When Goalkeepers Had Personality

IAN McFARLANE says the shot-stoppers of today aren’t a patch on those from yesteryear…

GOALKEEPERS are often said to be‘crazy’. In the past, they also used to have a big personality. Being a No.1 isn’t for everyone. Every child gets asked when they start to play football what position they wish to play. Generally, goalkeeper is quite far down the list.

This notion was still the case when I was a youngster back in the mid-90s. However, with me it was a different story - the larger-than-life presence of those between the sticks intrigued me more.

Back in the 90s, goalies had their own aura, in part helped by the colourful and well-padded jerseys they wore. Was it a coincidence that those colourful tops were filled by colourful characters?

There are four goalies from this era who inspired me – an aspiring goalkeeper during park kick-arounds until I realised the growth spurt was not happening. I will go into greater detail on them shortly…

As well as opting to go in goal in park matches, my father would take me to various parks to take shots at me.

Wearing various goalie jerseys, I would pretend to be certain keepers. Maybe it was just an illusion, but this seemed to improve my shot stopping abilities.

In the nineties, I would pretend to be the likes of Mark Bosnich, Rene Higuita, Peter Schmeichel and Andreas Kopke. The next four, however, are the ones that I would imitate the most and for that deserve a brief profile:

BERNARD LAMA:

With 44 caps for France, I was overcome with his performances at Euro 96 and his brief 12 appearances for West Ham in 1998.