Buffon
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Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon has some advice for would-be goalkeepers. “Change. Don’t be a keeper,” he laughs. The Italy and Juventus captain is being playful, perhaps a touch provocative, but this is no joke. “It’s true,” Buffon persists. In hindsight perhaps he would have resisted the urge he felt nearly a quarter of a century ago to pull on a pair of gloves after watching the opening game of Italia 90 when Cameroon shocked the holders Argentina at San Siro.
Until then the 12-year-old Buffon had played in midfield for Perticata, a satellite club of Internazionale in his home town of Carrara. His role models were Marco Tardelli and Nicola Berti, players who got forward and found the back of the net regularly. “Every kid thinks about scoring rather than not conceding,” Buffon says. But on following Cameroon he began to think differently. “After Italy, they were the team I supported [at the World Cup]. They were my football heroes.”
One of their number in particular captured his imagination. It was the goalkeeper Thomas N’Kono, after whom Buffon would later name his first child Louis Thomas. Observing him dash off his line in that grey and yellow striped shirt and black trousers to punch the ball 30 or 40 yards excited Buffon. His papa, Adriano, whose father’s second cousin was Lorenzo Buffon, a goalkeeper for Milan in the 50s, had already been pushing him to try playing in goal. He had noticed certain attributes in his son that were not best exploited in midfield.
Strong hands and arms ran in the Buffon family. Adriano represented Italy in the shot put. “My mother [Maria Stella] was a discus thrower,” Buffon says. “She held the Italian record for 17 years.” His older sisters Guendalina and Veronica were champion volleyball players. “I followed tennis a little,” Buffon adds. “I liked Lendl, Edberg and Rafter.” And so perhaps it was entirely natural for him to find a role within football that was not restricted to feet.
Buffon still claims it was “all a little by chance”. Had it not been for “the desire to emulate N’Kono” who knows what he would have become. Why, then, caution others from acting on a similar impulse to the one he felt in 1990 when watching the World Cup this summer? Just to be clear Buffon is not discouraging anyone from going in goal. He is merely preparing them for the reality. Goalkeeping may look like fun. It can be a joy to behold. But you also regularly expose yourself to pain.
“In the end, you need to be a little masochistic to be a goalkeeper,” he says. “A masochist and egocentric as well. A masochist because when you play in goal, you know the only certain thing in life is that you will concede goals. And you also know that conceding goals is not something that brings you happiness … Unless,” he guffaws, “your masochism is actually a perversion, then that’s different.”
It is a punishing, torturous profession. In contrast with their team-mates, goalkeepers cannot make amends for their mistakes by going up to the other end and scoring. There are exceptions, such as Buffon’s predecessor at Juventus, Michelangelo Rampulla and the South American free-kick and penalty-taking keepers José Chilavert and Rogério Ceni. But the rule tends to be a helpless anguish. Commit an error then expect to be put on the rack and have game pulled apart by pundits who often do not have the faintest idea what they are talking about.
This is a source of irritation for Buffon. How often is a goalkeeper part of a TV match analysis panel? They are a minority among pundits. The only high profile one active in this country that springs to mind is David James. And more often than not he is asked for a general overview of the game rather than a specific insight into the decision-making of a keeper.
“The role of a goalkeeper is difficult to judge,” Buffon says, “above all if you haven’t been a goalkeeper. It’s like me giving an opinion on someone’s job without having had any experience in their sector. You start to realise how many stupid things are said and written about goalkeepers.” For instance, why the goalkeeper did not come out. Buffon used to do this a lot. It is enough to recall his extraordinary debut as a 17-year-old for Parma against Milan on 19 November, 1995. Twice he sprinted off his line to deny a pair of Ballon d’Or winners, Roberto Baggio and George Weah.
“The ball is now a lot quicker than before,” he says. New materials have enhanced its velocity and made it more volatile. There is triple jeopardy, too, which discourages risk-taking: a foul committed inside the box by a goalkeeper can result in a penalty, a red card and a suspension.
It is a rule Buffon called “inhumane” in an interview with Il Corriere dello Sport last year, proposing that the denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity should warrant a yellow card for the first 70 minutes and only after that be considered a dismissible offence.
