Assessing Casillas' troubles

Everyone has seen Iker Casillas' fall to pieces at the World Cup right now, and a lot can be said about what happened. Personally, I think there were multiple factors, and getting demoted to the bench in favour of Diego Lopez didn't help matters. It was going to happen, and it did. So to summarise about my thoughts, I've summed up my thoughts below, to save me writing (and you reading!) paragraph upon paragraph:

• He did make some great saves, but once his team had given up the effort, things were going to go bad from then on in
• You could see that his confidence was hit and spiraled out of control: for a goalkeeper to be at their best, they have to be really certain in their ability and Casillas was second-guessing, self doubting, and not playing as commanding as we have seen him in previous world beating form (electing to punch instead of catch etc.)
• Spain were playing a higher line and recycling the ball more through the back four, forcing Casillas to play as a passing sweeper - something he doesn't do, and what Valdes is best at actually - which got him caught out in the thrashing in the first game to add to his woes
• Casillas only got to play in cup games this season, which is not enough to expect to be at peak performance for a World Cup; friendlies maybe, but not when you have the expectant winners to continue their reign! He really should have cut ties with Madrid and looked for regular playing time elsewhere. Cesar looks fine, but the MLS would tie into a strong enough build up to peaking for Rio versus a significant layoff
• Valdes' injury at Barca really made a difference; coming off a strong season, he really could have come in straight away and played as the sweeper role as well as expected to have made great stops as he had been in La Liga had he been fit!
• The coach needed to be more brutal and either ask Casillas to look elsewhere for match time if he wanted to play at Rio, or to make a choice to bring in another goalkeeper. Cillesen is playing great for Holland and many would say that Krul and Vorm are better keepers, but he was forced into playing due to their injuries, and has been consistent for Van Gaal so far and could see them all the way through to the finals
• The pressure on such a celebrity figure like Iker has a great impact on the sports psychology of goalkeeping. The more stress packed up on him can make things even more tricky with decision making as he totally lost self confidence and therefore his team lost confidence in him
• Having broken into the first team at Real Madrid at incredibly young age for a goalkeeper, the last nagging question is: has Casillas peaked to soon? Are his best days over? For goalkeepers, 30s are their prime time, but Casillas had most of his best seasons before that period. And if we look to other sports, like ice hockey, Jonathan Quick didn't become the starter at LA until he was 26 and has won 2 Stanley Cups in 3 seasons, whilst Fleury is also regressing. Akinfeev is struggling; is peaking-too-soon showing similarities here??

Pro Used: Fabianski's fingersaves

Another recent goalie acquisition, was a pair made for Fabianski. I can only assume these were a training pair, as he doesn't seem to use fingersaves for matches. Now with Swansea, these were made specially for him during his time at Arsenal. Interestingly, they had fingersaves at the thumb as well as the other fingers. This is something you don't often see this level of player using (normally just the four fingered reinforcements) and the thumb curve was very rigid and close to the thumb within the glove.

The fingersaves were pre-curved and fixed in (not removable), and bent in a way that it made it difficult to properly bend at the fingers to make a strong catch to hold the ball. However, this would be great in training and for fingertip stops to make sure the fingers weren't bent back during the save.

The glove cut was also rollfinger (a lot more 'roomy' than the Kenny cut). They were essentially an adaptation of the Bionic Uhlsport model.

Pro Used: Kenny's Sells

As a bit of a kit fanatic, I love getting the chance to try out professional standard goalkeeping gear whenever I have the chance. I don't think much compares as a goalie obsessive to wearing kit that has been specially made for an elite level GK. In America, for ice hockey especially, a lot of goalies will get 'pro returns' at a great price, allowing them to play with great protection and extra features not normally featured in stock pads (like an SMU glove basically). And I think this is something that would be great to feature on the blog to add a bit of spice and difference.

Personally, I think it would be awesome to have this kind of thing seen more regularly in the football GK Union, with lower level GK's learning more about gloves and their features by getting the chance to play with a pair worn by their fan fave goalie.

First up is a pair of Sells rollfinger Aqua gloves made for Paddy Kenny. I got them from that well known auction site (aka Ebay!) where you can often find some great deals. First impressions were how much they were an incredibly tight fit. I have slight (slim/thin) fingers, apparently like those of an artist/sculptor/painter and with the rollfinger design made to conform to the finger as close as possible, it was really noticeable how tight the fit was.

I think this would have a big impact in game, as it was harder to bring the fingers in, versus the cut-in designs you see that make it easier to bend the fingers without limiting glove W shape. This was pretty much the main design change, other than the added extra venting, with the glove pretty much stock otherwise.

Gloves before the wash!

The bacteria noticeable after the wash!!

