Rounding the keeper

I could have sworn that there was a thread on this a while ago.

What strikers today have the acceleration and control that Ronaldo of old had? Plus you don't get much open space in games today.
 
They don't want to hear Gary Neville orgasming again.
 
Goalies are not coached to rush out like a headless chicken in a one on one anymore.
 
WR10 said:
Goalies are not coached to rush out like a headless chicken in a one on one anymore.
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That's not how rounding a keeper comes about, and it's a guarantee that if players with the pre-requisite skills to round the keeper were around, it would still be happening.

Ronaldo was a freak, one of very few in the history of the game that could generate such scenarios and then complete them.
 
I could be wrong but i think the reason why you dont see it as much is because the game is played at a much faster pace so the players simply dont have enough time to round the keeper like they used to.
 
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Rounding the keeper is a skill, with levels.

Other than the Brazillian Ronaldo who makes it iconic even -- he makes it looks so easy and consistent enough, it's really not an easy skill.
 
I imagine unless you have extraordinary ability with the ball at your feet and composure in such scenarios then the percentages favour getting a shot away when you have a clear sight of goal. I would guess that with the exception of probably Messi no one really has the ability to do it consistently today. I also agree that goalkeeping coaching has probably changed a bit over the years and perhaps based on statistics, these days positioning and when and when not to commit is perhaps based more around probabilities than instinct.
 
R9 had probably the greatest feint and drop of the shoulder in the history of the game. He could completely shift his weight onto one side to fool you then go back the other way, while maintaining perfect balance and still running with sprinter like speed. He was a one off and maybe should have been the GOAT but for injuries and fitness.

That said I think keepers are better now and there is generally a bit less space in behind to try these things. I still think Ronaldo would be doing it if he played today though. I’m not sure many others were even back in the 90s and 00s. It was very much his trademark.
 
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dumbo said:
I imagine unless you have extraordinary ability with the ball at your feet and composure in such scenarios then the percentages favour getting a shot away when you have a clear sight of goal. I would guess that with the exception of probably Messi no one really has the ability to do it consistently today. I also agree that goalkeeping coaching has probably changed a bit over the years and perhaps based on statistics, these days positioning and when and when not to commit is perhaps based more around probabilities than instinct.
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you have to consider why and how they scenario materialises and then transpose it to today's ridiculously high lines due to pressing.

Ronaldo used to break through defensive lines some way off the keeper when they attempted to press and condense space to stop him opening up, once beyond any defensive line, he was gone and completely isolated with a startled keeper who had no choice at all in having to meet him somewhere. Fact is, it didn't matter whether they stayed on their line or came out, he was going to beat them regardless, so to have even a semblance of a chance, they came out, got put on their arse through a myriad of bedazzling step-overs, and that was that.

The pre-requisite skills required to accomplish all of that are on the extreme end of the spectrum; Ronaldo playing in this day and age would round keepers even more than he did back in the day where far more teams played deep and reduced the opportunities for him to do that to a minimum contrasted to what we see today.

Messi no longer has the pace and acceleration to do it now, I think, but definitely back in his physical prime, he was a prime candidate. Mbappe doesn't have the skill or footwork despite having the pace and coolness. There's so few, even at base ends, who can be considered candidates to even get into the position to square off 1on1 with a keeper in such a fashion that I guess it highlights even more how much of a freak Ronaldo was.
 
Did anyone other than Ronaldo do it at a constant basis when he was playing?
 
Lay said:
Did anyone other than Ronaldo do it at a constant basis when he was playing?
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Raul was pretty good at rounding the goalie, he was also superb at chipping them too.
 
Centre backs are quicker now, in general the entire defensive line is quicker and with less obviously gifted 9s which stretch the line currently (with most of them out wide) you’re not going to find much situations where someone will beat offside trap and burst through 1 v 1 against keeper with time to spare.

The lack of time afforded probably explains why chip is still effective but round the keeper efforts get blocked off the line quite a fair bit by recovering defenders (which brings us full circle to the original point above).

Simply no strikers currently with the pace and composure of a R9 or Henry these days.

If Mbappe or Martial were to become 9s we could see it happen but not at this moment in time.
 
