which type of training belonged to which goalkeeper. That’s unac- ceptable at such a big club as FC Porto. I am going to teach them Wil Coort, goalkeeping the way we are working with the first team and that’s the basis to work with youth goalkeepers. From the management I’ve got full cooperation. The goalkeepers should be working in this style and coach FC Porto: it’s my responsibility to manage this process.” Teacher In The Netherlands Wil Coort was the goalkeeper coach at “For Many years I have learnt from Frans Hoek. That is a big ad- FC Den Bosch for eight years followed by eight years at AFC vantage for me. For years I have been giving courses for Frans Ajax. Two years ago he wanted another challenge and chose Hoek and the KNVB (Dutch soccer association). I have learnt a lot to move to FC Porto. This is his third year at FC Porto and his from this period. Besides that I was assisted by Vitor Baia, be- aim this year is to put together a solid youth goalkeeping pro- cause my Portuguese is not that good, but also because it is gram. “Here they teach you to be a good reaction keeper. But someone with a lot of earned respect. Baia is also positive about since Baia, around twenty years ago, a top class Portuguese my way of working and he also wants us to start working this way. goalkeeper has not broken through.” This is also a big advantage. I think it’s a big challenge for me to manage this process.” By: Paul van Veen Basic technique “I’ve started to name and discuss all the basic techniques of goalkeeping: the pass, 1 vs 1 pressure, back pass and so on. I presented my thoughts and what I think a goalkeeper should do and how to react. I’ve also presented this to a couple of youth goalkeepers and players. What became apparent during these presentations is that youth goalkeepers have a lot of trouble with these basis techniques, while they thought at FC Porto they had really great finished goalkeepers. Now they realize that really was- n’t the case.”

Complete “It seems all those years they’ve educated goalkeepers to be- come line/react goalkeepers. The ‘normal’ coaches also saw “The higher level you play, their goalkeepers were far from complete. Before the course the coaches were very skeptical. A Dutch goalkeeper coach is going to tell us what we’ve done wrong all these years. But that wasn’t my intention at all and I explained that to them. I just wanted to the less shots you get” tell them about what I think of goalkeeping and about how a goal- keeper should function within a team at FC Porto. Because all youth teams of FC Porto also play on the opponents half, they are “After Co Adriaanse left there was a new trainer, but for me per- Split up all much stronger then their rivals. This demands a different type sonally nothing changed. I spoke to the new trainer. I told him my “The first period for example I’ve got half an hour with the keep- of goalkeeper than just a line goalkeeper.” vision and my way of working and he thought that was a good ers. Whatever I did during this half hour, he didn’t interfere with idea, so nothing really changed for me. His way of working obvi- me at all. If the exercises during this time didn’t link to the rest of Management ously is different than what I was used to in The Netherlands, and the training we took that for granted. But with the start of the new “But I’ve also had to present this to the management team of FC especially the way of thinking about soccer. In The Netherlands we season it was different. At least once a week I want the group to Porto. Because in Portugal not just the trainer decides which are used to playing offensive soccer, but in Portugal they have a split up. I start working with one part of the group and the goal- player or goalkeeper will be bought. So if there’s a goalkeeper more defensive playing style. That was a big change, but for me keepers. This means we could also do exercises for the strikers.” who is about to transfer to Porto it should be a goalkeeper who as a goalkeeper coach I got the space to work the way I wanted to. Furthermore I often get the opportunity to do exercises with Youth players. During these exercises I can coach the goalkeepers in re- ”But it doesn’t stop with the first team. I am going to educate lation to the last line. Something I was always used to do.” youth goalkeepers at FC Porto as well. Last summer I delivered a course to several youth coaches from FC Porto. I’ve made a youth Space plan, with which we will be working this season. This means that “When I explained how I thought a goalkeeper should work, the every youth goalkeeper from the age of ten will be coached indi- new head coach told me he never thought about goalkeepers that vidually. The older they get, the more focused we will be coaching way. I explained to him that a team like FC Porto, from the 30 the players.” matches they play, 26 of these matches are played on the oppo- nents half. When you are that much stronger than your opponent Type it’s self-evident you have a lot of space behind your defense. A ”I started this because we had three different youth goalkeepers keeper like Helton can play this style very well. The new trainer coaches who all had their own style of working. They didn’t know found this really interesting.” what each other what they were doing. They also didn’t know

38 No. 24 December 2007/January 2008 No. 24 December 2007/January 2008 39 Type of players ”You have to deal with several kinds of players. A type like Adri- ano is not very fast, but you can pass him a ball which he can hold. Quaresma and Tarik are fast wingers, a goalkeeper should pass them the ball long. As a goalkeeper you should know the specific qualities of the players in your team. You work with them on a daily basis so you should know what their strong points and what their weak points are. That is something essential to playing soccer on this level.

