An Oxymoron No More: The Great Brazilian Goalkeeper

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By the time he established himself as Internacional’s undisputed starter, it was second nature. The circumstances were curious: the three goalkeepers ahead of him in the pecking order — including Dida — were all unavailable for a game against Fluminense, the club’s then-coach, Abel Braga, explained.

“In a very difficult situation, Alisson came in, and was spectacular,” he said. “The next game, Dida was available again, but Alisson had shown so much personality, he stayed. We barely lost a game for the rest of the season.”

He has not looked back. Brought into the Brazil squad in 2015, Alisson has been Tite’s first choice since he took charge, despite Ederson’s rise.

“He is exquisite,” Braga said. “He is very quick, good with his feet, a complete goalkeeper.”

That is one area — the array of skills at his disposal — in which Alisson will confess there has been a legitimate shift, where he will accept that he is something of a trailblazer. “Me and Ederson have changed the style a little bit,” he said. “We have changed because football has changed.

“We are both playing for teams — at Manchester City and at Roma — who want to use the goalkeeper in possession. It is the same for the national team now, too. You need to have the quality to play with the ball as well; as a goalkeeper, you play with your feet. That is the job we do.”

That was what lay at the root of the old stereotype, of course: that Brazil’s goalkeeper was really just a frustrated outfield player.

That sounds rather more like an advantage now, half a century after Felix, than it once did. The stereotype has been exposed not by Brazil changing its methods, but by the scales falling from European eyes. Brazil does need goalkeepers, and it does produce goalkeepers. The idea that it doesn’t seems a very long time ago indeed.



Source : NYtimes