Several players and coaches have often stated that the goalkeeper contributes up to seventy percent or more to the outcome of the match. “Maybe the percentage ratio is difficult to determine, but the fact that no competitive team has a weak goalkeeper is an irrefutable fact,” said Edgars Lūsiņš, who once defended goals himself in major domestic and European clubs at various levels. At the beginning of his career he tried his luck in North America and also appeared in goal for the Latvian national team. At the moment, Edgars is the goalkeeping coach of the leading team of the German championship, Bremen Penguins of Fischtown, who he once represented as a hockey player when he still played in the German second league. “You can’t put the best goalkeeper in the world in the weakest team: he will not lift that team. The team’s defensive play is equally important, it can make the goalkeeper’s job easier or more difficult. However, in a battle between two similar teams, the goalkeeper will certainly be a very important factor. Even now, in the German championship, it is very visible, and we also discussed it with our colleagues: whoever has a stronger goalkeeper is higher in the rankings,” concludes Lūsiņš.
The performance of the Latvian national hockey team was also usually closely related to the performance of the goalkeeper. Artūrs Irbe, Edgars Masalskis, Elvis Merzlikins and others helped achieve great victories, but last spring’s feats and bronze medals would hardly have been possible without the inspiration of Artūrs Shilovs. “We didn’t miss very hard-fought matches, in which it was the goalkeeper’s performance that pulled the team through. Victories like against Norway (2:1 – aut.) or Slovenia (3:2). In the end we achieved two or three games that we won in extra time! In a similar battle with few goals conceded, the role of the goalkeeper is enormous. In these situations the Shilov factor was decisive, as was also seen in the overall result in the long run”, evaluates Edgars Lūsiņš . He believes that the award for the most valuable player of the tournament awarded to the goalkeeper of the Latvian national team is not at all exaggerated.
The large role played by the team together with the great competition for a place in the team – there is only one in goal – also requires great psychological resilience from the goalkeepers. “A goalkeeper is only as good as his last match. That’s why we are happy to see him during the season: Shilov and our other top goalkeepers compete at a high level and show themselves well”, from the point of view of coaches, Lūsiņš singles out four goalkeepers with whom he can count at national level. “From the guys’ point of view, I see that we have two goalkeepers at national level in North America and two in Europe. We evaluate moment by moment which is the best. We can already put everything on paper, but when we enter the national team, there are There are always many extra factors that come into play, starting from the length of the season at the club, from one’s physical condition and athletic form, to finishing with the psychological mood.”
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2024-01-10 08:35:23
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