Matt Pyzdrowski is a coach and former goalkeeper who performed professionally in the US and Sweden. He serves as a goalkeeping analyst for The Athletic.
With Turkey holding a 2-1 lead deep in second-half stoppage time final night time and Austria frantically trying to find an equaliser, Turkey’s goalkeeper Mert Gunok pulled off the save of the match to date when he miraculously denied Christoph Baumgartner from shut vary to earn his nation a spot within the final eight at Euro 2024.
It was an unimaginable save paying homage to Gordon Banks’ iconic cease from Pele for England towards Brazil within the 1970 World Cup, and I’m not exaggerating after I say it is among the greatest I’ve ever seen.
The way in which Gunok went again throughout purpose and saved the bouncing ball off a soaking moist floor on a wet night time, in such an enormous second, was sensational.
Mert Günok’s unimaginable Ninety fifth-minute save #EUROLastMinute | @Hublot pic.twitter.com/N2AImAbc7A
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 2, 2024
There’s a stage of instinctual consciousness in Gunok’s save that may solely have been constructed from placing in hours of labor on a constant foundation. The actions and interplay made as he throws himself towards the ball can solely be completed owing to the numerous hours he’s put in on the coaching pitch; the results of placing himself into the fitting place at precisely the fitting time over and over. This save didn’t occur by chance.
With the ball looping excessive up within the air, Gunok first turned his physique, after which took three fast shuffle-steps throughout his purpose, all whereas preserving his head and eyes targeted on the ball above him. This was necessary as a result of, in a break up second, it helped him choose the flight and trajectory whereas concurrently anticipating its closing vacation spot. Had he hesitated even for only a second, it might have been an extra-time-forcing purpose.
It didn’t take lengthy for Gunok to grasp the preliminary looping ball wasn’t one he would have the ability to declare outright within the air and he shortly scanned the realm in entrance of him and noticed Baumgartner on their lonesome on the again put up. With the ball nonetheless within the air above him, Gunok determined to shift his eyes away from it and onto Baumgartner’s anticipated level of impression.
It could sound unusual {that a} goalkeeper would take their eyes off the coming ball, however it’s a giant purpose Gunok was in a position to pull off this save.
By anticipating the purpose of impression, he allowed himself to see the ball for the whole lot of its flight, hold his ft in near-continuous contact with the bottom and time his method completely, serving to him to get set at precisely the fitting time to impression the play. Had Gunok saved his eyes on the ball and tried to react to the shot after impression, it’s unlikely he would have been in a position to attain out to the ball in time, even along with his excellent reflexes.
GO DEEPER
Austria 1 Turkey 2: Missiles fall, records tumble – and the save of the tournament?
The data in entrance of him (the pace of the cross, the bouncing ball, Baumgartner’s physique form) informed him that the ball’s more than likely vacation spot was again the way in which it had come. Resulting from his restricted response time, Gunok resorted to utilizing a smaller step (relatively than a extra conventional step ahead) as a result of he not had the time or distance to make a bigger one to his proper. As an alternative, he needed to tuck his proper foot beneath himself, predominantly pushing off along with his exterior (left) foot in the direction of the ball.
Because the ball headed towards purpose, Gunok tucked that proper leg beneath him and explosively threw himself to his proper with all his may, utilizing each single inch of his 196cm (6ft 5in) body, and pushed the ball broad of the put up. His skill to quickly collect his ft beneath him on the closing second helped him get his footwork organised at a vital second and anticipate the ball again throughout his purpose to make a wide ranging save.
Making issues much more troublesome for Gunok within the second was the way in which the ball bounced on its manner in the direction of purpose.
When a ball bounces in entrance of you, you might be not coping with a ball that has a predictable path towards purpose, however one that might change path and differ in its top after that bounce. It’s in these moments {that a} goalkeeper sometimes must make two actions, which is a giant purpose why it’s so troublesome to make a save on a bouncing shot or header much like Baumgartner’s. The goalkeeper must first transfer downwards to react to the low shot after which spring upwards because the ball bounces off the grass — all whereas concurrently transferring their physique laterally and ahead to get behind and reduce off the shot.
Getting your timing proper and constructing a stable barrier behind the ball may be robust sufficient when you might have a superb learn on the play. It’s infinitely tougher when the factor modifications path on its method to your purpose. It’s in these moments when the goalkeeper’s focus and timing are of the utmost significance.
It’s laborious to articulate how troublesome it’s to push off your again leg with as a lot energy and as shortly as Gunok did right here to make the save. He merely had no enterprise attending to that ball.
Gunok’s enthusiastic response after making the save and the nonverbal reactions of the Austria gamers after they did not equalise say greater than any phrases might about how magnificent it was.
Saves are quite a bit like objectives in that the implications, and the stage upon which they’re made, decide their greatness.
If Gunok’s save final night time comes at one other level in any variety of different video games, it doesn’t grow to be etched in historical past. The very fact it occurred on the loss of life, and will have been the distinction between Turkey advancing to the quarter-finals or going out of the match both after further time or on penalties, makes it way more particular.
GO DEEPER
The chaos of Austria vs Turkey: Part Bundesliga, part South America, part lower-league
(Picture: John MacDougall/AFP by way of Getty Photos)
