India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is super excited, and the reason behind it is Allison Becker’s heroics in the Premier League on Sunday.
Becker, the Liverpool FC goalkeeper, came off his line to head home the match-winner against West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League, and as a result, this 2-1 victory has kept Liverpool’s chances of making it to the UEFA Champions League alive.
“I just can’t stop watching his header again, and again. Maybe it just happened — the ball fell in place and out of pure commitment he glided the ball — and what a header! But if he is doing that regularly in practice, then we have to admit that he is extra special,” said Gurpreet in an official AIFF release.
When asked whether he wants to emulate Becker, Gurpreet said: “Not that I am desperate to do it, and I hope that I don’t have to do it ever. Obviously, there have been quite a few times that I have gone up for my club Bengaluru FC, and also during my stint with previous clubs.”
“But if the team requires it as per the situation, who knows? But I would rather leave it to Sunil Chhetri. He is much better at it than me,” Gurpreet’s laughter almost breaks the ceiling. “I have to work on me attacking the ball, and on my heading. But I don’t mind it,” he added.
Gurpreet also talked about how important it is for a goalkeeper to be good with his feet.
“For a modern-day goalkeeper, the importance of being good with your feet is paramount. Gone are the days when a goalkeeper was just a shot-stopper,” Gurpreet, an Arjuna Awardee, added.
“Personally, it was an exciting challenge to undergo the transition phase. When I started professionally, the trend was more to save shots. The first instructions which I received were to kick the ball back to where it came from. But it’s changed now,” he added.
Further talking about goalkeeping, Gurpreet said: “The goalkeeper needs to initiate the attack, help the team build upon the possession. His distribution has to be impeccable. However, I am still a student of the game and working on the same. There is a long way to go.”
“And now I know, a goalkeeper needs to head it perfectly too,” he added.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
