The Loneliness of the Goalkeeper

The United States got lucky in its initial match against England in the FIFA 2010 World Cup. A shot from Clint Dempsey hit Robert Green, England's goalkeeper, in the hands and still had enough juice to trickle across the line. It was the equalizer, and despite some awful play by America's backline, there were no other goals. The headline for the New York Post read "USA Wins 1-1." It was, indeed, a moral victory. But spare a thought for Mr. Green, a class act in adversity.

Goalkeeping in soccer (or hockey or similar sports) requires a certain odd personality. What does it say when a player is a keystone part of a team and yet wears a different uniform? When things go right and a team wins, the keeper is merely another player on the pitch; the strikers and midfielders get the glory. When things go wrong, the goalkeeper is the loneliest person in the locker room -- never mind that 99 times out of 100 the fault lies with the defense in letting the shot on goal even develop.

Time for a thought experiment. What do these names have in common: Albert Camus, Vladimir Nabokov, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Julio Iglesias, Pope John Paul II, and Che Guevara? Once up a time, they were all goalkeepers, and they all gave it up to become famous in other lines of work. As one wag put it, "John Paul II found it easier to save souls than to save goals." Amen.

One of the agonies in being human is being imperfect. How one deals with it is the measure of a person's character. Mr. Green came out after the game and confronted the media. He said, "It's a shot that I should have stopped and I will do time and time again in training. It's a genuine, horrible mistake." The fact that coach Fabio Capello didn't tell Mr. Green or the other goalkeepers on the team who would start until 2 hours before the match has been a source of criticism, but Mr. Green would have none of it. "Only knowing two hours before the game is not a problem. You prepare as though you're playing, even if you're not. I prepared mentally, I prepared well." He said he had even "prepared for trauma."

He also said, "I walked in at half-time, said sorry to the chaps and I apologise to however many million people at home as well. The manager has to answer whether he will stick with me, but the important thing is I'm ready and willing to work on it mentally."

Meanwhile, Mr. Capello appeared to be channeling George W. Bush when he said, "I made no mistakes, absolutely not." And would Mr. Green be in the goal against Algeria later this week? Mr. Capello said, "No -- yes -- we have to wait. I know. We think about this problem psychologically." While one would like to see David James in the goal, he has a knee injury (which he says has healed) and is actually older than the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The right thing to do is let Mr. Green have another go; after all, the opponent is Algeria, not a real threat. Of course, Mr. Capello would know little of this; when he played in Italy, he was a midfielder.

© Copyright 2010 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.

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