Meret, Radu, Terracciano: the mistakes of the goalkeepers decisive for the Scudetto

Three ducks for a championship, the race to the top conditioned by the mistakes of three goalkeepers. Napoli was called out with the defeat of Empoli, due to various causes, including a fatal indecision by Meret. Inter lost in Bologna due to Radu’s semi-smooth. Leaders Milan beat Fiorentina thanks to a lightness of the Viola Terracciano.

The cases are different, but all three refer to the changes that the role has undergone. A bit ‘by law, with the introduction thirty years ago of the rule that prevents goalkeepers from picking up every ball passed by their feet with their hands. And a little by choice, with the spread of “construction from below”, the dribble in the first meters of the field, a variant of the game desired by many coaches to induce the opponent to reveal himself. The goalkeeper has become a hybrid, in possession of the ball he must kick and participate as an outfield player, but not all goalkeepers are capable, due to a lack of technique and personality. The first can be trained, the second not. The role has always been complicated, impregnated as it is with loneliness and choices without a parachute. The new kick made goalkeepers look like acrobats on a rope suspended in midair.

Meret: from construction to destruction

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Sunday 24th April, Empoli-Napoli. The 83rd minute runs, Napoli are ahead by 2-1 and are preparing to restart from the bottom, according to a classic arrangement: two defenders are stationed on the two short sides of the small area and Rrahmani, the one on the right, supports the ball to Meret, in front of the goal. Meret controls with his left hand, feints a raise, sees and hears Pinamonti coming on him, sketches a dribbling, tries to kick long, but it’s late, the ball hits the Empoli center forward and rolls into the net: 2-2, then the 3-2, again by Pinamonti. Here the construction from below has to do with it, refined by Spalletti every single day, but more than anything else it has to do with Meret’s inadequacy at that specific moment. We don’t want to say that Meret is short on foot. Let’s go to the character component: he lacked coldness, he panicked. It is not even right to invoke Ospina, the Colombian goalkeeper of Napoli, very strong of foot. Each has its own specificities. Meret, however, has a frontier age: at 25 such an error is a sign, he can leave aftermath.

Radu: the mitigation of the remittance

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Wednesday 27 April, Bologna v Inter. Runs the 81st minute, the score is 1-1, and Perisic takes a throw-in just above the left corner of his own half. It’s a football school situation. In those situations the coaches and instructors teach (or taught) how to put the ball back into play. The “back” option is (was) only allowed in conditions of maximum security. It is forbidden to go to your own goal, but Perisic does just that, with his hands he directs the ball towards De Vrij in the area and the Dutch defender, pressed, lets the ball slip towards Radu. The goalkeeper, Handanovic’s reserve, tries to stop, but stumbles into a smooth vehicle, the ball runs away, and Samson, lurking there, chases it until he slams it inside, in order to avoid misunderstandings. This is not the case, given that Radu touches him a little, but if the ball had entered directly on Perisic’s throw-in, the goal would have been canceled. Here two errors are added up, Perisic’s careless move and Radu’s blunder in control. The construction from below has nothing to do with it, if not indirectly, as a conditioned reflex. By now many players have introjected the idea to the point of researching its feasibility even in situations where the risk is overt.

Terracciano, the Ederson lancet … Or almost

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Sunday 1st May, Milan-Fiorentina. The 82nd minute runs and, on the development of a throw-in backwards (again), Igor passes the ball to Terracciano. The Fiorentina goalkeeper stops and kicks long forward. The outcome is disastrous, a half-height “mozzarella” intercepted by Leao. The Portuguese stops, starts and scores. Three points to Milan. The case is interesting. This is where the reverse of the construction from below has to do with the high throw of Ederson, the City goalkeeper who knows how to combine both aspects of playing with his feet, the short pass and the long kick. Ederson’s emulation is a sport that can cost a lot, the “poor” Terracciano learned it the hard way.