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Check out the following names: Iker Casillas, Edwin Van Der Sar, Julio Caesar, Santiago Canizares, Jose Manuel Reina, Oliver Khan, David Seaman, Fabien Barthez and Peter Schmeikel.

What do the names above have in common? They are all soccer goalies - past and present - who have distinguished themselves in their roles as shot stoppers.

Now, anybody that knows anything about soccer will tell you that the goal keeper plays a very vital role in the success and cohesion of his team.

The goalie wears the no.1 jersey for his club, and his role is to keep the opposing team from scoring. For this reason, a great soccer goalie must have the following qualities:

Height:

A good soccer goalie needs an imposing height as part of his job description. On the average, a soccer goalie should be at least 6 feet 3 inches tall. In fact, the taller a keeper is, the better he will be' At Manchester United, for instance, Edwin Van Der Sar stands an impressive 6 feet 8 inches tall, and this seems to have done him a lot of good. He conceded the fewest goals in the English Premier League during the 2007 -2008 league season.

Bravery:

Being a soccer goalie is not for the faint-hearted. You need to be very brave to face the ferocious shots of mean strikers, weak in, week out.

A Sense of Judgment:

As a goal keeper, you need to have a keen sense of anticipation and a sharp sense of judgment. In cases of penalty shoot outs, corner kicks and free kicks, you have to judge where the ball is likely to go and position yourself correctly.

Speed:

As a soccer goalie, you need both speed and a great instinct. You don't wait for the attacker s to crowd you. It is better that you rush out and take the battle to them.

Confidence:

Understand this clearly from the very outset. You can't do a good job as a soccer goalie if you don't have confidence. You need to believe that you can do the job first, and then you go ahead and do the job.

Communication Skills:

As a soccer goalie, you need to have the approach of a parade ground commander. You have to shout instructions to your defenders so they will do their jobs. You also need to speak out to other players so that there won't be any mix ups. If a long ball comes into the eighteen yard box, for instance, you need to tell your defenders clearly whether to deal with it or to leave it to you.

Shooting and Stopping Skills:

Now, this is the most important quality that every soccer goalie must have. As a goal keeper, you need to know how to dive, catch and punch out dangerous balls. You also need to have great shooting skills. Sometimes, you may have to surprise the opposing team. You take a long kick into the opponent's penalty area, your attackers get the ball and, Bingo! Your team scores a surprise goal!

Finally, we have to recognize the fact that some of the biggest names in European soccer these days are goal keepers. There is Van Der Sar at Man. United, "Pepe" Reina at Liver Pool, Julio Caesar at Inter and Iker Casillas at Real Madrid.

You simply cannot do agood job as a soccer goalie if you don't have all or most of the qualities discussed above.

Learn more about this author, Emmanuel Osondu.
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