(Intro) The Secret to Saving Penalties Ever feel like saving penalties as a goalkeeper
is all about luck? I used to think so too, but then I found a super simple trick that
changed everything. After facing and analyzing more penalty kicks than I can count, I've
figured out exactly what is working and what is not. In this video, I'll show you how you
can outsmart any striker and save more penalties. And trust me, the last tip is so simple.
And so powerful that you'll wonder why you didn't think of it before. So stick
around to not miss it. But before I share Understanding the Pressure Dynamics my secrets to saving more penalties, let's
take a moment to understand what's really happening when we're facing a striker
from the spot. We've all been there, your team gives away a soft penalty, and suddenly
everyone's looking at you to make the save. Your heart's beating fast, and the pressure is
sky-high. But wait a minute. Is that pressure really on you? The striker is standing just 11
meters away, facing a wide-open goal right in front of them. They are the ones expected to
score, not you. A football goal is roughly 18 square meters, but as a goalkeeper, you can
only cover about 4 square meters of that. That leaves 80 percent of the goal wide
open for the striker to aim at. I mean, seriously. How can there be any pressure
on you? And the numbers don't lie. Four out of five penalties usually end up
in the back of the net. As goalkeepers, we're in a win-win situation. If we
save it, fantastic, we're the heroes. And if we don't, well, no one expected
us to anyways. But here's where it gets Mind Games: Outsmarting the Striker interesting. Just because the odds are stacked
against us doesn't mean that we should give up without a fight. In fact, we should use
this expectation to our advantage. Take Emi Martinez as an example. He's a genius at
messing with the heads of the penalty takers. During the 2022 World Cup, he had strikers second
guessing themselves by dancing on the line, trash talking, and sometimes even tossing the
ball away. And was it unsportsmanlike? Maybe, but it worked. And do you remember Jens Lehmann
at the 2006 World Cup? He pulled out a little piece of paper before each penalty, and
did he actually use that information? Maybe, but that's not the point. The real genius
was how it messed with the striker's heads. Imagine you're about to take the biggest shot
of your life, and the keeper pulls out a cheat sheet with your name on it. That alone can make
any any striker doubt themselves. Now, I'm not saying that you need to pull out a cheat sheet or
that you need to go full Martinez by throwing the ball away every time, but there are plenty of
ways to throw off a striker before they shoot. And sometimes, just taking a sip of water,
adjusting your socks, or even tying your shoes is enough to mess with their heads. Even having
a quick chat with one of your teammates about, well, Or casually telling the striker
you look a bit nervous today can really make them overthink their penalty. And
now, I know what you might be thinking, but Kristian, what if these mind
games backfire and they score anyways? Well, that's the beauty of it.
It doesn't matter. If they score, no one is going to remember your little
tricks. But if you make the save, you'll be the genius that got inside the striker's
head. So the next time you're facing a penalty, be calm, be confident. No one needs to see
the nerves that you might be feeling inside. Remember, it doesn't matter. The striker is the
one with everything to lose. You're the underdog, and everyone loves an underdog story. Okay, so
we covered the mental sides of penalties. Now, Techniques to Save More Penalties let's actually get into the techniques
that will help you save more penalties. And did you know that goalkeepers
have less than half of their time? Second to react to a penalty kick. That's
right When the ball is coming at you at around 90 kilometers per hour, You have less
than a blink of an eye to make that save, and you probably heard some coaches say to
look for the striker's Plant foot or their hips to see where they're going to shoot and
sure in theory that makes perfect sense Most strikers will point their plant foot Or open up
their hips if they're planning to curl the ball. But the problem is, by the time you pick
up on those signs, it's usually too late. So rather than waiting and trying to react to
the shot, you have to make an educated guess, pick a side, and react. Here's what I
mean. Right-footed players typically shoot to their left and left-footed
players usually go to their right. It's not a guarantee at all, but
it's a great starting point. And most players will be going for one of
the bottom corners, which means that you should be diving at a low to mid-height
because if the striker hits that top corner, there's a very slim chance of you saving the
ball anyway. Many of them will overhit the ball, or they'll not hit it as well as they want
to, and you'll be saving them anyways. The last thing you want is to be diving
the right way and the ball slipping under you. And you can also learn a lot
by watching the strikers run up; a narrow run-up often means they'll
be shooting across their body, while a wider one usually indicates they'll be
