Bravo is first
EXCLUSIVE
IT was November 2013, England had lost 2-0 to Chile at Wembley and manager Roy Hodgson was talking about the opposition’s goalkeeper – one Claudio Bravo.
“It was the best demonstration of footwork and passing I’ve ever seen from a keeper,” said Hodgson. And there, in that quote, explains exactly why Pep Guardiola has brought Bravo to Manchester City.
Even while he was still playing, Guardiola was amazed by the frivolity with which top clubs spend their transfer money. “For me, the most important thing,” he said in a book published 12 years ago, “is how you want to set up your team, because this determines which players you sign.
“Without the idea as a reference, nothing else matters. I think of my teams starting from the wingers, because I want width high up the field, in a side which plays in the opposition’s half.”
Which means, of course, that the goalkeeper has to be adept at coming off his line, at dealing with situations a long way from his goal. It is a philosophy started by the Dutch, in that Ajax school which has had such an influence on Barcelona.
And Colombia took it across the Atlantic some 30 years ago, when Rene Higuita was the sweeper-keeper. His high-profile blunder in the 1990 World Cup in Italy is what many remember while WEST HAM manager Slaven Bilic was not surprised to hear boos at the London Stadium as his team left the pitch at half-time in their 1-0 Europa League defeat by Astra Giurgiu.
But the way the crowd got back behind his team soon after the break on Thursday evening took him back to his own playing days with the club – and it gave him the key to making the club’s new home as intimidating to visiting teams as Upton Park used to be.
Bilic, right, was a no-nonsense central defender. But the man on his left, full-back Julian Dicks, known as The Terminator, was as much of a fan favourite as any of the club’s more creative players.
“If you don’t play good, of course the crowd has every reason to boo,” said Bilic yesterday, ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Manchester City.
“But they need so little to come back and cheer you. They don’t even forgetting how Higuita, below, allowed the defensive line to push up because of his proficiency on the ball.
Bravo has little of the flamboyance of Higuita. The Etihad is unlikely to see too many scorpion saves over the next few months. But, unlike Joe Hart, he is thoroughly comfortable with the ball at his feet some 40 metres from his own goal.
He is the last line of defence and the first line of attack, which is why Guardiola has made such an early move to bring him in.
But has the Premier League come too late for Bravo? Chile’s captain and mostcapped player, Bravo is now 33.
At around six foot, he is on the short side for a top-class goalkeeper – and smaller goalkeepers do not always have the same longevity as the giants.
Bravo’s form was a hot topic during the recent Copa America. Of the eight teams to make it out of the group stage, Chile conceded the most goals – and Bravo was frequently at fault. In the crunch third game he made two howlers against Panama – Alexis Sanchez and company came to his rescue and Chile won 4-2. A Chilean pizza in Chile chain even made fun of him. In the local dialect, when a goalkeeper blunders, he is said to ‘eat a goal’.
“Claudio Bravo ate it? If you’re hungry, better to send an order to Telepizzas,” said their social media message.
But if Bravo was attacked by pizza, he was at least defended by Pizzi – Juan Antonio Pizzi, Chile’s coach.
“I not only respect him as a player but also as a professional,” said Pizzi in the post-match press conference.
“I’m sure that he will overcome any sadness or bitterness from tonight’s match.”
Chile’s star midfielder also backed Bravo.
“He is the captain of our team,” said Vidal, before adding: “We have full confidence in him, Arturo Vidal