Why are there so few US goalkeepers who are good with their feet?

It wasn’t that long ago that US goalkeepers were a common sight in the Premier League, playing first-team soccer week after week. Goalkeeper Brad Friedel made 450 Premier League appearances across several clubs including Liverpool, Tottenham, and Aston Villa. Tim Howard made 399 appearances in the Premier League, which included his time at Manchester United and Everton. Other goalkeepers played their part too including Kasey Keller (201 appearances), Brad Guzan (154), Marcus Hahnemann (115), among others.

So why all of a sudden is there such a scarcity of American goalkeepers playing in the best league in the world? Blame it on their feet.

Modern goalkeepers are a different breed than Friedel, Howard, Guzan and company. They have to be as skilled with the ball at their feet as the defenders lined ahead of them. Many teams play from the back, which requires quick precision to keep the ball moving from player to player, including the goalkeeper. When done well, the goalkeeper becomes an integral part of the game, playing inch-perfect passes on the ground to lead his team forward.

Unfortunately, the current breed of US goalkeepers are failing in that department. So much so that opposition teams have capitalized on the poor ball control by American goalkeepers to turn that spit-second indecision into goalscoring opportunities.

US goalkeepers need to improve

The list of goalkeepers who have poor ball-control skills reads like a who’s who of USMNT goalkeepers. Matt Turner, Zack Steffen, Ethan Horvath and Drake Callender have all made mistakes for their club teams. Horvath is no longer starting matches for Cardiff City, and after watching this example, it’s not hard to understand why. Turner is an excellent shot stopper, but he’s no sweeper keeper, which is one of the main reasons why he was moved out of Arsenal and eventually dropped by Nottingham Forest before moving to Crystal Palace where he’s been on the bench.

The same applies to Steffen, who Pep Guardiola pushed out to Middlesbrough not long after this mistake so he could bring in Stefan Ortega as the backup for Emerson. Likewise, Drake Callender has come under a lot of criticism from Inter Miami fans last season for several mistakes, including this one.

Playing at the highest level and having first-rate ball control skills isn’t easy. But in this modern game, it’s a noticable difference that separates the average goalkeepers from the best.

To be fair, you don’t often see the type of ball control skill mistakes that are made when you’re watching games in CONCACAF or MLS. That’s no slight on those two, but the game is played at a much faster pace in England. Hence the reason why it’s more likely to see those mistakes being made there.

For Turner, in particular, opposition teams in the Premier League caught on quickly to his poor ball control skills. So much so that you could see opponents pressing Turner in their attempt to make him spill the ball. When a team has a weakness that’s exposed like that, especially in the Premier League, coaches have to make the tough decisions which is why Turner, Horvath and Steffen have all been replaced at their respective clubs.

That’s to take nothing away from their shot stopper abilities, but in the modern game, top-level coaches expect goalkeepers to be well rounded in all areas.

Why are there so few US goalkeepers who are good with their feet?

So why then are US goalkeepers not as good with their feet as other top goalkeepers?

There are a few reasons why. In the past, there have been a lot of really good American goalkeepers because they were raised playing American sports, all of which require good hand skills. Other than soccer, I can’t think of any American sports that require expert skills with your feet.

With CONCACAF and MLS games playing a slower style of soccer, US goalkeepers don’t get as much practice making split-second decisions in fast-paced games. Yes, it can be coached but real game situations are the best way to improve.

Thankfully, hope is on the horizon. Barcelona recently signed Diego Kochen to a new deal that will keep him at the club until 2028. Among his many skills, 18-year-old Kochen is reportedly very skilled as a sweeper keeper. Since he’s gone through Barcelona’s La Masia academy, that isn’t surprising.

He could be one for the future to lead the next generation of US goalkeepers in the top European leagues. Meanwhile, there’s always the chance that MLS goalkeepers such as Matt Freese, Patrick Schulte and others could adapt to a faster game. Overall though, Kochen seems like the best bet given his time at Barcelona.

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