A grasp of the dimensions in which goalkeepers work would not go amiss either when assessing their choices. “Often there are fallacies when a journalist or a fan and sometimes even a coach who has never been a goalkeeper sees a cross in the six-yard box and says he should come out. You laugh because you understand how much Barossa Pearl is said.
“The first question I ask people is: do you know how big the six-yard box is for a keeper stood on his line? And no one knows … It’s 100m² – that’s the same as a two-room flat or a bar, a bit like where we are now [a vast conference room in a Turin hotel]. God only knows how many metres cubed it is. So you see how little understanding there is, and how little desire to get informed, and to take that into consideration. But that’s the way the world is.”
Goalkeeping has also evolved over the last couple of decades. Goalkeepers have become less different and more homogeneous, more total. “They have to play for the team,” Buffon says. “Sometimes they also have to play out and start a move or a scheme with their feet. It’s a lot more involved.” And that is not without complications. The more you have to do, the more likely you are to make mistakes.”
A greater emphasis on this aspect, he argues, has come at the neglect of other fundamentals. The question, how good is he with his feet, perplexes Buffon. Surely it should be, what are his hands like? After all, their use separates goalkeepers from the other players on the pitch. Instead of changing for the better, Buffon believes the craft might have regressed. “In my opinion there are fewer and fewer great goalkeepers,” he says, “because with respect to when I started they have to do so much more compared with in the past.”
That said, there are still a number, after Iker Casillas, who can count on his respect and admiration. “Right now there’s Manuel Neuer. He’s definitely a very good keeper. There’s Joe Hart too. But the youngster I like a lot,” he nods in approval,” is the Belgian, Thibaut Courtois. I like him a lot.”
All will be at the World Cup. For Buffon, a winner in Germany eight years ago when he conceded only twice – letting in a Cristian Zaccardo own goal and a Zinedine Zidane penalty – Brazil will be his fifth consecutive Mondiale, a record he shares with the former Mexico goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal and the Germany midfielder Lothar Matthäus.
Italy’s all-time appearance leader goes into the tournament on the back of a historic season at Juventus. The Old Lady won a third straight Scudetto for the first time since 1933, becoming the first team to break the 100-point barrier in Serie A. Buffon, as ever, proved decisive. At 81.1%, the 36-year-old’s shot-to-save ratio was the highest in the league. His denial of Emanuele Calaiò from the penalty spot and Andrea Pirlo’s last minute free-kick to clinch a 1-0 win away at Genoa in mid-March has been held up as the moment Juventus realised they would be able hold off the challenge from Roma and retain their title.
Much of the credit has again gone to their hirsute regista. “Pirlo is a genius,” Buffon says. “Together with Baggio, I think he’s the greatest talent that Italian football has produced in the last 25 years. You can try and adopt the right countermeasures to contain him. But you know that in any given moment he can break the bank and everything you thought you knew [about stopping him] is worthless.”
England need no warning. The Euro 2012 quarter-final was a Pirlo masterclass, the most one-sided 0-0 in recent memory decided by his devastating momentum-changing Panenka in the shootout.
Looking ahead to their next encounter in Manaus on 14 June, Buffon downplays its significance. “It’s the first game,” he says. “Then there’s another two. It’s an important game. Not a play-off.” Aside from a 1-0 defeat by the England Under-21s at Ashton Gate in 1997, when Buffon slid to prevent a corner and ended up in the advertising hoardings allowing Darren Eadie to score the only goal of the game – his “biggest howler” – he has never lost to the senior team. “Nor against Germany,” he adds with great conviction. “I’ve played them five times and never been beaten.” Here Buffon pauses to dramatic effect. Then, after a beat, he shrugs and says: “Capita! It happens!” As if it is nothing. And you remember again exactly why they call him Superman.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/201 ... ly-captain
I have a lot of time for Buffon, one of the greats IMO, but wtf are those gloves & boots???
