I have never seen a goalie flinch. That was crazy wierd. He musta have been terrified. He looks it in the pic.
As great as the goal was...I really wish Landon had taken a better angle on the goal. The angle he took basically forced him into a pass, and I think the GK thought that as well. Luckily for us, Landon is a badass and ripped one into the net.
Save it with your face and take it like a man. I've done it. Shit goalkeeping, but I'll take it! All credit to LD though, what a strike!
I'm pretty sure he was talking about professional goalkeepers. If you're accusing him of never playing professional soccer, I think we all assumed he hadn't played.
Landon scored a very similar goal with Everton this year. Same side, more or less the same bad angle and proximity to goal.
There's a chance the sure pace and angle of that shot could have forced the keeper over the line (for a goal) even if he would not have flinched. It was a wicked shot from a close angle. Harder to stop than people realize. Kudos to Landon for recognizing what he had to do and how to do it. It was a sublime finish and quite frankly I expect this from our top player. I hate using other sport analogies but this goal was like a thunderous, tomahawk dunk in basketball where the dribbler comes from the corner and throws it do from an acute angle.
I think it was a little further out and it was to the second post, but I thought the same thing when he made it in.
I play keeper and probably would not have attempted to field that with my face. Perhaps Tim Howard, Iker Casillas and a few others would have attempted to stop that, but most would have succumbed to the power as the Slovenian keeper did. A smart and well executed shot by Donovan.
I've played enough goalkeeper to learn to take shots to the face and not shy away. Indoor will especially train that out of you.
Should have had his hands up at chest height (minimum) as soon as the ball was at the 18 yd line and got past the sliding defender. You can lower your hands much faster than you can raise them.
I don't know what school of goalkeeping you come from but that is totally wrong. From 18 yards out, fine, but as landon got close, his hand should be down ready to stop any low shot, which is much more likely and takes less time to execute and arrive at the goal. With an attacker in that close, you always have your hands by your side ready to stop any low shot, and if he roofs you, you try your best and tip your hat to him if he beats you. It takes longer for the ball to go up than to stay on the ground (shortest distance to goal is a straight line on the ground) when hit with the same pace. So your argument that it takes longer to raise your hands is nullified by that point that it takes longer for the ball to go up as well. If you'll see, 99 times out of 100 goalkeepers will have their hands down with an attacker in that close (see Howard trying to save the 2nd slovenian goal as an example.) Either way, he shouldn't have backed away from the ball.
Exactly right. Hell, when Howard is in a situation like that, there's a good chance he's horizontal by that point, or diving at the ball. The keeper was a joke because he hid behind the post, not because he kept his hands down. I sort of feel for him, though. Landon pretty much trotted up to him and blasted it at his face. The combination of waiting, seeing Landon wind up, and the extreme proximity caused a reaction I don't think he could control. I was never a keeper, but I would probably be on the floor sucking my thumb at that point. Watch the replay and see how long Landon just trots at him, and then the shot. It's kind of scary.
That was a really great goal. Landon has been outstanding so far in this tournament. Maybe its just me, but it was even more enjoyable given that Landon jacked a screamer at highly-touted Handanovic's face. He got roofed from a 10-15 degree angle. Bradley's goal may end up being one of the most important in the history of the sport in the US.
LD kicked that ball like the keeper was his ex-wife's attorney. what's the worst that'll happen? POW, right in the kisser. Either way he wins. Very nice!
Ok, from watching the replay a few times, Handanovic is guilty of failing to adaquetly close down Donovan's angle. Instead of stepping forward once Donovan is in the clear and forcing him to pass, he stays glued to the goal line. In fact, when Landon shoots you can see Handanovic falling back, a big no-no for goalkeepers (Always want to have your momentum going forward, not backward) His arms were down because he wasn't expecting Landon to shoot. Frankly you'd think the keeper would have learned from the Brazil North Korea game, when Maicon scored a similar goal because the keeper assumed a cross was coming and paid the price.
Incredible goal from Donovan. When he had the ball on the wing and was going at goal I was just thinking "Come on, just take the ball and smash it in the goal. Take it on yourself." since with the national team he's not much of a goalscorer from the run of play lately. Was great that he actually went for the shot and roofed it from a tight angle. Super goal no matter what the goalkeeper is doing. Also, awesome quote: “I decided to take a touch and aim high—and aim at his head,” Donovan said. “And I don’t think he wanted to get hit from there.”