Is there a specific reason the keepers sometimes bounce the ball off the ground? Is this just habit or does it serve a purpose?
just a habit. Some keepers used to actually kick the ball on the bounce, rugby style, but I haven’t seen a keeper do that in a good 10 years or so.
What’s the purpose of the “Third” uniform I see that EPL teams have? I understand the purpose the Home and Away uniforms but I’m not sure when they’d wear the Third. My guess is that it’s for things like the Champions League but I’m not entirely sure.
The rule for most of last century was that while goal keepers could handle the ball in their own penalty area (at one stage it was anywhere in their own half) they could not carry the ball. So bouncing the ball allowed the keeper to walk 4 steps as they kicked it. That was modified to be a time allowance 6 seconds. Bouncing it again gave another allowance. Now a goalkeeper can carry the ball inside their own penalty area
So now a goalkeeper bouncing the ball is just a habit.
Thanks guys. Trying to join the Seattle Sounders bandwagon, but I’m still a beginner regarding the rules.
Technical stuff aside, why do the goaltenders wear different uniforms from the rest of their team? Why not wear the team’s regular uni, maybe with a big target on the chest? And a sign saying “hit me here and win 5000 euros!”
And why don’t the referees wear zebra stripe shirts, as God obviously intended?
The keeper is the only player allowed to play the ball with his hands within the box, the penalty area (18 yards or 16.5 metres deep); therefore it’s important for the referee to identify him among other players easily, especially in situations when many men cluster in the goal area (that is the small rectangular box indicated by markings in front of the goal), during corner kicks or indirect kicks, for example.
The referee used to wear only black but nowadays the rule is that his colours only need to be easily distinguished from the colours of the two teams on the field. Football referees don’t wear black and white stripes because they are not necessarily from Turin. Or Udine.
It appears I can regularly watch the New England Revolution. They have the record for having every single game televised and they are on networks I get.
I’m still going try and follow EPL and Champions the best I can. I’m rooting for Arsenal if you’re wondering.
£££££££££££
Maybe that plays into it, but I think the real reason they started is because sometimes two kits isn’t enough. What if your first kit is blue, your second kit is white, but you play a team with blue and white stripes? Time for the third kit.
Hmm. I hope some team designs home/away kits with about 15 different-colored stripes to force the other team to play nude.
There’s a good man! Now just hope that Fabregas doesn’t get sold… and that they sign a decent keeper. And a center back or two. And a striker.
question: why does the goalkeeper kick the ball all the way down the field, as it often results in a change of possession, rather than kick/roll/throw the ball to a defender on his own team to move it along while maintaining possession?
You’re absolutely right. Quite often a more controlled delivery of the ball would be the better option, but, as you might have seen during England v Germany, a long ball over the midfield heading towards an attacker who is shadowed by just one player might lead to a direct scoring opportunity because a) there is no offside if the ball comes directly from the keeper, so the attackers can position themselves higher and b) the ball doesn’t need to be passed through the midfield at all.
The modern goalkeeper is not just there to mind his goal. If he has the abilities, he often plays a bit like a sweeper positioned behind the back four or back three who, for example, prevents scoring opportunities by running towards the ball to hinder an attacker to control a long pass. He is also actively engaged in the transition from defence to offence. The German goalie, Manuel Neuer, is well-known for his powerful and precise throws of the ball into the midfield towards a player or into the lane where this player will find an open space leading deep into the opponent’s half.
A relatively short pass to a free defender is the most secure option for a keeper but it also gives the opposite team time to gain a well balanced defensive shape.
If your strategy is focused on ball possession and short passes, this is the right way to act. But if you strategy for the particular game is more adapted to “fast breaks”, midfield pressing and “Balleroberung” (ball capture ?), riskier throws or goal kicks are favourable as long as the other team isn’t a well-known specialist in counter-attacks.
nitpick, but this is wrong. A player can be offside when the keeper passes it, they just rarely are. They CAN’T be offside if they’re on their own half of the field, though, which is why this tactic is often viable if you have fast forwards as generally if the keeper has the ball, most of the other team has pushed forward leaving only a few guys back defending.
Nitpicking the nitpick … 
I should have worded my answer more precisely: a player cannot commit an off side offence after a goal kick.
This could actually be important in this world cup. Since many games are played at altitude the balls will go a lot farther, I’ve heard the dutch goaly say he had to take it easy in order to keep the ball in play. One of the dutch pundits (Waterreus, former keeper) said it would be great way to get some relief from preassure to put two gusy at 18 yard box and shoot the goal kicks to them. Just the fact that they stand there - not offside - will force the opponent to take a deeper position.
And England defender Matthew Upson says that they were caught out by the unexpectedly long flight of the goal kick that led directly to Germany scoring against them.
It’s actually quite difficult to get good strategic analysis of football from sports journalists. At least in the UK, the standard is low IMO. One exception is David Pleat, who will briefly analyse a game each week in the Guardian. It’s a good read and goes a lot deeper into the game - you can read it online next season - here’s an example.
Pleat is an ex-manager who, ironically, became a by-word for mediocrity after an initial bright start to his career. I guess it’s easier to write about strategy than putting it into practice. To be fair, though, his early clubs were known for playing great football.
Yeah, I’m still baffled that no one has yet tried something like this against the teams that are hard to break down in midfield.
Sure, it might be very reminiscent of the ridiculed kick-and-rush of old but I see no reason to ignore a possibly beneficial tactic.
Klose said that they had talked about the surprisingly long flights before; Özil’s movement was meant to draw away a defender and Klose and the keeper realised the opportunity at the same time. It was still chancy but it worked out and it had no downside to it: even if it led to nothing, the defenders would still be cautioned by the experience and the space between them and the midfield would consequently either open more (which would be advantageous for the free agents Özil and Müller) or the central midfield would follow the defence to stand deeper which would isolate England’s forwards more, disconnect the wings and reduce the immediate danger of Gerrard’s or Lampard’s well-known forays.