Lutz Pfannenstiel: I've heard about Subrata Pal's potential

On the second day of the AIFF organized Goalkeeping Course, 'Art of German Goalkeeping' the course instructor Lutz Pfannenstiel spoke about an Indian Goalkeeper, Subrata Pal.

The buzz in the classroom amongst the participants was unmistakable. Lutz Pfannenstiel clarified, "I know, I know… I am talking about his stint with RB Leipzig in Germany."

To the surprise of the participants, Lutz Pfannenstiel knew quite a bit about Subrata Pal but that is not uncommon for a scout like Lutz who has been a personal friend of mine for many, many years and he has been briefed about Indian football by me before he left.

Lutz pointed out that Subrata's stint with the German outfit in division four (Regionalliga Nordost) was a very fruitful one and assured that the standard of the fourth tier in Germany is as good as the Premier League in other parts of the world.

"I got good reviews about him (Subrata). The standard in the German fourth division League is very high I can assure you that. So his stint with Rasen Ballsport Leipzig must have been very good. I've heard about his potential. The standard in Germany is very high and level of competition stays intense."

He continued as the coaches listened. "Germany is the place for goalkeepers! So Pal's training could only have gone in one direction… that is good."

The two-hour long theory session also saw Pfannenstiel stress on the importance and transformation of equipments of a goalkeeper, training methods and so on. Videos were shown to the participants to explain the drills they need to perform in their next practical session.

Speaking on the transformation of equipments Pfannenstiel said, "The equipments of a goalkeeper has changed over the years. From the ball which swings a lot now than probably ten years back, to their gloves, everything has changed. A goalkeeper of the 80's would find life difficult nowadays."

"The need for good quality equipments is paramount. In Africa you don't find good goalkeepers. The reason is that kids who choose goalkeeping have harrowing experience standing under the bar. The grounds are full of stones and they are the ones who have to do the diving. So naturally they don't want to do it again. This is where good quality kits come into play."

Pfannenstiel also pointed out some features of how coaches should train their goalkeepers. "A goalkeeper trains alone with his coach. He is in that way separated from the main team's training. But the Head Coach stays the most important. A goalkeeper’s training is always special," Lutz said.

"If you are a National Team Goalkeeping Coach you have limited time with your goalkeepers. So you have to out your training plan in a nutshell. But if you are with a club you have time and this is where club keeper training comes into the fray."

AIFF organised ‘Art of German Goalkeeping’ kicks-off in Mumbai

The All India Football Federation organised goalkeeping course titled 'Art of German Goalkeeping' kicked-off at the Cooperage ground in Mumbai today.

This first of its kind course is being organised by AIFF in association with the German Olympic Association (DOSB) and German Football Association (DFB). Former German Goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel is conducting the week-long course which will comprise of theory and practical sessions, stressing on various positions of the goalkeeper and how the dynamics have changed in recent years.

Pfannenstiel, a scout for Bundesliga outfit TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, also spoke on the basic role of a goalkeeping coach and explained the difference between a normal coach and a goalkeeping coach citing examples.

"The position of a goalkeeper has transformed over the years. Now a goalkeeper has to be a good footballer as well. Manuel Neuer is the best example of a modern day goalkeeper. He is a motivator in the side," Lutz said.

"Shot stopping skills alone are not enough anymore. A goalkeeper needs to distribute the ball well and on counter-attacks he plays a key role in building the first block of a move," Lutz added.

"In the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Lehmann got the nod ahead of Oliver Kahn because Lehmann was more a modern day goalkeeper than Kahn, who was of course the best shot stopper."

Twenty eight coaches including those contracted with the AIFF are attending the one week course.

"A goalkeeper is a team player and a lone warrior. He trains differently as well. But again he is the motivator if the side," Lutz further added.

"Goalkeeping coaches are not like normal coaches. You see Jose Mourinho perhaps never kicked a football. Arsene Wenger was not a great player. But they are world class coaches. But a person who cannot kick the ball well cannot be a goalkeeping coach. In training you need to shoot the ball perfectly and in chest height for your goalkeeper to get good practice."

Lutz Pfannenstiel, who has the unique distinction of having been the only professional football to play in on all six Continents maintained that it is the responsibility of goalkeeping coaches to make their second and third choice custodians 'feel important'.

"A goalkeeper's position stays static on the football pitch. You can have two world class strikers playing but not two great goalkeepers. So for a coach it is very important to keep his second and third choice keepers happy and make them feel important. They should be fielded in Friendlies and less important matches."

The 90 minute educative session was followed by an hour of practical session where the 28 participants were taught relevant drills.


The list of coaches stay as follows

Tanumoy Basu, Mario Aguiar, Feroz Sheriff, Henry Picardo, Subrata Dasgupta, Abdul Siddique, Raghuvir Khanolkar, Pramod Brid, Abdul Quadeer, Premkanta Singh, William Koso, Mohammed Yusuf Ansari, Utpal Mukherjee, T.K. Majumdar, Richard Sanchez, Sebastian Noronha, Chandrakant Naik, Ashok Panda, Nirvan Shah, Vivek Gupta, Gavin Araujo, Lokesh Kukrety, Nitesh Dimri, Hameed K., Fysal K. Bappu, Manoj Nair, Gumpe Rime, Abun Gobi Singh

German Coaching/Goalkeeping Instructors coming to India

The German Olympic Association (DOSB) and German Football Association (DFB) are sending two Coaching and Goalkeeping instructors to India for the next three weeks to run two Coaching courses in Kolkata and Mizoram plus the goalkeeping course "The Art of German Goalkeeping" in Mumbai.

The first course will be held from Monday onwards in Kolkata by the Indian Football Association (West Bengal) in which local coaches get the chance to learn the German way of coaching, which in the last few years has been very successful.

The second course will be held by the Mizoram Football Association in the state capital Aizawl. Originally planed for youth development coaches, the course is now open to all coaches in the Northeastern state as such high level instructors rarely come to Mizoram.

The third and final course will be organised by the All India Football Federation and hosted by the Western India Football Association at the Cooperage Ground in Mumbai from October 12-15. Goalkeeping coaches contracted with the AIFF, from I-League clubs and other institutions have been invited for the course "The Art of German Goalkeeping" then Germany has brought out some of the best goalkeepers in the history of world football.