Breaking down the Courtois back pass mistake.
For those that didn’t see…….
Here is a break down of Courtois’ performance. As you will see he generally had a very good performance.
I will be discussing the mistake made on 3 minutes & 45 seconds… the mistake that unfortunately for goalkeepers is the thing that people remember, rather than the saves.
So…. should the defender have played the ball back? Should Courtois have cleared it first time?
Here is my response to the above questions I had on the goal, and I highlight the situation when the ball is behind the defense and communication is needed by the goalkeeper…
What to say when the ball is either in the air of behind defense.
1 – Keeper’s coming! : You are coming to collect ( either inside or outside the area ). Note that a call of just “Keepers” may lead to confusion.
2 – Knock it back / Head it back : It’s keepers ball, but needs a player to help it on to you. As per the back pass information, you should provide an audio and a visual of where you want the ball played. Goalkeepers should not be requesting the ball back if the ball is in the area. ( Too risky plus you should have already come to collect )
3a – Away : You can’t deal with it, but hopefully someone else can. If the opposition are closing down on your defender and a bouncing ball means that a pass back would cause more trouble then this should be the call. If the ball is running into the penalty box and you have not collected, the call should also be away.
3b – Turn outside : No need to knock it back, turn so you can set up an attack.
