Michael Rechner interview: How FC Bayern train their goalkeepers

No position on the football pitch has evolved so much in the last 20 years as that of the goalkeeper. In FC Bayern members' magazine '51', goalkeeping coach Michael Rechner discusses modern goalkeeping and his day-to-day work with Manuel Neuer, Jonas Urbig and Sven Ulreich.

Interview with Michael Rechner

Michael, you work with Manuel Neuer – the goalkeeper who’s shaped the modern game more than anyone else. How do you make him even better?
Michael Rechner: “Working with Manu is very easy. He’s extremely open, hard working and still wants to get better every day even at 39. He always wants to win, whether it’s in a training game, football tennis or table tennis. You constantly sense his positive obsessiveness. It’s fascinating to watch him on a daily basis. He has a very functional goalkeeping style – difficult things look easy with him. A shot comes and he doesn’t spectacularly punch it away, but just extends his arm while standing to turn the ball over the bar. And then there are shots that you think will be difficult to save, but he still parries them. Manu is simply the best goalkeeper in the world.”

FC Bayern have always had great goalkeepers: Sepp Maier, Jean-Marie Pfaff, Oliver Kahn, today Neuer. Do you see a common thread?
“Yes: personality. They’re different characters and generations, but all have a particular presence. You sense that in Manuel Neuer just as you would in Sepp Maier, who I’ve met here a few times. Of course, the goalkeeping game has changed. With the back-pass rule at the start of the 90s, it became more important for goalkeepers to join in with the play. Sepp Maier could still pick up back-passes with his hand. But you see in old clips of him that he could already play back then, running out to balls over the top and intercepting crosses from a long way off his line. He was ahead of his time.”

How do you define modern goalkeeping?
“Modern goalkeeping is often reduced to being involved in the play. But a goalkeeper has to be complete nowadays: defending the goal, defending space, opening up play, plus athleticism – jumping power, agility, explosiveness – and mental strength. It all belongs together: technique, tactics, body and mind.” 

What does Vincent Kompany expect from his goalkeepers?
“When we’re in possession, the goalkeeper has a central role for us: he’s always the extra man. The goalkeeper helps to stay in possession and to progress play forward quickly. On top of that, we play with a very high block, which means there’s a big space between the back line and the goal. And the goalkeeper has to defend that, with high positioning, courage and good reading of the game. So, the key expectations of the goalkeepers are very good ability with their feet, understanding of the game and strong command of the space.”

In fact, Jonas Urbig initiated a goal with a long ball against Stuttgart.
“Since Vincent Kompany has been here, Manu and Jonas have set up a lot of goalscoring chances in that way. A targeted long ball behind the opponents’ block is just one variation, though. We want to be variable and also play a low ball into the central midfielder. That also takes courage under pressure. These are the principles we train – and it’s nice when it comes off like it did against Stuttgart.”

You like to work based on data. How is the goalkeeper’s involvement in the play expressed in data?
“Generally, around 75 percent of the goalkeeper's game these days is made up of build-up play, at FC Bayern it's actually closer to 85 percent. An extreme number. Their running distance has also increased: our goalie runs over six kilometres per game, often at high speed because he’s positioned very high, comes a long way out of his goal and then has to run back again.”

If build-up play makes up 85 percent of the goalkeeper’s game, how much space does this area take up in training?
“Not as much as you might assume. Defending the goal and the space have a higher bearing on the outcome of the match. In the 2-1 win against PSG, for example, Manu made two or three brilliant saves – those are moments that decide matches. That’s why goal and space defence need to have a higher share in training than build-up play. Nevertheless, we integrate the goalkeepers as often as possible in specific tactical drills with the team, where it’s about opening up play and positioning.”

We often see Manuel Neuer a long way outside his own penalty area. How high can a goalkeeper stand?
“That depends on the situation. We want brave positional play in order to defend the space between the halfway line and our goal well – but the balance has to be right to minimise the risk of being overrun if we lose the ball or having too far to go back.”

Manuel Neuer has internalised this balance. Jonas Urbig, on the other hand, is a young goalkeeper – how is he learning where he should stand?
“We observed Jonas for a long time and identified that he has the quality to implement a similar style of play to Manu. To begin with, we did a lot of video analysis with him, with clips of Manu as well as of himself. Then in training it’s about deepening the tactical work. The daily work with Manu alone is making Jonas better. I experienced that during my time in Hoffenheim, where Gregor Kobel came through the academy and learned a lot from Oliver Baumann. On top of that, Jonas has this inner drive to constantly want to improve – that’s the key factor.”

Keeping the ball out of the goal is the essence of goalkeeping. Do you still train that in the same way as 20 years ago?
“A good catching technique, clean take-off, ability in one-v-one situations – that’s just as important now as it was before. We do a lot of work with shots from three, four, five metres because you need various skills there: reaction with the feet or hands, getting down quickly. We constantly practice these processes so that they function automatically. I also like to incorporate cognitive exercises into the technical training, since the mind plays a big role: anticipating, processing, deciding.”

Is this where the famous glasses, which your goalkeepers sometimes wear in training, come in?
“Exactly. The glasses reduce the field of vision. Studies show: If perception is impaired, additional areas in the brain are activated. Regular training improves perception. For example, when receiving a back pass, the goalkeeper must assess whether the gap between the opposing players is large enough for the low ball to the defensive midfielder. With close-range shots, he must determine: is the ball coming close to his body or further out? Should he react with his hand or his foot? Should he dive? Distance, angle, shot speed, ball height – the goalkeeper discerns all of this, processes it and has to select the correct technique. All in milliseconds. Constant repetition plus cognitive training truly make a goalkeeper better.”

When you talk about your goalkeepers, you often speak of a team. Why is that important to you?
“I’ve been a goalkeeping coach for 19 years and I’ve experienced it: a positive atmosphere creates a lot of energy. You push each other and everyone benefits. I’m also a big fan of clearly defined roles. Manu is the number one, Jonas the number two and Sven Ulreich the number three. That doesn’t mean there’s no competition, though. Manu is still word-class also because Jonas and Ulle push him in training every day. They set the bar very high.”

Let’s look briefly into the future: what will goalkeeping look like in 10, 15 years’ time?
“I think the game will become even quicker. Being quicker in the head will become even more important. It’s also quite possible that one or two rules will change, like the goal kick rule recently. A centre-back can now pass to the goalkeeper in the penalty area. That leads to new situations and solutions, and keeps it intriguing.”

Article taken from the January edition of members’ magazine ‘51’, here in an abridged version.