Until then the 12-year-old Buffon had played in midfield for Perticata, a satellite club of Internazionale in his home town of Carrara. His role models were Marco Tardelli and Nicola Berti, players who got forward and found the back of the net regularly. “Every kid thinks about scoring rather than not conceding,” Buffon says. But on following Cameroon he began to think differently. “After Italy, they were the team I supported [at the World Cup]. They were my football heroes.”
One of their number in particular captured his imagination. It was the goalkeeper Thomas N’Kono, after whom Buffon would later name his first child Louis Thomas. Observing him dash off his line in that grey and yellow striped shirt and black trousers to punch the ball 30 or 40 yards excited Buffon. His papa, Adriano, whose father’s second cousin was Lorenzo Buffon, a goalkeeper for Milan in the 50s, had already been pushing him to try playing in goal. He had noticed certain attributes in his son that were not best exploited in midfield.
Strong hands and arms ran in the Buffon family. Adriano represented Italy in the shot put. “My mother [Maria Stella] was a discus thrower,” Buffon says. “She held the Italian record for 17 years.” His older sisters Guendalina and Veronica were champion volleyball players. “I followed tennis a little,” Buffon adds. “I liked Lendl, Edberg and Rafter.” And so perhaps it was entirely natural for him to find a role within football that was not restricted to feet.
Buffon still claims it was “all a little by chance”. Had it not been for “the desire to emulate N’Kono” who knows what he would have become. Why, then, caution others from acting on a similar impulse to the one he felt in 1990 when watching the World Cup this summer? Just to be clear Buffon is not discouraging anyone from going in goal. He is merely preparing them for the reality. Goalkeeping may look like fun. It can be a joy to behold. But you also regularly expose yourself to pain.
“In the end, you need to be a little masochistic to be a goalkeeper,” he says. “A masochist and egocentric as well. A masochist because when you play in goal, you know the only certain thing in life is that you will concede goals. And you also know that conceding goals is not something that brings you happiness … Unless,” he guffaws, “your masochism is actually a perversion, then that’s different.”
It is a punishing, torturous profession. In contrast with their team-mates, goalkeepers cannot make amends for their mistakes by going up to the other end and scoring. There are exceptions, such as Buffon’s predecessor at Juventus, Michelangelo Rampulla and the South American free-kick and penalty-taking keepers José Chilavert and Rogério Ceni. But the rule tends to be a helpless anguish. Commit an error then expect to be put on the rack and have game pulled apart by pundits who often do not have the faintest idea what they are talking about.
This is a source of irritation for Buffon. How often is a goalkeeper part of a TV match analysis panel? They are a minority among pundits. The only high profile one active in this country that springs to mind is David James. And more often than not he is asked for a general overview of the game rather than a specific insight into the decision-making of a keeper.
“The role of a goalkeeper is difficult to judge,” Buffon says, “above all if you haven’t been a goalkeeper. It’s like me giving an opinion on someone’s job without having had any experience in their sector. You start to realise how many stupid things are said and written about goalkeepers.” For instance, why the goalkeeper did not come out. Buffon used to do this a lot. It is enough to recall his extraordinary debut as a 17-year-old for Parma against Milan on 19 November, 1995. Twice he sprinted off his line to deny a pair of Ballon d’Or winners, Roberto Baggio and George Weah.
“The ball is now a lot quicker than before,” he says. New materials have enhanced its velocity and made it more volatile. There is triple jeopardy, too, which discourages risk-taking: a foul committed inside the box by a goalkeeper can result in a penalty, a red card and a suspension.
It is a rule Buffon called “inhumane” in an interview with Il Corriere dello Sport last year, proposing that the denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity should warrant a yellow card for the first 70 minutes and only after that be considered a dismissible offence.
A grasp of the dimensions in which goalkeepers work would not go amiss either when assessing their choices. “Often there are fallacies when a journalist or a fan and sometimes even a coach who has never been a goalkeeper sees a cross in the six-yard box and says he should come out. You laugh because you understand how much Barossa Pearl is said.
“The first question I ask people is: do you know how big the six-yard box is for a keeper stood on his line? And no one knows … It’s 100m² – that’s the same as a two-room flat or a bar, a bit like where we are now [a vast conference room in a Turin hotel]. God only knows how many metres cubed it is. So you see how little understanding there is, and how little desire to get informed, and to take that into consideration. But that’s the way the world is.”