Rinat on show with Valladares

Rinat are a glove company that are well known within the Hispanic community, with a lot of goalkeepers in South America using them, and also famous names in the Spanish La Liga. I had assumed that Keylor Navas (well advertised as one of their main sponsored players) would be sporting a pair for Costa Rica, but it seems he's switched over to Sells gloves, like Valdes has. That leaves Honduras goalkeeper and captain Valladares wearing them. Which means they have 'made the big time', with the company seeing their gloves wore in a major tournament like the World Cup. Theoretically they should therefore be up to the standard of play otherwise I can't see goalkeepers putting their trust in them for protection against such stingy shots by world class strikers. And hopefully they'll get some more customers with the brand getting noticed internationally on this scale!

Akinfeev's implosion

Just as Ochoa has drawn a lot of praise in the media, so has Akinfeev's nervous collapse been highlighted. For me, I really think this is a psychological thing, but can't quite pinpoint it exactly. Igor has long been considered one of Russia's great goalkeepers and with strong performances in the UEFA and previous World Cup tournaments, having taken over as 1st choice with his club at the age of 16, with scouts and pundits taking a liking to him, but for some reason things have gone more than a little wrong. The weather (with the torrential showers taking place in quite a few matches at the moment) may have had something to add to making it worse, but he couldn't seem to catch a thing.

He is also normally great at catching and has strong hands. But he fumbled about four shots, with one ending up in the back of the net. I really think there is something going under the surface, mentally, for whatever reason that needs addressing. If he was as confident as he usually is, this wouldn't be happening, as he would be making the right choices; sticking to them and being forceful in commanding his area.

Compared to his usual performances, this is terrible. In the sense that he is normally so consistent and strong mentally, and is not known for his mistake making. The goal he did allow, he needed to have been more convicted with his decision making, and punched it away, on a good angle, or left his feet and gone for the catch. By electing to palm away and not pushing the ball away on a good angle, he ended up popping it up and over him for the OG.

It could also have something to do with a possible change in coaching or similar, which shouldn't be ruled out. If he is in two minds over whether to punch/parry or catch, this can be creeping into his decision making. As the ball comes in and he keeps changing his mind, things go wrong, and then his confidence is destroyed from then on in.

Whatever it is, he needs to go away and strengthen his mind and confidence, if he wants his team to do well, or start the next game. Just like Gomes just needed a good sports psychologist whilst he had his own struggles at Tottenham, so does Afinkeev need encouragement. Support from his coach, his team mates and Russian media should help, and so long as he stays mentally strong going forward, he should be back at his best in no time.

The pressure on the modern player is almost unthinkable compared to previous years and generations. All goalkeepers know how much pressure is put on them for their team to succeed, and critics and fans should keep this in mind when considering Igor's meltdown.

Cesar not affected by lay-off

Watching the Brazil - Mexico game, it was good to see that Cesar was in good form against table matching opponents and good rivals Mexico. Strong and mentally in tune with the game, he made some key stops, pushing one shot over the bar, with great awareness. Able to pull out the stops in the closing of the game to keep it 0-0, he made a great Cesar-like (what fans are used to from him!) save, pushing away the drive to the centre of goal, with a strong push to clear the rebound away. It was a little close to comfort, but given the angle of the shot, and incoming defender, wasn't much he could do about it. The push away also helped as he would have had enough time to set and recover for the next shot, if that had happened.

There were big question marks over how well he would do given the significant lay-off he faced after being benched by Redknapp at QPR and only a few games in with Toronto in the MLS, but he is showing it's not a case for concern. In his last world cup outing, he struggled about with confidence and decision making, but going by his performances so far, he has clearly put that behind him and should be able to carry his team should they continue to struggle.

Ochoa impressing on the big stage

One of the standout goalkeepers in Rio so far has been Ochoa. A goalkeeper that likes to sit deep in his area, hanging around the goal line, and rely on his reflexes and athleticism, he has incorporated this in his game approach at the tournament. Applying , he has found a way to play to his strengths, coming together for some cracking saves against headed crosses and long drives.

With his status listed as a free agent, having finished his season in Ligue 1, he is sure to be looking to alert scouts to sort out a new deal once the tournament is over.

Against Cameroon he made a top drawer save in the dying moments of the game. Showing a high concentration level of calmness but also steady awareness, that is key to success at this standard, he has shown he is more than ready to 'switch on' at the last second to make the stop. Teams don't exactly want their goalkeeper to drop off to sleep with little work to do, and Ochoa is proving his mental awareness. Making a diving stop in extension to claw away the ball in the last moments of the game helped ensure Cameroon couldn't get on the score board for Mexico to wrap it up, and should not be underestimated.

And against Brazil, he was also in great form to pull off 3 point (game winning) saves to ensure that Mexico came away with a draw against the tournament favourites. Rushing out to block a 1 on 1 after his defence failed to respond, he also made a great stop to turn Neymar's long range effort past the past (using his cat like and deep reflex style as mentioned) and also to get something behind a headed cross, palming away; most importantly with great positional sense in order to get behind the redirect.

As the games go on, Ochoa is sure to crank it up and show his mettle for goalkeeping fans across the world!!