Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker gave his insight into the modern goalkeeper and what modern football demands of him and his teammates.The Brazil international has had an impressive year as he has kept 13 clean sheets in the Premier League, more than any other striker in the division in that time.
Alisson won the Save of the Month award for August with a superb save from Miguel Almiron’s half-volley in Newcastle United’s 2-1 win. The 31-year-old showed his superb reflexes once again when he dived to block Son Heung-min in the 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in September.But as the game advances to new levels, saving and claiming crosses isn’t the only thing that defines a modern goalkeeper. Goalkeepers are now more involved in building play and must match the skills of their teammates on the pitch through their technical ability, reading and ball handling. Like many of his colleagues, the Liverpool star had to adapt to the new demands.”You will see more goalkeepers playing with their back feet and more teams playing from the back rather than long balls,” Alisson told the club’s website. “It affected our position a little bit, but I don’t think much has changed.
We only improved the situation because of the necessity of what football demands. “Football nowadays requires a hard-working team, the goalkeeper has to play and use his feet well, but the most important thing is to make saves and do what a goalkeeper does: lead the team and ask for crosses.”So I think footwork is more of an afterthought than the most important thing for a goalkeeper.”Alisson has played in nine Premier League games for Liverpool this season, keeping just two clean sheets and conceding an average of one goal per game.
One of those two stops came in last weekend’s 2-0 win over Merseyside rivals Everton. But he had a slight advantage in that game as the Reds needed just one comfortable save. One of those two shutouts came in a game last weekend. The Merseysiders beat Everton 2-0 but the Reds found it easy to dominate the game as they needed just one comfortable save.