Goalkeeping has also evolved over the last couple of decades. Goalkeepers have become less different and more homogeneous, more total. “They have to play for the team,” Buffon says. “Sometimes they also have to play out and start a move or a scheme with their feet. It’s a lot more involved.” And that is not without complications. The more you have to do, the more likely you are to make mistakes.”
A greater emphasis on this aspect, he argues, has come at the neglect of other fundamentals. The question, how good is he with his feet, perplexes Buffon. Surely it should be, what are his hands like? After all, their use separates goalkeepers from the other players on the pitch. Instead of changing for the better, Buffon believes the craft might have regressed. “In my opinion there are fewer and fewer great goalkeepers,” he says, “because with respect to when I started they have to do so much more compared with in the past.”
That said, there are still a number, after Iker Casillas, who can count on his respect and admiration. “Right now there’s Manuel Neuer. He’s definitely a very good keeper. There’s Joe Hart too. But the youngster I like a lot,” he nods in approval,” is the Belgian, Thibaut Courtois. I like him a lot.”
All will be at the World Cup. For Buffon, a winner in Germany eight years ago when he conceded only twice – letting in a Cristian Zaccardo own goal and a Zinedine Zidane penalty – Brazil will be his fifth consecutive Mondiale, a record he shares with the former Mexico goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal and the Germany midfielder Lothar Matthäus.
Italy’s all-time appearance leader goes into the tournament on the back of a historic season at Juventus. The Old Lady won a third straight Scudetto for the first time since 1933, becoming the first team to break the 100-point barrier in Serie A. Buffon, as ever, proved decisive. At 81.1%, the 36-year-old’s shot-to-save ratio was the highest in the league. His denial of Emanuele Calaiò from the penalty spot and Andrea Pirlo’s last minute free-kick to clinch a 1-0 win away at Genoa in mid-March has been held up as the moment Juventus realised they would be able hold off the challenge from Roma and retain their title.
Much of the credit has again gone to their hirsute regista. “Pirlo is a genius,” Buffon says. “Together with Baggio, I think he’s the greatest talent that Italian football has produced in the last 25 years. You can try and adopt the right countermeasures to contain him. But you know that in any given moment he can break the bank and everything you thought you knew [about stopping him] is worthless.”
England need no warning. The Euro 2012 quarter-final was a Pirlo masterclass, the most one-sided 0-0 in recent memory decided by his devastating momentum-changing Panenka in the shootout.
Looking ahead to their next encounter in Manaus on 14 June, Buffon downplays its significance. “It’s the first game,” he says. “Then there’s another two. It’s an important game. Not a play-off.” Aside from a 1-0 defeat by the England Under-21s at Ashton Gate in 1997, when Buffon slid to prevent a corner and ended up in the advertising hoardings allowing Darren Eadie to score the only goal of the game – his “biggest howler” – he has never lost to the senior team. “Nor against Germany,” he adds with great conviction. “I’ve played them five times and never been beaten.” Here Buffon pauses to dramatic effect. Then, after a beat, he shrugs and says: “Capita! It happens!” As if it is nothing. And you remember again exactly why they call him Superman.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/201 ... ly-captain
I have a lot of time for Buffon, one of the greats IMO, but wtf are those gloves & boots???
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Re: Buffon
No, cant say I have.sin²x + cos²x = 1 wrote:Have you seen some of your outfits?
I dont recall me ever wearing a pink and a blue boot, or pink and blue gloves for that matter, and thats kind of what I was commenting on, not kits.
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Re: Buffon
It's a good article and made me laugh. I've heard similar from other keepers that I know.
I expect to see Merse emulating Buffon's sartorial elegance next season.
It why I rarely offer opinions on what keepers should and shouldn't be doing, it's like a completely different game for them and way outside my experience.Buffon wrote:Commit an error then expect to be put on the rack and have game pulled apart by pundits who often do not have the faintest idea what they are talking about.
