The construction of an elite goalkeeper starts from the ankles up.

This has always been the case but is especially true in the modern era, with distribution a crucial component of their skillset.

How often do we see a keeper immediately put under pressure on receiving the ball. The vertical pass is not on. His only viable option is a lofted 90 degree release to a full-back in space. Strong ankles are required for this when completing the action time after time. Agility is key, so too coordination. The correct shifting of body-weight and good dorsiflexion, all done in an instant.

Add diving, jumping, landing, and swift changes of direction into the equation and understandably a lot of strength and conditioning work focuses on the ankles, with plyometrics pivotal. Exercises like tibialis raises, single-leg drop squats, BOSU ball balancing and lateral pogos are commonplace, all designed to cultivate power and limit the risk of sprains.

It’s pertinent that when a former coach of Gianluigi Donnarumma praised the two-time winner of the Yashin Trophy last summer the facet of his game he zeroed in on was not his shot-stopping, nor his positioning. It was that the Italian giant never stops ‘working on strengthening the ankles and doing co-ordination exercises’.

A Breed Apart: Separated to Specialise

Elsewhere in the gym, lower-body power and core strength is prioritised and the swiss ball is used, as well as leg presses to build foundational strength in quads and glutes.

It is interesting to note that these routines will differ significantly from those designed for outfield players with goalkeeping expert Sascha Felter explaining why.  

“You have to be more explosive in certain actions than outfield players. You have to build up a different kind of stamina. So it’s important to have high-intensity training with short intervals.”

Out on the training pitches meanwhile a similar split occurs, with three or four goalkeepers – along with their specialist coaches - occupying a designated goal and the defenders, midfielders and forwards focusing on rondo drills and sprint-work.

For the former, footwork and agility is enhanced with the aid of cones and ladders. Angle management and quick recoveries are worked on. Various drills, ranging from three-cone-drills to 180 degree turn drills are deployed.

Data box: The basics of a dive follow these sequential rules. Start from a balanced position. Move with your chest and shoulder in same quadrant as the knee. Push chin and face to the ball. Only then do arms come away from body.  

Yet, when delving into this further, and speaking to Sascha, what emerges is a fascinating change in goalkeeping practices in modern times, from what was long considered the norm.

Simply put, keepers used to throw themselves around a muddy six-yard box for ninety minutes then participate in a fun 6-a-side game. Now, once the strength and conditioning work is concluded, the integration with the rest of their team-mates occurs a lot sooner, with tactics at the fore.

“The technical part is not a big consideration for professionals,” Sascha insists. “It’s more important for goalkeepers to have tactical patterns.”

“The analytics team will detail how the opposition are creating chances and shot positions for their strikers, and from this the goalkeeping coaches will plan their week, trying to recreate these chances and positions. The same goes for set-pieces.

Where to stand in position A and position B, and so on. The tempo of their position can change too in these scenarios. So if a full-back crosses but the keeper is not able to catch it he must have a set position for when the striker meets that cross.”

Tactics at the Fore: Basics Merely Honed

From the insights above that opening sentence really stands out. The technical part is not a big consideration for professionals. And when you stop to think about it that makes perfect sense.

Does the formidable Donnarumma – or for that matter Emi Martinez, Yassine Bounou, Andre Onana, Mike Maignan or Thibaut Courtois, the other five Ballon d’Or nominees in the 2020s – really need to practice their positioning skills or how to deal with aerial threats?

They are, after all, at the very top of their field and know the basics of their profession inside-out. What they don’t know, however, is what Kylian Mbappe has in store for them in the Champions League that coming Wednesday.

Typically, a training programme for goalkeepers concentrates on five areas, they being technical handling, diving, high balls, agility and positioning.

Yet, though the rudimentary elements of these traits are routinely refined by keepers – at every level of the sport, from semi-pro to the Premier League – it is increasingly tactical analysis that now holds prominence, as much for a goalkeeper as any of his team-mates.