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For: The opinion Posted Jan 14, 2023, 22:14 pm EST
The penalties They are some of the most spectacular and stressful moments in football. One study found that a simple modification in that type of playsendorsed by FIFA, has improved the performance of goalkeepers when it comes to stopping those shots.
After requests from several goalkeepers, in 2019, the International Football Association Board (IFAB)which establishes the laws of this sport, decided to allow goalkeepers to put one foot in front of the goal line at the moment of taking a penalty.
Previously, both feet of the goalkeeper must be on or behind the line until the moment the ball was thrown. If one foot touched the front of the goal line, the penalty was invalidated and had to be retaken.
“With the introduction of VAR, it became clear that all goalies would put one foot forward or otherwise break the law in an attempt to improve their performance. The law was changed in 2019, allowing goalkeepers to step over the line to launch fasteras long as they kept one foot on the line”, explains Paulo Roberto Pereira Santiago, lead author of an article on the subject published in Scientific Reports.
The study sought investigate whether or not the modification in the regulations related to penalties benefited the goalkeepers that you had requested it. For this, the experiments included the participation of six professional goalkeepers and four amateurs. They performed 20 dunks, ten to their dominant side and ten to their non-dominant sideobeying both the old law and the new law regarding the placement of the feet.
The researchers analyzed the dives by three-dimensional reconstruction of the body of the goalkeeper They used the motion capture technology used by video game producers and filmmakers to translate motion into 3D animation.
“We rebuild every launch and we measure the kinematic and biomechanical parameters to analyze the push of the goalkeeper, including the angle and speed”, explains Santiago.
The results of the study
The study led by Santiago shows that the change has benefited the goalkeepers improving his performance when it comes to saving penalties
The results showed that goalkeepers moved further and faster with the new law. Their “laterality” was determined by a questionnaire in which they were asked to say whether they preferred to dive to the left or to the right.
“This variable can be influential. In the lower extremities, laterality is reversed as far as launch is concernedSantiago explains. “We find higher plunge values on the non-dominant side than on the dominant side. It was to be expected, because right-handed goalkeepers shoot better with their left foot as a supporting or pushing leg.
Statistical analysis showed that the capitulation of FIFA before the revolt of the goalkeepers in reality improved his performance. “The change made in 2019 probably happened because almost everyone was doing it, and it was too difficult to save a penaltySantiago said. “The referee couldn’t tell by looking if the goalkeeper’s feet were in a legal position. If they had used VAR, the penalty would have had to be repeated”.
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