I expect to see Merse emulating Buffon's sartorial elegance next season.
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Re: Buffon
Maybe he thinks he is a plane and needs them to tell his left from his right.paul merson wrote:I dont recall me ever wearing a pink and a blue boot, or pink and blue gloves for that matter, and thats kind of what I was commenting on, not kits.
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Re: Buffon
Buffon is a legend. And he's not one to mince words, which is good.
Bloody new crap from Puma. I think now these mutli-coloured boots have jumped the shark.paul merson wrote:I have a lot of time for Buffon, one of the greats IMO, but wtf are those gloves & boots???
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Re: Buffon
I remember John Gibson playing for adelaide city late 90's wearing two diff coloured asics boots albeit by his design, not asics
It didn't look good then or now, but if puma were paying me €1.5 mill a year I would be wearing whatever!!!!
It didn't look good then or now, but if puma were paying me €1.5 mill a year I would be wearing whatever!!!!
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Re: Buffon
Great 'keeper, but conceded at a corner again by not at least having a man on his far post against the minnows Luxembourg in this week's friendly. As he did recently in the 2014 Europa semi against Benfica.
As for dreadful choices of colour co-ordination, I wonder if eventually IFAB will decree that boots have to be predominantly black with a splash of colour similar to the team's uniform. At present the Laws-of-the-Game decree what is mandatory in the players' equipment, including that thermal undershorts have to be the same colour as the main shorts; same goes for undershirts; same goes for headcovers as was decided on the 1st March this year. Why not for boots which are a part of a player's equipment?
As for dreadful choices of colour co-ordination, I wonder if eventually IFAB will decree that boots have to be predominantly black with a splash of colour similar to the team's uniform. At present the Laws-of-the-Game decree what is mandatory in the players' equipment, including that thermal undershorts have to be the same colour as the main shorts; same goes for undershirts; same goes for headcovers as was decided on the 1st March this year. Why not for boots which are a part of a player's equipment?
Re: Buffon
You're right, what an awful 'keeper.Con M wrote:Great 'keeper, but conceded at a corner again by not at least having a man on his far post against the minnows Luxembourg in this week's friendly. As he did recently in the 2014 Europa semi against Benfica.
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Re: Buffon
Aw now c'mon, Juventino. I meant what I said - a great 'keeper who I've admired since he burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old. I always used to look out for him when SBS used to show highlights of Serie A.
But what I was getting at is he, Neuer and other high-profile goalies keep regularly getting caught out on their far posts at corners. Ex EPL 'keeper Shaka Hislop and other commentators keep raising this modern trend of having NO man on either post and the regularity of conceding goals that way.
Also, do you think IFAB needs to rule on those lurid boot colours, or is that going too far? They have ruled on undershorts, undershirts and head covers colours as part of players' equipment.
But what I was getting at is he, Neuer and other high-profile goalies keep regularly getting caught out on their far posts at corners. Ex EPL 'keeper Shaka Hislop and other commentators keep raising this modern trend of having NO man on either post and the regularity of conceding goals that way.
Also, do you think IFAB needs to rule on those lurid boot colours, or is that going too far? They have ruled on undershorts, undershirts and head covers colours as part of players' equipment.
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Re: Buffon
Yes Con another goal conceded by not having men on the posts, again I ask how many corners did Juventus or Athletico face and not concede this season that you fail to point out.Con M wrote:Great 'keeper, but conceded at a corner again by not at least having a man on his far post against the minnows Luxembourg in this week's friendly. As he did recently in the 2014 Europa semi against Benfica.
As for dreadful choices of colour co-ordination, I wonder if eventually IFAB will decree that boots have to be predominantly black with a splash of colour similar to the team's uniform. At present the Laws-of-the-Game decree what is mandatory in the players' equipment, including that thermal undershorts have to be the same colour as the main shorts; same goes for undershirts; same goes for headcovers as was decided on the 1st March this year. Why not for boots which are a part of a player's equipment?
Why dont you make a deal of goals scored from corners when players are on the posts?
All the teams that do it have managers held in pretty high regard, you'd kind of think theyd be qualified to make these decisions Con and have reason for these decisions.