aiming for the same side as their striking leg. If the run-up is somewhere in between,
it's much harder to read because now they can shoot either way without having to
adjust their body too much. The length and the speed of the run up can reveal a lot
of things. A short, slow run-up usually means that they're trying to read you, or
they're placing the ball more accurately. If their run-up is longer and faster, they might
slow down before the kick to see what you do, or they're gearing up to hit the ball with
some serious power. You can, of course, also have a quick look at the players outside
the box. If they're leaning more to one side, It might give you a good hint about
where the striker likes to shoot. I mean, who knows the striker better than
his own teammates, right? But of course, these are clues, not guarantees. They're
little hints that could give you an advantage, and when it comes to penalties, every little
helps. Okay, before I reveal the trick that Legendary Penalty Shootouts helped me save four out of eight penalties in a
cup semi-final, let's take a trip back to one of the most unforgettable penalty shootouts
in football history, the 2005 World Cup. Champions League final. Liverpool
found themselves down 3-0 at halftime, but they pulled off an amazing comeback,
forcing the game into penalties. That night, their Polish goalkeeper, Jerzy Dudek, became a
legend. You might remember Dudek bouncing around on the goal line, waving his arms, and doing
what's now famously called the Dudek dance. Back then, goalkeepers had a bit more
freedom during penalties than we do now. And Dudek took full advantage of
this, stepping off his line repeatedly, putting out every trick in the book to throw
the penalty taker off. And we must say, it worked brilliantly. But, times
have changed, and so have penalties. These days we have to make sure at least
one part of the foot stays on the line when the ball is kicked. But don't worry, just
because the Dudek dance isn't allowed anymore, there are still plenty of ways to throw
off the striker's focus. And one trick Modern Tricks and Penalty Tactics you probably know is to fake the dive.
Just as the striker is about to kick, lean or step to one side, then
quickly dive the other way. This works especially well if the striker is
watching you. and trying to see what you're doing. Another tactic is to position yourself slightly
off-center. By standing just a bit to one side, you make the opposite side of the goal look
bigger. And if you do it discreetly enough, it might just encourage the striker
into shooting where there's more space. And, of course, big, exaggerated movements can
be really effective, too. Bouncing on your toes, waving your arms, it makes you appear larger, and
suddenly the goal looks a lot smaller. And Don't underestimate what eye contact with a confident
smile can do. It's a subtle way of saying, I'm on to you. And even if you haven't figured them
out, it can really make them wonder if you have. At the end of the day, these small mind
games is what it's all about. Even the tiniest of advantage can have a huge impact
when you're trying to save penalties. All right. So we've gone through a lot so far, and
if you need a refresher, feel free to go back and watch those parts again. But, I've saved
the simplest and most effective trick for last. The Simplest and Most Effective Penalty Trick Now, I know what you're thinking. Kristian, if it's so simple, why didn't you tell us
earlier? Well, that's a great question, and here's why. I wanted you to have all the
other tools down first, because This one ties everything together perfectly. Now, let's step
into the shoes of the striker for a moment. They're feeling nervous, their adrenaline is
pumping, and their muscles are really tense. And between placing the ball on the spot and
starting their run up, they're already giving you a key piece of information. And there it is.
Did you see it? At some point, whether it's right after setting the ball down, while they're
backing into position, or just before they begin their run-up, the striker will briefly
glance at the spot where they plan to shoot. You see, our eyes are always moving,
Constantly checking out and taking in everything around us. But when the
pressure is on, like in a penalty kick, our eyes can easily betray us. I know
it sounds almost too easy to be true, but trust me, this technique has saved
me more times than I can even remember. Some experienced penalty takers might know
this trick and counter it by looking one way and shooting the other. Or by staring at
you the entire time. Just think of Ivan Tony; he's Amazing at this, but if you combine
this technique with everything else we've talked about, you'll be in a strong
position to save more penalties. And knowing where the striker will shoot
in penalties is obviously very important, but if you don't know how to dive, it
will be very difficult for you to save any penalties. That's why you need to
go and watch this video, where I teach you the four core diving techniques
every good goalkeeper needs to know. This is Kristian signing off from
ground glory. Don't forget to Like and subscribe and I'll see you in this video