Tactical game preparations together with the definition of the game system to be applied are fundamental elements that every coach works on weeks before the confrontation of an important match. Even in previous matches, different game schemes are put into practice in different phases of carefully selected matches to measure the team’s resilience, that is, to analyze the ability to adapt and recover from the team’s normal pace of play in different adverse or always compromised situations under control of the result.

If we add to the previous scouting or rival video-analysis sessions, analyzing their game system and identifying their strengths and weaknesses, we will have an excellent infographic to prepare the match.

This is usually the habitual dynamic work of the coaching staff, although sometimes the importance of the specific tactical preparation of our Goalkeepers to such matches can be overlooked. And let’s not forget, the goal of the opponent is precisely our Goalkeepers since there are eleven rival players trying to explode the networks of our net, hence the physical and mental preparation of our keepers deserve special attention.

The work in this regard should be conveniently developed between the second coach and the goalkeeper coach so that both perform in a combined and effective way specific sessions to prepare the match with the goalkeepers. The game system guidelines are well known to the second coach and his availability to spend as much time as necessary with the Goalkeepers and their trainer is infinitely greater than that of the first coach.

In these sessions, aspects of the technical-physical qualities of their strikers, wingers  and center attacking midfielders will be mainly analyzed, reviewing through video-analysis the detailed characteristics of their playing style to simultaneously analyze the containment system that we have foreseen in our game system with the objective of counteracting the rival ´s offensive actions.

All this must be accompanied by a specific analysis of the individual capabilities of each opposing player of the rival team that will face our Goalkeepers.

When talking about these capabilities we refer to the following:

• Power, type of shot usually executed and leg /s of launch
• Repetitive play style
• Situation and attitude in the field (active or reactive while waiting for the ball to make fast or timed offensive plays)
• Fragility in the face of minimal contact to cause faults near the finish line
• Ability to generate friction with our defensive axis
• Penalty keeper profiles and throwing styles (it is convenient to be prepared)

Analyzing these aspects we will obtain a clear infographic that will guide our Goalkeepers to deal with solvency and security with the offensive plays of the rival team. Their knowledge will provide great security to our Goalkeepers that will serve as a basis to give way to the development of the so-called winning intention

What is the winning intention and how to develop it

The winning intention is framed within the training techniques and methodologies oriented to high performance. It is a quality that every successful athlete must possess and is based on five fundamental rules:

1. A winning intention is not born, it is built

We must not confuse the competitive spirit of a soccer player with the mental work of preparation and adaptation of our body and mind towards the competition. Both concepts are often confused when identifying a competitive athlete with an athlete who has worked on the winning intention. They are two well differentiated concepts.

2. To build it you have to work and train

With objectivity, concentration effort and imaginative capacity, we must be able to reproduce in our mind days before each encounter, real game situations that we will live later. It is therefore a question of performing a mental essay with which we must provoke sensations and stimuli in our body that we will experience later on the day of the game.

The sensations will be the following:

• Strong rival entries
• Ball disputes and lack of visibility in the area, in case of Goalkeepers
• Errors and failures produced
• Physical superiority of the rival, winning our position in different sets of the match
• Team´s disillusionment in moments of maximum effort and worse consequences obtained (e.g. receiving a goal at the worst time)
• Feeling tired and exhausted
• Unfair arbitration with involuntary errors
• Losing score

3. The winning intention starts from the image we have of ourselves (self-esteem)

If we participate in a football team and compete alongside the rest of the team, it is because we have won the position and both club and coaches give us their confidence to achieve the goals they expect from us. This is reason enough to consider ourselves important and capable of performing the expected work, so our self-esteem must be maximum.

4. High self-esteem helps us develop greater capacities

There must be no one who trusts us more than ourselves. We have the confidence of the group, we feel important, we have capabilities because in each training we show it. Under these conditions, our capacity for development is maximum and the psychic-physical predisposition we have will allow us to increase our capacities in every way.

5. The winning intention is a powerful weapon to face any situation

And if we have prepared our body mentally and physically with previous work and experienced sensations, our competitive advantage over the rival will allow us to face any type of situation for which they may not be prepared. This translates into a greater capacity for reaction on our part, a coordinated execution of maximum attitude among all team members and the creation of a common block of response to the opponent that will be difficult to overcome.

The winning intention is therefore an attitude, a thought, a previous mental essay worked inwardly by each player that added to the rest of the mental tests of our teammates, will create a block response to manage any situation, however adverse it may be.

Never forget that in football there is always time for everything. We may not be able to modify a marker but we can modify a global team attitude. This attitude will be the one that will make us win next matches because remember, THE RESULT IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF THE WINNING INTENTION.

From HO SOCCER and our Club we encourage all Goalkeepers to specifically train this quality with which you will undoubtedly achieve great sports results.

Josemi Rodríguez | C.D. Leganés

First Team and Youth Squads Goalkeeper Coach
Sports Coach