Also why point the finger at him, was he going against his coaches wishes and told his defenders not to stand there?
Also cant believe you missed the 'inhumane' 'triple jeopardy' openning.... (youre slipping)
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Re: Buffon
Oh and Im sure youre aware Juve are the first Serie A club to reach 100 points, cant be leaking goals too 'regularly'.
Re: Buffon
You know what would have helped Buffon on those two occasions? Against Benfica if Bonucci had actually tried to go for the ball, and if somebody had tracked Channot's run the other day.
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Re: Buffon
That's the proactive approach Juventino, instead of ignoring a free header like Ramos' in the CL final con is looking at the reactive set up which runs the risk of Harry Kewell SA World Cup incidents.
Flood the area to cut out the danger instead of letting the danger happen then trying to deal with it.
Flood the area to cut out the danger instead of letting the danger happen then trying to deal with it.
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Re: Buffon
I'm afraid I'll have to agree with Con on the topic of players on the posts.
I've always considered it an important part of defending corners as it takes pressure off the 'keeper and allows him to attack the ball knowing someone is covering the corners if a ball should break free or the ball is played to one of the posts.
Aside from that I am not sure that wearing different coloured boots fits in with FIFA's guidelines on player's equipment.
Apart from the fact it makes the wearer look stupid it could be seen as 'causing an unfair distraction' for opponents.
I could understand a player wearing different coloured boots if he couldn't work out which was his right or left foot but no other reason apart from being a nice person!
I've always considered it an important part of defending corners as it takes pressure off the 'keeper and allows him to attack the ball knowing someone is covering the corners if a ball should break free or the ball is played to one of the posts.
Aside from that I am not sure that wearing different coloured boots fits in with FIFA's guidelines on player's equipment.
Apart from the fact it makes the wearer look stupid it could be seen as 'causing an unfair distraction' for opponents.
I could understand a player wearing different coloured boots if he couldn't work out which was his right or left foot but no other reason apart from being a nice person!
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FOOTBALL IS LIFE
The Rest Is Just Details
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The Rest Is Just Details
Re: Buffon
It seems that FIFA and other governing bodies go out of their way to make sure players on the same team (apart from goalkeepers) have the same colour socks, tape, shorts, skins, tops...but when it comes to boots, players (and manufacturers) have a field day...
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Re: Buffon
Not sure why there would need to be any governance on the colors players boots - given the amount of money that Adidas and other brands pour into the game, if you started to muck around with this you would be walking a very fine line.
Trends come and go, if Aguero, Buffon, CHiellini, Balotelli, Fabregas want to wear one pink and one blue boot because Puma want to pay them 4 million euro a year each, then I say good on them.
Trends come and go, if Aguero, Buffon, CHiellini, Balotelli, Fabregas want to wear one pink and one blue boot because Puma want to pay them 4 million euro a year each, then I say good on them.
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Re: Buffon
I'll drink to that.Asahi Super Dry wrote:I agree with Swannsong.
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Re: Buffon
Obviously a big fan of North Melbournepaul merson wrote: I have a lot of time for Buffon, one of the greats IMO, but wtf are those gloves & boots???
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Re: Buffon
Isn't it Nicky Dal?Penalty Rates wrote:Is that wayne carrey? If so it must be an old photo.
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Re: Buffon
At least that revolting kit takes attention away from the boots!Judge Judy wrote:Obviously a big fan of North Melbournepaul merson wrote: I have a lot of time for Buffon, one of the greats IMO, but wtf are those gloves & boots???
Who thought that kit was a good idea??
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Re: Buffon
Lindsay Thomas.paul merson wrote:At least that revolting kit takes attention away from the boots!Judge Judy wrote:Obviously a big fan of North Melbournepaul merson wrote: I have a lot of time for Buffon, one of the greats IMO, but wtf are those gloves & boots???
Who thought that kit was a good idea??
Re: Buffon
Why stop at corners? There should be a man covering a post at free kicks too.Con M wrote:Great 'keeper, but conceded at a corner again by not at least having a man on his far post against the minnows Luxembourg in this week's friendly. As he did recently in the 2014 Europa semi against Benfica.
