The last line of defence, a major responsibility and the one player who's easily able to cast their eye over proceedings. We spent the day with some of the up-and-coming shotstoppers on show at LaLiga Promises and asked them exactly what it's like to watch the action unfold from between the sticks?
The singularity of their role means that goalkeepers are made of strong stuff. As Valencia CF custodian Owen Bosch commented, "being a goalkeeper is a big responsibility," whilst his Villarreal CF counterpart, Marc Fauli, noted, "it's a really special position and it's an honour to play there."
However, not all of our Under-12 goalkeepers started out as shotstoppers. One such case is that of Sevilla FC's Diego Dominguez, who initially operated as a central defender before realising that he felt most at home in a pair of goalkeeper gloves. Meanwhile, Villarreal goalie Pau Polo revealed that he's keeping up a proud family tradition by playing in goal: "My dad and brother were both goalkeepers."
We all have people that we try to model ourselves on in life and this group of talented 'keepers are no different in that respect. When asked about who they look up to in the game, the most striking response came from Fauli, who declared that his goalkeeping teammate, Pau Polo, is his inspiration: "I look closely at how he plays because he's such a good goalie."
Source: laligaes.es