Algeria’s Faouzi Chaouichi gifted Slovenia a 1-0 win with a howler the other day but he can take a degree of comfort, even if scant, in the knowledge that he was not alone in the butter fingered goalkeeper stakes. England’s Robert Green’s equally catastrophic blunder allowed the USA to claw back from a 1-goal deficit to snatch a draw. The blunder was catastrophic from a professional standpoint although the consequences in terms of points lost may not have been as bad as they were for Algeria. And although Green pulled off some quite outstanding saves during the game, notably his one-handed reflex parry to deflect the ball for a corner when Jozy Altidore had the beating of Jamie Carragher for pace, the reaction in certain quarters will be that as a World Cup goalkeeper, that is what he is expected to do. Green will not be permitted to forget this singular howler and already the wags and jokesmiths have piled in.
Here is a sampling, credit to Let’s Go 2010, an AVUSA Media Group (publishers of Sunday Times, The Times, The Herald, Sunday World, Daily Dispatch and Sowetan) publication.
* If only John Terry lived next door to Robert Green’s missus
* Why is Robert Green like ITV? They both switch off at the crucial moment.
* At least that’s one British spillage the Americans won’t be moaning about.
* What’s the difference between Robert Green and teenage heartthrob Justin Bieber? Robert Green knows how to drop his balls.
* Kermit was right. It’s not easy being Green.
* The England lads had a get-together after the match and bought Robert Green a drink to commiserate with him. He dropped it!
* Steven Gerrard said “The whole team is behind Robert Green”. In hindsight that’s a good place to stand!
* Robert Green -- a joke even the Americans can understand!
* Yesterday at the London Zoo, one of the staff let a Central American howler monkey slip out of his grasp. So Robert Green’s not the only English keeper to drop a howler.
* My computer’s got Robert Green virus. It can’t save anything.
* I’m Robert Green and cleaning windows is my next idea.
* All those Robert Green jokes are getting out of hand. In fact they’re crossing the line.
Had enough? I have. And I’m sure both Robert Green and Faouzi Chaouichi have had it up to here as well.
I’m certain Green will rebound from this calamity because as a goalkeeper he cannot afford to have anything but a short memory. The best goalkeepers in the world are not immune from the occasional blunder. Peter Taylor, Brian Clough’s managerial partner during a trophy-littered career, was a goalkeeper in his playing days and claimed that in order to be a goalkeeper, you had to be crazy.
In fact an aspect of this craziness appears to be an incredibly limited memory storage capacity and capability when it comes to blunders. It is in their interest not to dwell on their errors because such thinking will be at the prohibitive cost of their confidence.
Meanwhile here’s a look at some quite memorable goalkeeping howlers of the past 50 years.
1. The Leeds United and Wales goalkeeper Gary Sprake infamously threw the ball into his own net during a Liverpool v. Leeds fixture at Anfield, prompting a welcoming chorus of “Careless Hands” from the enraptured Kop when the teams walked back in for the second half. Sprake would later explain he was aiming for a teammate but when he spotted a Liverpool player closing down on him, simply attempted to find a different target …
2. Gary Sprake again … his blunder in the 1970 FA Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley allowed the Londoners to equalize. Peter Houseman’s tame shot from 22 yards out carried no threat yet Sprake allowed the ball to trickle under his flopping body and into the goal.
3. Peter Shilton’s against Italy in the 1990 World Cup 3rd place classification match when, after making a routine save, he was caught unawares by Roberto Baggio who was lurking behind him as he steered the ball to the edge of the penalty area preparatory to picking it up to clear upfield. Baggio duly sneaked in from behind to rob Shilts and bury the ball in the net to hand the match to Italy.
4. Raymond King’s against Zamalek in the return leg of the 1984 African Cup of Champions Clubs final between Nigeria’s IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan and Zamalek of Egypt. Already chasing a 0-2 deficit from the first leg in Cairo, IICC were undone by King’s mad dash off his line to intercept a long pass at the top of the 18-yard box only to have his center-half Ogbein Fawole --who had last seen him on his line and was screaming at him to stay there-- head it over him and into his own net. What was King thinking?!
5. David Seaman’s against Brazil during the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan when Ronaldinho’s free kick from the right sideline about 40 yards from goal lofted over his head and into the top far corner. In his defense, Seaman claimed to have been expecting a ball into the penalty area.
7. Rene Higuita’s against Cameroon when he attempted to dribble Cameroon’s Roger Milla only to be robbed by the 40 something-year-old striker to take Cameroon into the quarter finals of Italia 90 and send Colombia home early.
8. Paul Robinson’s against Croatia when he swiped clear air instead of Gary Neville’s back pass, which proceeded to bounce unhindered into the net. Own goal to Red Nev!
9. Scott Carson’s against Croatia when a hopeful long range shot bounced off his gloves, went above his shoulder and traveled into the net.
10. Carlos’s against Uruguay when playing for Brazil during the 1970 World Cup in Mexico when a tame right flank attempt flew above his head and between his upraised arms to snuggle in the net.
Feel free to add your own howlers ...
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