The Athletic's How To Series: Saving penalties, catching crosses and sidewinder goal kicks

A few weeks after putting on a goalkeeping clinic for our filming in east London, Lawrence Vigouroux was instinctively sticking out a leg to deny Cristiano Ronaldo his 144th international goal. The Chile international enjoyed one of his best performances for his country against Portugal in Lisbon on the eve of the ongoing World Cup. In the penultimate part of our How To Series, which has so far covered dribbling, shooting, passing and set pieces, Vigouroux talks us through the art of goalkeeping. With the help of 18-year-old Kieran Bassom, Vigouroux demonstrates how to cleanly strike a goal kick, shows the technique behind the sidewinder that's transformed how goalkeepers distribute the ball from their hands, goes through the dos and don'ts of claiming a cross, and explains the small but significant foot movement that can be the difference between making a top save and conceding a goal... Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app Kicking from the ground Simple enough, right? In reality, though, it's easy to get this wrong, often because young goalkeepers in particular try to hit the ball too hard in their search for distance, thinking that effort is the critical factor in how far their goal kick travels. Vigouroux is an adult, and of course that makes a difference when it comes to leg strength, but it's still striking to see how relaxed he is when he addresses the ball. At the point of contact, Vigouroux is leaning back, which helps to get the ball airborne, but he is also trusting his technique, rather than trying to wallop the leather off the ball. Interestingly, he talks about using visualisation to help with his kicking, too. In terms of the kicking action, Vigouroux shifts his hips to the right to open up the room to strike through the ball with his left boot, moving all the weight onto the outside of his non-kicking foot. It's easy and effortless, and a product of the muscle memory that comes with repetition, typically formed at a young age. Robert Sanchez, the Chelsea goalkeeper, gave an interview back in 2021, talking about his own challenges with striking the ball growing up. "If you saw me seven years ago (at the age of 17), I literally couldn't kick the ball, it was unbelievable," Sanchez told Sky Sports. "I just listened to my coaches and practised, practised, practised. That's what got me to this level." Although football has evolved and teams now play out from the back in a way that is unrecognisable from the game that we knew years ago -- a 2019-20 law change that allows players to pass to a team-mate who is within their penalty area when taking a goal kick is one of several factors behind that -- the longer ball from a goalkeeper, or longer 'pass' to give it a better description now, has huge value. Goalkeepers are targeting individuals and not just areas with these, and that makes the quality of their ball-striking crucial from both goal kicks and open play, where their ability to hit a longer pass can open up goalscoring opportunities. Ederson, the Brazil and Fenerbahce goalkeeper, was brilliant at that during his time at Manchester City, often picking out Sergio Aguero or, in later years, Erling Haaland with long, arrowed passes. Over to another left-footed goalkeeper, Vigouroux, to break it down. The sidewinder File this technique in a folder marked 'Aesthetically pleasing'. Vigouroux and sidewinders go back a few years. The sidewinder, or the side volley as some like to call it, is the modern way for a goalkeeper to distribute a ball out of the hands. It looks good but, more importantly, offers far more precision than an old-fashioned up-and-under. For a reminder of how goalkeepers used to kick/hoof the ball out of their hands, set one minute and 34 seconds aside to watch this wonderful montage from yesteryear. The straight-leg volley, Basil Fawlty-style, was a big thing for 'keepers back in the day. As pitches changed, and the footballs themselves changed, and the rules changed too, goalkeepers started to strike the ball out of their hands, or hand in the case of the sidewinder, with far more finesse. Pepe Reina, the former Spain and Liverpool goalkeeper, was among the first in the Premier League to kick the ball in a way that looked totally different. Cutting across the ball, rather than belting it upwards, he provided an assist in 2009. A year earlier, Manchester United played Johannesburg club Kaizer Chiefs during a pre-season tour to South Africa and Sir Alex Ferguson was taken aback by the way in which the opposition's 21-year-old goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune almost routinely picked out team-mates. "I was particularly impressed by his distribution, which was uncanny and put his team constantly on the counter-attack," Ferguson said. Khune, who went on to play 94 times for South Africa, used the sidewinder after being inspired by watching videos of the former Argentina goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri. These days, the sidewinder is used by all the top goalkeepers, including Aston Villa's Argentina international Emi Martinez, Ederson and his fellow Brazilian Alisson, of Liverpool, because of the way in which it allows them to quickly and accurately turn defence into attack with the flat trajectory of the strike. The microstep For the past two seasons, Vigouroux has been working with Martyn Margetson, the former Wales international and later England goalkeeping coach. A vastly experienced coach, Margetson preaches the importance of the microstep -- a small step to the left or right, with both feet facing forward, which gives a 'keeper the best possible chance of diving laterally and saving. An exceptional save that Vigouroux made for Swansea City against Middlesbrough last season provides a good example of that footwork in action. Watch closely and you can see him shift slightly to his left -- the microstep -- as the shot is taken. "I think it just gives me the power to then get all the way across," Vigouroux told Swansea club media in a 'goalkeepers' insight' video that was posted at the end of the season. "Without that little step, I can't make the save." For this part of our filming, Vigouroux has turned into the goalkeeper coach, with teenager Bassom his pupil, and it's brilliant watching them interact. As well as talking about the value of the microstep and praising Bassom, of non-League Merstham, for putting it into action with some fine stops, Vigouroux explains how important it is for a goalkeeper to adopt a neutral position when preparing to save a shot and to never gamble about the