind of tactical concept. The goalkeeper must understand if the opponents are tight and mark the near opponents. In such situations, the space is further up the pitch and there will be the free – unmark players.
The ball may return to the goalkeeper many times. That should not be seen as a delay of the game or a problematic situation. The ball circulation among the back line is to disorganize the opposition’s first line of pressure. That will create gaps to progress the ball forward.
Characteristics of the ideal sweeper goalkeeper
By saying all the above, we should not confuse that the goalkeeper should always act by taking too many risks. But, the whole philosophy is that the defenders should feel comfortable and trust the goalkeeper to pass the ball back and involve him in the attacking phase of the game.
Characteristics for the ideal profile of the player in this role includes:
- Composure
- The ability to pass and receive with both feet
- The recognition of when to come out and sweep balls behind the back line
- The ability to recognize the opposition’s tactical intentions quickly and effectively.
Main roles of the sweeper goalkeeper
Ideally, the goalkeeper’s 3 main roles in a Positional Play team are:
- Ball distribution during the build-up
- To act as a pressure relief for his teammates when they are under pressure
- To analyze the situations developing in front of him
Of course, we should not neglect all the standard responsibilities that a goalkeeper has which are to save shots, exist in crosses, defend in 1 v 1 situations, etc. In simple words, the goalkeeper should be able to satisfy the requirements of a typical goalkeeper before doing the additional actions that a Positional Play team needs.
Conclusion
The position of the goalkeeper in modern football is so important. More than ever, the goalkeeper is concerned as one of the in-field players. Great goalkeepers of the past like Buffon, Oliver Kahn, Petr Čech should have faced more difficulties to play at a top level.
When scouting a sweeper goalkeeper, the characteristics that should be under review is not only the shot stops, exit in crosses, 1 v 1, goalkeeper’s technique, and positioning under the goal post. Even though all the previous are important, a scouter especially if he represents an elite club, must also look for the goalkeeper’s behavior during the attacking phase.
For more information on the theoretical and practical aspects, you must read the book “Positional Play in Modern Football“
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