Goalkeepers Kahn, Cech, Goycochea give tips on penalty shootouts at World Cup

Goalkeepers give tips on World Cup shootouts

JOHANNESBURG — Any tiny movement, even a fleeting glance, can help a goalkeeper as he stands face-to-face with a penalty taker.

With the round of 16 at the World Cup starting Saturday, draws are no longer an option, meaning penalty shootouts could be coming. And body language can be the difference between a save and a score.

“It is a psychological game between the goalkeeper and the taker. It has a lot to do with eye contact and body language,” Oliver Kahn, a former Germany captain who has faced his share of penalties in more than 10 years with his national team and Bayern Munich, said Friday during an appearance with fellow keepers Petr Cech and Sergio Goycochea.

“You can irritate the shooter with your body language,” Kahn added. “You can see whether a player is fearful and you can see from the eyes of a taker if he makes a small mistake into which corner that ball will go.”

Cech said goalkeepers often spend hours ahead of games studying their opponents: where a player typically shoots, what his habits are, whether he waits for the goalkeeper or if he picks a corner. But the keepers have to be strong, remember their homework and stay calm to have a chance of saving the ball.

Concentration and mind games alone won’t help a goalkeeper make a crucial penalty save, though.

“You always need a certain amount of luck,” Kahn said.

Asked who might be voted best goalkeeper at the World Cup, Goycochea and Kahn picked Brazil’s Julio Cesar. Kahn also said he’s been impressed by Spain’s Iker Casillas, Germany’s Manuel Neuer and Eiji Kawashima of Japan.

Before coming to South Africa, Julio Cesar helped his Inter Milan team beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.

“I hope that the (Brazil) goalkeeper Julio Cesar will reinforce what he has shown already,” said Goycochea, who played for Argentina and River Plate. “But the team that will bring the best goalkeeper will of course be the best team in the tournament.”

And the best team just might be determined by penalties. It happened four years ago, when Italy beat France.

“Takers are the ones that can lose in a penalty shoot out,” Kahn said. “Goalkeepers are the ones that can win in the shootout and ultimately become the heroes.”