| Arachnophilia |
| Basil contemplates that age-old art of goalkeeping |
| Well, it's been a while since I last spoke to you, and a lot has happened. For one thing, we've seen several amazing games from our 'keeper Derek Scrimgour. We have also seen the two-and-only Andy Goram, playing for none other than our friendly local Elgin. Goalkeeper is perhaps the hardest position on the pitch to play well at, and it must take something special to do that job. In my opinion, it takes a certain amount of insanity. There are plenty of examples of insane goalkeepers around - you can see the look in their eyes which says "Don't mess with me!". I'm sure we have all seen Turkey and Barcelona keeper Rustu Recber with his 'war paint' below his eyes. He says it's to prevent the glare of the floodlights affecting his sight, but personally I think he's just trying to psych out the opposition. Possibly the most frightening keeper to be up against though is Jos� Luis Chillavert of Paraguay and (last I heard) Strasbourg. His intimidating, shaven-headed look is matched only by his love for taking penalties, and sometimes free-kicks as well. And speaking of goal-scoring, who can forget Peter Schmeichel. Going up the park for corners and free-kicks seems to be becoming increasingly popular, but there is still, for me at least, nothing quite like the sight of "The Great Dane" rushing up the pitch to get in amongst the opposing defence in a last, desperate attempt to rescue the game. Well, there is perhaps one thing that is as good - seeing him have to rush back again to his own goal as the opposing team clear the ball and break downfield. It is a shame that he has finally retired - but we'll always have the memories. I would love one day, though, to see a Queen's keeper score a goal - maybe DS is the man to do it? Of course, the whole point of goalkeeping is stopping goals, and there are a lot of good shot-stoppers around. However, since I haven't yet mentioned him, and since Derek Scrimgour reminds me of him a bit (I think it's the hair-cut), I have to bring Oliver Kahn into this discussion. The Germany and Bayern Munich keeper helped Germany reach the 2002 World Cup final, and he also helped Bayern win the European Cup in the penalty shoot-out with Valencia a few years ago. Of course, there are some goalies who have done some pretty stupid things as well. For example, before the 2002 World Cup, Valencia goalie Santiago Canizares went and dropped an Eau de Cologne bottle on his foot, damaging muscles and meaning he missed the tournament. I am sure that Andy Goram has done a few things in his career that he regrets, but perhaps it's best if we stay away from that topic. In my opinion, the daftest keeper, the one most prone to the old 'rush of blood to the head', the real 'blundermeister' of goalkeeping has to be Fabien "Baldy" Barthez. I can still remember his desparate attempts to fool the unfoolable Paulo di Canio by claiming for offside in Man Utd's 1-0 FA Cup defeat by West Ham a few years back. Of course, he tried to make up for his mistakes by making himself an eleventh outfield player towards the end, but to no avail. Most of you will probably also remember his air-kick against Scotland in France a few years ago - it's just such a shame the ball never went in. And how did he ever get away with his handling of the ball outside the box during the Champions League Quarter Final against Real Madrid last season? I think that his useless insanity has finally been summed up by the fact that he has now been replaced by an American. One of the most positive things about Queen's at the moment is that we have in Derek Scrimgour a top class keeper and we are really lucky to have him. Cheers for now, Basil (the one you wouldn't find between the sticks if his life depended on it!) |