Confidence ”There are still some situations where he isn’t 100% confidence of himself. These situations are something we can only repeat in train sessions. For example; Helton gets a ball from our right de- fender, he controls the ball with his left foot and passes to the left defender. That is something what we can train individually. The goalkeeper receives a ball and passes it with a certain speed to the other side in a goal. After this you say: after receiving the ball there is some kind of pressure which should increase the han- dling speed. You could place a player in between, the goalkeeper should pass the ball over this player. Finally he should do this exer- cise under the highest pressure from the left and right side. “

Basis analyse system. So I can see exactly how many balls Helton has “This season a talented teenager has come through our youth. fits in with FC Porto. They should understand the thinking behind got in ball possession, opponent ball possession, transition and With him I am going to work on the basics. Playing 1 to 1, the it. They should not just get a goalkeeper because he played a set plays. Usually it’s around three or four back passes from de- depth, but also of course the playing along part. streamer streamer good match or tournament, this goalkeeper should also fit into fenders, three or four actions and that’s about it. And that’s not He is a good line goalkeeper but it isn’t a finished goalkeeper. the club. After all it’s also for the interest of the club. If they still just one match, it happens on a daily basis. Because there are, The basics I want to train with him and players but there are also want a new goalkeeper, fine, I will work with him. That’s up to with all due respect, several very weak teams that adhere to a de- a lot of points where we can work individually on. Besides that we streamer them, but now they know the consequences. But I really believe fensive playing style, it’s really incredible. Sometimes they play also have a 31-year old goalkeeper. I told him I will try to make they understand my vision.” with eight players just outside their own penalty area. That was him a completely different goalkeeper. You are who you are, but also the problem when Adriaanse coached here, because you can we will work on things that are relatively easy to learn such as 1 Four years handle an offensive and dominant playing style, but defending is to 1, kicking (left and right foot) and his positional game. I am not “Within the education it should also improve, off course. After something that the Portuguese are really good at. Adriaanse going to tell him when to kick the ball left of right. Once he got Baia nobody had been educated here. If you can educate a new showed how to play these kinds of matches, something they still this under control the two years which are left of his contract will goalkeeper every four years, you should always have three goal- talk about here with a lot of respect.” be over. He has to make sure that when the team needs his qual- keepers for the first team. Of course there will always be times ities he’s there to help the team. where you have problems, but then you always have the option to Concentration buy a new goalkeeper. This is also the challenge for me and why I “Important for a goalkeeper at FC Porto is concentration. But con- Intensive went back to FC Porto. Of course you have your responsibility centration is something difficult to coach. The only thing I can do “The first half year Helton played here, he was second choice working with the first team, but I also wanted to develop the youth when I see a goalkeeper loses his concentration is talking about after Baia. Especially during this period we were able to train with department of FC Porto, work in which I have full freedom now.” it. What exercise should you do to improve concentration? Goal- him intensively, because you can let people think about certain keepers who have not seen one ball for 60 minutes and then sud- things. When someone plays, you should not let them think too Principles denly a shot at goal? So the only thing you can do is talk about it. much, because then he might be too late in certain moments in ”Despite the fact we have a new trainer with a different playing The advantage for me is I can view all footage using the analyse the match. But with Helton I was able to work this way. In the be- style the principles for the goalkeepers remain the same. We still system and discuss this with the goalkeepers. But often you can- ginning he had a lot of problems with that, because he wasn’t play most of the time on the opponents half and perhaps there not observe when a goalkeeper is losing concentration. That’s used to work this way. But Baia supported me also, in my way of are fewer situations where the ball falls behind our defense be- why it’s so important to make sure you have goalkeepers with as working he recognized Frans Hoek at FC Barcelona. After a year cause we play with one additional player in the defense, but still a much as quality as you can get.” Helton said: in the beginning you drove me crazy, but now I’m glad goalkeeper has to intervene. Perhaps it’s now two instead of four you trained me this way, because after all it left him a selection to times per match, but the situation remains the same. So the way Playing along the national Brazilian team.” you work as a goalkeeper coach doesn’t have to change. For a ”I have worked with Helton for two years now. We have been busy goalkeeper it means you have to be even sharper in those one or particularly with the playing along part, so what to do with back Complex two situations per match where you must intervene.” passes and finding the answer the moment your team is in trouble. “This year is going to be a complex year. With Helton I have to In these kinds of situations you should know to who you should make some next steps, with the youth goalkeeper I have to start Less pass the ball. At every training session we were practicing kicking at the basis and finally I have to make sure the experienced goal- “The higher level you play, the less shots you get as a goalkeeper. the ball with the left and right foot. To develop the handling speed keeper stays focused and motivated. That means a lot of differ- If you see what Helton has to do in some matches it is really in- in these situations I want to train with players, because that’s the ent things during the training sessions, but on the other hand credible. Sometimes it’s absolutely nothing. I analyse every only way to make Helton even better. So what is the best way to that’s just my challenge.” match with our three other goalkeepers using sportvas, an reach the players and how should you pass the ball to them?”

40 No. 24 December 2007/January 2008 No. 24 December 2007/January 2008 41 Wil Coort (1)

Organization K1 - the coach passes the ball to K1 - K1 passes the ball directly inside foot through the air into the area of K2 - K2 has to handle the ball before it has reached the ground and without lea- ving his area - K1 passes to K1 with his right foot and to K3 with his left foot - After 10 balls change position.

Details - The size of the field depends on the quality of the goalkeepers and can be made bigger or smaller K2 K3 12 meter

10 meter

Wil Coort (2)

Organization - K1 passes to K2 with his left or right foot - K2 controls the ball and tries to kick or throw the ball over K3 K3 - K3 runs backwards to save the ball - Position of K3 depends on his qualities (length, jumping power, technique, etc.). Position between the 11 and 16 meter. - After 6 balls change position

Details K1 K1 - K3 must control the area behind him K2

Wil Coort (3)

Organization K2 - Coach passes the ball to K2, who controls the ball and passes the ball over the goalpost to K3 - From the moment the coach passes the ball to K2, K1 start pressuring K2 - After 8 balls change position - Now from the other side K1

K3

42 No. 24 December 2007/January 2008