Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi talks about Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp and goalie Alisson
Football, as a sport is ever-evolving. Until two decades ago, who would’ve thought of a sweeper-keeper? Enter Manuel Neuer. The German goalkeeper has contributed to the build-up play for all the teams he’s been in, and will surely go down as one of the best goalies of all time. Now, several goalkeepers are excellent with their feet including Man City’s Ederson and Liverpool shot-stopper Alisson Becker.
The likes of Nick Pope, Emi Martinez and Mike Maignan among others are obvious candidates when it comes to the category of ‘sweeper-keepers’. Man United also brought in a certain someone who remains acclaimed as a great sweeper-keeper but the amount of goals that certain someone let go in the UCL should restrict them to ‘sweeper’. Credit where due though, Andre Onana leads the charts for clean sheets in the Premier League.
Dutchman Bart Verbruggen is also a great example of a sweeper-keeper. The Brighton goalkeeper has been mighty impressive this season even though stats do not reflect his importance to the Seagulls side. Ask his boss Roberto de Zerbi and he will tell you how crucial Verbruggen has been ever since Robert Sanchez switched to Chelsea.
Talking of De Zerbi, the Italian tactician recently brought light to the ‘sweeper-keeper’ role and highlighted Liverpool’s very own Alisson while giving an example from earlier this season. Here is what RDZ told Sport Italia:
“I’ll give you the example of two games played this year by my Brighton, against Liverpool and Manchester City: I had prepared the defensive phase, in both cases, going man on man. However, Klopp and Guardiola raised the goalkeeper a lot above the penalty area, turning him into a movement player and putting me in a lot of difficulty.”
O melhor!
Having a goalkeeper who is good at distribution certainly helps in the build-up play but the importance of such a figure when it comes to absorbing pressure often goes under the radar. As De Zerbi mentioned, when frontlines, and at times, the midfielders push up and press the backline, having an extra presence at the back puts any team into a lot of difficulty.
We have seen Ali numerous times this season helping his defence out and playing under constant pressure. He’s an absolute boss at that. Being good with the feet has become one of the benchmarks for testing how good a goalkeeper is. We’re just lucky we have both, the best shot-stopper and sweeper-keeper in one Alisson Becker.
A goal and three assists in the Premier League are a further testament to the diamond we have on our hands here. It is about time the player starts getting broader recognition, and it is great that the manager of a Premier League rival appreciates how good of a player AB1 is.
A fair share of the credit also has to go the way of Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp who has transformed the side and has made tweaks to ensure that the style of play remains as dynamic as the game can get.
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A big week coming as we gear up to face Manchester United at a new-look Anfield with extended capacity. Hopefully, Alisson doesn’t have a lot to do, but at the same time, shows everyone that he is the best in the world.
