I’m tired of blaming goalkeepers

Patson “Sparks” Banda – Former Pirates goalkeeper

“Let’s be honest, if we say we understand football in the true sense of the word, goalkeeping is one crucial position. This is one key position for anyone who wants to form a team. If you have a strong goalkeeper, then you know you’ve got half the battle won. For example, a human being can’t walk or stand if they don’t have a spine. Both these teams go into the Soweto Derby with a similar problem of the spine. If it happens that someone has a weak spine, what do we help them with in order to get the balance and be able to walk? You give them a walking stick or a wheelchair. The goalkeeper can’t carry the whole team alone as he’s only there to give balance to the team. For him to get a good job, he relies on his teammates because they know he has a weakness, which means they must protect his weakness. If your goalkeeper is handicapped, what do you do in order to win games? That’s what teamwork is all about and you balance the probabilities. Goalkeeping isn’t only a Pirates problem and I’m tired of blaming goalkeepers. People must also stop comparing the current crop to us because the current crop eats Kellogg’s cornflakes and we never ate that. It is an abstract situation we find ourselves in and people will never understand goalkeeping until they find themselves in that position. I can count a number of not-so-good goalkeepers who have gone on to achieve a lot more than brilliant goalkeepers thanks to their teammates’ protection. That’s what teamwork is all about. Former Brazilian goalkeeper, Claudio Taffarel, wasn’t anywhere near the best goalkeepers in the world, but look at what he’s achieved compared to top goalkeepers.”