Re: Buffon
Not always such a silly idea to cover one post when facing a reknowned 'direct' shot free kick taker....trying to employ an offside strategy means very little when the ball finishes in the net.getborn wrote:Why stop at corners? There should be a man covering a post at free kicks too.Con M wrote:Great 'keeper, but conceded at a corner again by not at least having a man on his far post against the minnows Luxembourg in this week's friendly. As he did recently in the 2014 Europa semi against Benfica.
May alter which side the free kick taker targets and give the keeper a better chance.
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- paul merson
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Re: Buffon
But also allows the attacking side to have a player stand in front of the keeper which would be suicide.swannsong wrote:Not always such a silly idea to cover one post when facing a reknowned 'direct' shot free kick taker....trying to employ an offside strategy means very little when the ball finishes in the net.getborn wrote:Why stop at corners? There should be a man covering a post at free kicks too.Con M wrote:Great 'keeper, but conceded at a corner again by not at least having a man on his far post against the minnows Luxembourg in this week's friendly. As he did recently in the 2014 Europa semi against Benfica.
May alter which side the free kick taker targets and give the keeper a better chance.
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Re: Buffon
Yeah, see what you mean Swanny. But a man on the post can mean playing an opponent onsideswannsong wrote:Not always such a silly idea to cover one post when facing a reknowned 'direct' shot free kick taker....trying to employ an offside strategy means very little when the ball finishes in the net.getborn wrote:Why stop at corners? There should be a man covering a post at free kicks too.Con M wrote:Great 'keeper, but conceded at a corner again by not at least having a man on his far post against the minnows Luxembourg in this week's friendly. As he did recently in the 2014 Europa semi against Benfica.
May alter which side the free kick taker targets and give the keeper a better chance.
if he's hovering near the goal for the chip over the defensive wall.
The best way to keep the free-kick taker guessing that I've seen is when the man on the post oscillates between staying on the post and coming out to leave the hovering forward offside, then quickly going back on the post just before said free-kick is taken.
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Re: Buffon
Ha ha, ya got me there, Mers.paul merson wrote:Also cant believe you missed the 'inhumane' 'triple jeopardy' openning.... (youre slipping)
But I did read it and Gianluigi is right to raise this topic again, which remains stuck in IFAB's in-tray.
As for any perception I was critical of Buffon, well that's just plain wrong. Back in antiquity I was in awe of Antonio Carbajal's record of playing in FIVE World Cup tournaments, and I'm similarly in awe of Gianluigi achieving this incredible record too.
But just back to defending corners, how about this compromise, Mers? Like you said, have nearly everyone flood back tight-marking opponents shoulder-to-shoulder to stop any headers at source. But have just the ONE defender positioned on the far post. The 'keeper can get through traffic to get to anything curled into the near post and also go out confidently to punch or catch the ball, knowing a team-mate is behind him on that far post able to clear any deflection or weak header that gets through.
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Re: Buffon
Hey Con Im not totally against players being on the posts, Im just stating the reasons why some coaches choose not too, as you would have seen we do.Con M wrote:Ha ha, ya got me there, Mers.paul merson wrote:Also cant believe you missed the 'inhumane' 'triple jeopardy' openning.... (youre slipping)
But I did read it and Gianluigi is right to raise this topic again, which remains stuck in IFAB's in-tray.
As for any perception I was critical of Buffon, well that's just plain wrong. Back in antiquity I was in awe of Antonio Carbajal's record of playing in FIVE World Cup tournaments, and I'm similarly in awe of Gianluigi achieving this incredible record too.
But just back to defending corners, how about this compromise, Mers? Like you said, have nearly everyone flood back tight-marking opponents shoulder-to-shoulder to stop any headers at source. But have just the ONE defender positioned on the far post. The 'keeper can get through traffic to get to anything curled into the near post and also go out confidently to punch or catch the ball, knowing a team-mate is behind him on that far post able to clear any deflection or weak header that gets through.
I have some different theories or reasons behind things I do which Im hardly going to post on here for people to use against me in future games.