Peru’s U-20 Keeper: He’s a Little Unorthodox, But He Gets the Job Done

FC Dallas recently signed Peru’s top goalkeeper, Raul Fernandez, and they can only hope he’s a little less helter-skelter than one of his apprentices in the Peruvian national team set-up, U-20 netminder Angelo Campos.

Young Campos is currently backstopping la Blanquirroja in the CONMEBOL Youth Championship—aka qualification for next summer’s U-20 World Cup—and yesterday against Uruguay, he had himself quite the goalkeeping adventure. Take a look:

That was some rollercoaster. Let’s break it down.

Up: He aggressively comes off his line to deal with a ball over the top by Uruguay. That was good … in theory. You like a proactive goalkeeper.

Down: Whoa! Badly misjudged that ball, and the striker’s around him. That was bad. And now the striker shoots….

Up: That’s some hustle! Campos sprints all the way back, dives, and—yes! Stops the ball before it crosses the line. Wow.

Down: The momentum from his heroic sprint-and-lunge has sent him sliding all the way into the back of the net … and here comes the striker—empty net, ball on the goal line! Oh no!

Up: Holy recovery! What agility. Catlike, Campos regains his feet and beats the striker to the ball.

Down: Whoops, looks like he fouled the striker with that double leg sweep! (See step one: aggressive is good, reckless bad.)

Up!: The ref does not call the apparent foul. He was probably too impressed, like the rest of us, with Campos’s never-say-die effort on the play. So it’s no goal, no penalty, a sensational double save by the young Peruvian, and cardiac unrest for his coach.

And … scene.

Red Bulls Sign Veteran German Keeper Frank Rost

You know, when your starting goalkeeper does this one week:

And you bench him the following week, only to watch his backup (who used to be the starter) do this:

Well, then you have a problem at your goalkeeper position. An acute one.

Today, RBNY addressed it, signing 38-year-old Frank Rost, who joins the team after nearly 20 years in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen, Schalke 04, and Hamburg. Here he is in action:

Rost signed as a designated player, becoming New York’s third DP, after Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez.

The club says that Rost is expected to be available for the Red Bulls’ match at Chivas USA on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET, Galavision), pending receipt of his ITC and P1 visa.

The Softest Goal in MLS History?

It’s definitely in the running. Watch Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall make a complete hash of trying to claim this free kick from Colorado midfielder Jamie Smith last night at Robertson Stadium:

Across the country, scores of junior high school girl goalkeepers are nodding their heads and saying, “Been there.”

The Dynamo had taken a 1-0 lead just three minutes before Hall’s gaffe, on a slick cut-back and shot by former Rapids midfielder Colin Clark.

Ten minutes after Hall’s gaffe, Houston would give up the game-winner when they failed to clear a long throw-in. The ball bounced off two Dynamo defenders and Colorado striker Caleb Folan poked it to left back Scott Palguta, who slammed it home.

Tough loss for the home team.

Click here for complete highlights.

Green’s Gaffe: Breaking Down the Breakdown

Backpost goalkeeping consultant the Colorado Keeper offered a succinct analysis of Robert Green’s incredible howler versus the U.S. on Saturday.

Forget the Jabulani ball’s Wakefield-esque flight patterns—this was all about technique.

Here is the CO Keeper’s take; compare it with the photo above:

“He violated three Cardinal rules that I preach to kids as young as eight years old.

“Check out the angle of his shoulders—not squared at all.

“Look at his hands—crossed, so he lost a ton of surface area.

“Finally, notice his left knee: I tell all my kids that the moment they put that knee to the ground, they’ve stopped being an athlete.

“I never knew what they then became. Now I do: an English-tabloid whipping boy.”

Oh! Nice work, CO Keep! Excellent breakdown.

So, does Fabio Capello start Green in England’s next game? Share your thoughts on that question, and the Green analysis, in the comments.