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INTERVIEW-Soccer-Goalkeepers are no fun any more, says Higuita

By Claudio Cerda

SANTIAGO, April 30 (Reuters) - Former Colombia goalkeeper Rene Higuita, famous for his scorpion kick and dribbling around opposing forwards in his own penalty area, complains that his modern counterparts are no fun."Football has become more of a business," he told Reuters in a telephone interview from Colombia."The directors want results so the goalkeepers just try to do the simple things, such as a quick kick upfield, to avoid complicating the situation.""The type of goalkeeper I like is the one who plays for a result and takes his position seriously, but at the same time entertains the people who pay for the tickets."Asked which current goalkeepers were capable of matching his antics, Higuita replied: "There aren't any."Higuita, 41, still plays for Deportivo Rionegro in the Colombian second division and has recently been appointed as goalkeeper coach for Colombia's under-20 and under-17 teams.He started playing again last year with Venezuelan first division side Guaros de Lara, having been sacked by previous club Aucas in Ecuador in 2004 after testing positive for cocaine.At the height of his career with Colombia, Higuita became famous for some of the most outrageous goalkeeping tÿhe game has ever seen.Describing himself as the world's first goalkeeper-sweeper, he would routinely dribble past opponents in front of his goal, often taking the ball up to the halfway line.The most memorable moment was in a friendly against England at Wembley in 1995 when he saved Jamie Redknapp's lob by throwing himself forward under the ball and clearing it with his heels to produce the so-called scorpion save.When his antics backfired, the results were spectacularly disastrous.The most famous was the World Cup match against Cameroon in 1990 when he lost the ball in midfield to Roger Milla, who went on to score the winner in Cameroon's 2-1 victory.Higuita said he was moderately impressed with the recent trend of South American goalkeepers turning free kick and penalty specialists.Higuita himself scored 41 goals but the total has since being overtaken by retired Paraguay goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert and Brazilian Rogerio Ceni."A lot of goalkeepers are now taking penalties and free kicks and this makes me satisfied," said Higuita."South America is a production line of goalkeepers for Europe and the rest of the world," he added. "The South American goalkeeper has the advantage of being a little more daring, a little more technical."

Sensational news are out from Italy and it is being reported goalkeeper Gigi Buffon has urged Juventus to make a bid for Barcelona’s Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho.It is believed that the Italy international goalkeeper has declared that Ronaldinho is the right man for the club and if he does not cost too much, Juventus must try to sign him.Buffon also added that the fallen giants need to make big name signings in order for the club to move forward and the club knows this as well.Gianluigi Buffon is an Italian FIFA World Cup-winning goalkeeper who currently plays for Italian Serie A club Juventus F.C. and the Italian national team. He and Peter Schmeichel share the number-one spot on the IFFHS’ list of the world’s best goalkeepers of the past twenty years, which was released on January 15, 2008.

BIO

Full name: Gianluigi Buffon
Date of birth: January 28, 1978
Place of birth: Carrara, Italy
Height: 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position: Goalkeeper
Current club: Juventus
Number: 1

Previous Clubs

1995-2001: Parma
2001 : Juventus

Stefan Strandberg has been handed a trial at Portsmouth Football Club

The 17-year-old is currently contracted to Mandalskameratene, yet he will train with Pompey’s youth academy for a week in the hope of clinching a deal with Harry Redknapp’s men.

Should Strandberg impress suitably enough to earn a contract at Fratton Park, then the goalkeeper is clearly seen as a long-term first team option as regular number one David James has recently penned an extension.






WESTFIELDS’ Jon Pugh is rated among the world’s top-three goalkeepers in Blind Football, according to Great Britain boss Tony Larkin.But the 31-year-old self-employed builder is struggling to fund his trip to Beijing. Goalkeepers are the only sighted players in a Blind Football Team. They are not eligible for funding from the British Paralympic Association. Pugh said: “We will be away for three-and-a-half weeks in which I will be away from work and not earning money, so I am worried about the implications this will have on my family.” Pugh has been playing international Blind Football for more than a decade. Larkin says Pugh is the team’s number one goalkeeper and an experienced player. “I think he’s among the best three Blind Football goalkeepers in the world,” said Larkin. “He has been with the team since 1997 and he’s a very important part of the team. He helps to organise the defence and communicates with the players. Jon is self-employed but, because he’s not visually impaired, he doesn’t qualify for task funding. Therefore, we are trying to raise funds for Jon’s loss of income.” Herefordshire Sports Council have contributed £500 towards the cost of Pugh’s trip. Bryan White, honorary secretary for Herefordshire Sports Council, said: “One of our objectives is to recognise and wherever possible reward excellence. To reach the highest national representational honour in these circumstances is a situation in which we felt we must offer assistance.” Pugh believes that a medal in China would be a deserved reward for Larkin. “Tony puts a huge amount of time and effort into the sport, and also has a full-time job. He’s remarkable.”

 

Glenn casts net for talent

Canaries boss Glenn Roeder has told his scouts not to allow “god-given” talent to slip through the net and end up with rival clubs.“We must not let any top-class young player turn up at any other club if he is born within range of Norwich,” said Roeder.“It is difficult to find top-class young players in our area because Norwich is a wonderful city in a big, big field.“If there is a god-given talent close by, we must find him.”Roeder has given professional contracts to Academy products Damon Lathrope and Luke Daley this year, but some others who have come through the ranks face an uncertain future: brothers Ryan and Rossi Jarvis, midfielder Michael Spillane and striker Chris Martin have all failed to impress Roeder since his arrival six months ago.With the coffers not exactly overflowing with ready cash, Roeder will want his young rising stars to mature quickly.“We have three or four chances,” he said. “Not certainties, but they are good characters, which is what gives them a chance. But they need to grow a bit because the game has gone physical and size does count.“We will give them a fighting chance and you might see how they have done in a few years time, but it is a really difficult area to find good young players.”What Roeder doesn't lack is up-and-coming goalkeeping talent, with Declan Rudd now allocated squad number 13 and working closely with the first team, and Jed Steer waiting in the wings.Rudd, a 17-year-old born in Diss, has been with City since the age of nine and has represented England at under-16 and under-17 level. Steer, 15, was the England Under-16s hero in the Montaigu tournament in France last month, producing the match-winning save in a 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory over the hosts.“Every Academy at every club in the country is looking for goalkeepers,” said Roeder. “You just can't find goalkeepers any more. The modern youngster has started to wise up because it's a mad position to want to play in.“But we have two fantastic young goalkeepers. In terms of goalkeepers we are the envy of others clubs in this country.”The Carrow Road goalkeeping lineage reads: David Marshall, Matthew Gilks, Steven Arnold, Declan Rudd and Jed Steer - and it could have been one more had Roeder not made the decision to sell Joe Lewis to Peterborough United for £400,000, plus add-ons, in January.Lewis has been a huge hit at Posh, where his performances helped Darren Ferguson's side clinch promotion to League One and earned the 20-year-old from Broome the number one shirt in the PFA's League Two team of the year on Sunday. Although Lewis never played a senior game for the Canaries, the transfer of a home-grown talent caused controversy - but it's a deal which Roeder claims was good for Norwich.“I could not see where Joe was going to get an opportunity here - we had the two young goalkeepers pushing up behind,” he said. “It made good financial sense to me for Joe to have a career playing somewhere else and to not block the routes of Declan Rudd and Jed Steer.”

 




























































































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