destination of the strike. In theory, the microstep will allow you to make up any ground across the goal, even if the ball is placed in the corner, as Vigouroux's save against Middlesbrough demonstrated. Catching and punching a cross Claim, punch or stay at home? Towards the end of last season, The Athletic's goalkeeping expert Matt Pyzdrowski provided a detailed and fascinating analysis of how every Premier League 'keeper deals with crosses and corners. Essentially, what is their approach to the aerial ball? Pyzdrowski, a former pro in the U.S. and Sweden who is now a coach, divided them into three categories: goalkeepers who leave their line and would rather catch than punch; the ones who come out but prefer to punch versus catch; and those who are happiest to stay close to their line and manage space rather than attack it. It would be a mistake to think that a player's physical size has a significant bearing on all of that - Manchester City's Gianluigi Donnarumma, at 6ft 5in (196cm), ranked among the lowest in the league for catching at the time of Pyzdrowski's research (late April), whereas David Raya, the Arsenal and Spain goalkeeper, caught almost three times as many high balls as the Italian despite being five inches shorter. Robin Roefs, the Sunderland and Netherlands goalkeeper, had recorded the highest combined total of claims and punches in the Premier League to that point. Meanwhile, Jordan Pickford, the long-time England No 1, was among the most passive goalkeepers -- an approach which appeared to be tactical as much as anything and, broadly speaking, proved successful because of Everton's collective defending. Vigouroux, who is 6ft 4in, explains how he uses the penalty spot as a reference point for his starting position when dealing with deliveries from wide areas and also stresses how important it is to retreat to the goal line as quickly as possible if you're not going to affect the cross, in order to give yourself the maximum amount of reaction time to make a save. This outstanding stop that Vigouroux made against Coventry City last season highlights that point perfectly. As for what to do with the ball after you claim the cross, forget thoughts of bringing it close to your chest. "If you keep it up in the sky, you avoid hitting your own team-mate or an opponent with the ball, which will cause you to spill it," Vigouroux explains. One-versus-one We're back in that old-school MLS shootout scenario, only this time the roles are reversed and it's from a goalkeeper perspective. Alisson, Brazil's goalkeeper at the ongoing World Cup, is widely recognised as one of the best in the game when he's exposed one-on-one, albeit his approach -- rushing out and standing big -- is unusual and carries a risk, as we saw in their opening group match of the tournament against Morocco, when Ismael Saibari successfully lobbed him for the first goal. "It is a technique that you wouldn't recommend if you are coaching a goalkeeper, unless they are an incredible athlete, because otherwise they won't get away with it. Alisson can, because of his physical attributes," John Harrison, an expert goalkeeping analyst, explained to The Athletic several years ago. Harrison painstakingly analysed every one-versus-one in the 2019-20 Premier League season and found that goalkeepers used five different strategies to try to make the save: stay deep and react to the shot; engage and react to the shot; engage and smother; engage and spread; and engage and block. The best approach depended on each scenario: for example, from about 14 yards out and beyond, the goalkeepers who stayed deep and reacted to the shot had the most success, while in central areas (the width of the goalposts) up to just past the penalty spot, 'keepers were most likely to make a save if they rushed out and stretched all four limbs as far as they could, Manuel Neuer-style (see the first save in the video below). As the former Everton midfielder Tom Davies prepares to run from the edge of the penalty area in our clip video below, Vigouroux talks about "putting the pressure back on the attacker", which is what Harrison's research advocated in that exact situation. "I waited, waited and waited for the outcome," Vigouroux says. "If I guess, it's easy for him to pick his spot." Facing penalties The first thing to say is that the odds are stacked heavily against the goalkeeper in these situations. About 78 per cent of penalties are scored. The next thing to say is that every goalkeeper will have their own approach to trying to prevent the taker from scoring -- and that's a good thing, because authenticity matters. As well as being a world-class goalkeeper, Martinez is confrontational, provocative and prepared to push the boundaries when it comes to gamesmanship. If a referee gives him an inch, he'll take a mile. The Argentinian's behaviour and the mind games that he used during the 2022 World Cup final's penalty shootout victory against France, which is expertly broken down in the thread below by Geir Jordet, who is a professor at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, is a representation of him -- and that's not a criticism in any way. But other 'keepers can't simply copy Martinez. You're either good at getting into the heads of opponents or you're not. "I'm not that guy," Dominik Livakovic, the Croatian who saved four penalties across two shootouts at that same World Cup, told The Athletic's Nick Miller in September. "I'm a calm goalkeeper, I'm a calm person. Maybe sometimes it would be good to (try to distract the taker), but I go the other way. When I'm more calm, I'm more focused, and can make the right decision. When I'm not calm, I might make the wrong decision. It's not good for me." There are other ways to unsettle a penalty taker without being as in-your-face as Martinez. For example, retreating unnecessarily slowly towards the goal line; drying your gloves on a towel; grabbing your water bottle to take a drink that you don't actually need; or asking the referee a pointless question. As for working out where the penalty is going, the direction of the taker's non-kicking foot when planted is a clue -- but not always a reliable one. Asked in an interview with The Athletic whether he could tell if a penalty taker would strike the ball to their natural or non-natural side, Neuer replied: "At this level, it's difficult. Very good players don't change their run-up but open up the foot -- or not -- at the last second." For Vigouroux, it's about using that microstep again to give you the best possible chance of saving a penalty, even if it's well placed, which was the case below. Kieran, his young apprentice, is learning fast.