I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it a thousand times: our keepers are the most unsung heroes of the game. For the U.S. side specifically, we’ve seen Alyssa Naeher do some spectacular things during PKs on both sides of the ball. Goalkeeping has changed so much, both as a position and in the public eye, over the last few decades. The evolution of goalkeeping doesn’t get enough buzz, so let’s change that.
Being a keeper was a strict and rigid position back in the day. There were rules dictating how and how much a keeper could interact with the ball and how far off the line they were allowed to come. It wasn’t common for a keeper to leave the box while the offense was striking or to call out plays during set pieces. For the most part, keepers stood on their line and waited for the ball to be shot.
Keepers were so highly specialized that they weren’t expected to have footwork or finesse, just quick hands and a body that took up space. They really were the last line of defense and nothing more. Two things rising at the same time seemed to have changed the keeper game: the 1992 back-pass rule and the rise of sweeper-keepers.
Back-pass rule
Put in place to discourage time wasting, the back-pass rule was instated for the 1992 Summer Olympics due to…