Does anyone remember Sanchez doing it vs Newcastle last season, but he didn’t shoot at the end of it?
I’m still perplexed at why he didn’t shoot!
 
The greatest factor in my book is the pitch. Now it’s invariably very slick and heavily watered. That lends itself to either slipping it Henry-style into the bottom corner because the ball fizzes across the surface, or dinking it over the sliding keeper. From the goalie’s perspective it’s much easier to slide out at pace to close the angle on a watered park where the tightly knitted grass root design speeds up anything that travels on the surface. That surface style is uniform in the modern game. By contrast, an 80s 1v1 often took place on a dry park which suited close control for rounding the keeper and prevented the keeper from sliding out like a bobsleigh to close out the angle.
 
adexkola said:
I could have sworn that there was a thread on this a while ago.

What strikers today have the acceleration and control that Ronaldo of old had? Plus you don't get much open space in games today.
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Yea, mine!:D
 
It's like he knew where the keepers were going before even they knew it. Incredible close control and acceleration.

Videos like the OP's remind me why he is, til date, my favourite player ever
 
Keepers have changed more than any other player in the last 15 years or so. Personally I think they're just a lot more comfortable off their line. Ronaldo would still put them away with ease but the bar's been raised for everyone below that exceptional level.
 
Everything has changed now, it's a different game. Defenders are trained better - once the line is broken there's a plan in place, whereas it always used to be a bit "feck, quick do some defending, but let's see if he scores first". Keepers are definitely more considered with their movements too.

With that in mind you'd have to assume the coaches have done their research and told the players that they're more likely to score if they take a shot. Ronaldo was incredible at it, and doubtless he would still be in today's game, but presumably the numbers are in, and getting the shot off early works best.
 
That goal against Ghana will always be my favourite WC goal.
 
Can't think of many goals that Salah has scored for us which has involved rounding the keeper. He's missed quite a lot of opportunities though when clean through & gone for the shot rather than taking it around the goalie. Maybe it's a dying art.
 
Ronaldo had that rarest of skills in a striker...the ability while at top speed to suddenly pause, almost making time stand still, without losing any balance or control, before pulling the trigger. It's why he made finishing look so simple, and rounding the keeper look so routine. Even now with the way the game has changed, he'd still do it time and again with that ability.
 
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Lukaku has rounded the keeper twice and missed both this year. Burnley and spurs.

What stands out to me there is his movement and the quality of the through balls.

You could count on one hand how many times lukaku has made an off the shoulder run this season like any of those in that video
 
Take the freak that is R9 out of the equation and consider how rare a feat it was, even in the 90s.

Also, rounding the keeper and fecking up is a cardinal sin, especially when the early shot is on that the keeper is unable to react to.
 
I have seen Aguero do this a lot. It shows the confidence the striker has on his abilities. Most of the time strikers are just afraid that they're going to do a Torres when it happens and tends to chip it/dink it.
 
I remember Alan Hansen using that phrase ‘rounding the keeper’ on Match of the Day after making a bet with Frank Skinner when he was a guest on Fantasy Football as he never heard of it before.
 
Yeah I remembered young Giggs being good at it but I could only find one goal against Spurs on YouTube where he did it so maybe I'm just remembering wrong coupled with the fact that football was less accessible back then so skilful goals were replayed endlessly on Match of the Day while the boring ones maybe weren't.
 
Billy Blaggs said:
It was certainly a thing in the 80's.
I remember doing it because the best strikers did it
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Yeah, more prevalent in the 1980s. Rush and Lineker seemed like it was a regular part of their arsenal.

El Jefe said:
Raul was pretty good at rounding the goalie, he was also superb at chipping them too.
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Yeah. Anelka was decent at it as well. But that's about it.
 
Strikers in the 80s did it all the time.

Ian Rush, Gary Lineker, Luther Blissett were the best at it. Looking back the keepers made it look a bit easy since they'd be sprawling on the ground as soon as the striker shapes to go round, whereas modern keepers are taught to hold their ground.
 
Defenders are quicker and goalkeepers are better equipped to deal with this kind of thing.

Apart from Messi I can’t think of many nimble strikers that can do this regularly. Mbappe and Martial spring to mind from the younger lot, but it’s easier to pick your spot and whack it.
 
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