The death of the long ball has been widely announced as football has evolved lately.
Playing from the back has change into the norm. Direct teams are the exception slightly than the norm.
The logical tactical development thereafter was the rise of high pressing, followed by attempts to specifically lure the press to use spaces behind the opposing players doing the pressing.
During this time, teams played shorter passes from the back. Goalkeepers now not shoot long balls as far down the pitch as possible. Instead, they play a key role in the event phase of their team, a trend most clearly illustrated by the decline of the long ball in Europe's top leagues, particularly the Premier League.
Goalkeepers in England's top flight play fewer long balls. Since the beginning of the 2018/19 Premier League season, the proportion of goalkeepers' long passes – defined as balls that travel a minimum of 32m (35 yards) – has declined 12 months on 12 months, falling from 69 per cent to under half over that period of six years.
The move towards shorter passes signifies that “a different skill set is increasingly required of goalkeepers.” Technical skills on the ball have change into a necessity, which is why there may be a concentrate on developing goalkeepers who can handle their feet well under pressure.
This improved technical quality of goalkeepers and the rise in aggressive pressing has led to groups maximizing long passes to use spaces upfield.
“When you play teams man-to-man, the free man is the goalkeeper,” said Pep Guardiola after his Manchester City side's 3-0 away win against Burnley firstly of last season. “That’s why you have to use this alternative.”
In the second half of this game, City took advantage of Burnley's man marking by isolating striker Erling Haaland and using goalkeeper Ederson to play long passes to him. Ederson accomplished 16 of his 28 long passes at Turf Moor that night – his highest Premier League tally since 2018/19 – and considered one of those led to the free-kick from which City scored their third goal.
Similarly, visiting Brentford tried to push City man-to-man of their Premier League game last month. Once again the City players dropped deeper to attract the Brentford defenders out of position, creating space for Haaland to attack and for Ederson to make long passes.
In this instance, Jack Grealish and Savinho retreat to maneuver their markers Sepp van den Berg and Nathan Collins forward, isolating Haaland against Ethan Pinnock.
Once the City players lure the Brentford defenders higher up, Ederson plays an extended ball towards Haaland, who beats Pinnock and scores the winning goal.
“If you isolate Haaland against a centre-back, with the quality we have with Ederson and (backup goalkeeper) Stefan Ortega, that is a weapon we have to exploit,” Guardiola said after City's 2-1 win that day.
This season was the third in a row where City used Ederson's long balls against Haaland to beat man-to-man pressing. Given the qualities and profiles of the 2 players, it is a golden solution.
On the opposite side of Manchester, Guardiola's United colleague Erik ten Hag was never lucky enough to see Andre Onana's long balls towards Diogo Dalot end in a goal.
Since the beginning of last season, goalkeeper Onana has tried to search out Dalot's runs behind the defense, no matter whether the Portuguese full-back began from a narrow or wider infield position.
The idea is to attend for Dalot to make his run beyond the opponent's line of defense before the goalkeeper plays the long ball into space while the opposite United players leave that area.
In the 2-1 home win over Brentford this month, Dalot sneaked behind Kevin Schade – after Marcus Rashford's narrow positioning had drawn Kristoffer Ajer into the sector – to attack the space behind the defence.
Onana timed his long pass perfectly, Dalot continues to be on the side…
… however the full-back shoots directly at Mark Flekken.
Liverpool also used the gap distribution of their goalkeepers to execute a selected move.
Alisson and his substitute Caoimhin Kelleher played long balls to Mohamed Salah to begin a passing pattern up and back down the suitable wing.
Liverpool's third goal of their 4-1 win over Sevilla in pre-season is an example of how this move works: Alisson goes straight to Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai runs third into the space that the Egyptian winger had already vacated before the sport The latter brings the ball back to Diogo Jota, who then finds the trail of the Hungarian midfielder.
Salah has received 42 percent of long passes from Liverpool goalkeepers within the Premier League this season, a major increase in comparison with the previous six seasons. The latest head coach Arne Slot makes him a direct outlet.
It's vital to keep in mind that this isn't nearly goalkeepers pointlessly firing their shots forward. The idea is to have a selected routine that maximizes your likelihood of scoring.
Arsenal's David Raya has accomplished 56 percent of his passes long within the Premier League up to now this season – only the goalkeepers of Nottingham Forest, Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers went direct more often. But Arsenal don't just throw the ball forward for the sake of it. Raya's long passes are mainly aimed toward Kai Havertz near the suitable touchline while the opposite Arsenal players are in position to then attempt to win the second ball.
Since Raya and Havertz joined Arsenal in the summertime of 2023, the German striker has received as many long passes from the Spanish goalkeeper as the remaining of the team combined within the Premier League (102 out of 204). The next highest receivers on the list are Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli with just 17 each.
The evolution of football lately has meant that goalkeepers' long balls have change into a tool with which they’ll attack spaces and advance up the pitch.
The greater emphasis on build-up play favors technically sound goalkeepers, but additionally results in a rise in aggressive pressing and better defensive lines. Goalkeepers can goal specific areas and teammates to avoid pressing and attack the space it inevitably creates.
In terms of numbers, goalkeepers' long balls are on the decline, but tactically they’re more vital than ever.
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