Sunday, February 27, 2011

Champions League: VfB goalkeeper Marc Ziegler was a blessing in disguise

The spectators in Stuttgart's arena gasped. Marc Ziegler had been slapping a shot ahead and ran out the door to tackling issues again. In the game of the Champions League Benfica Lisbon's midfielder Nicolas Gaitan rushed approach, trying to dust - and hit the VfB keeper in the 48th Minute with a knee to the temple.

Making matters worse, even defender Matthieu Delpierre fell on Ziegler's head. The Stuttgart keeper lay unconscious was, after several minutes of treatment on the pitch on a stretcher brought out of the stadium with flashing lights and drove to the hospital. "I was standing right next to it and was shocked.

It looked bad. The situation I was immediately reminded of the accident by Petr Cech, when I was at Chelsea ", Stuttgart defender Khalid Boulahrouz said after the 0-2 (0-1) against the Portuguese. At that time, 14 October 2006 in the Premier League match against Reading, the Czech international keeper Cech suffered a similar collision with Stephen Hunt a skull base fracture.

It takes years for a skull bones back completely healed. Therefore Cech with ever since playing in an 80-gram rugby helmet made of plastic. Only three months later, he could rejoin the team training. For Ziegler, the forced break will not be as long. It may perhaps in a few days to train again.

But the question remains: Is the goalkeeper threatened by the ever faster and more athletic expectant game special? The VfB keeper was lucky. Computed tomography of the night resulted in only a severe concussion and fortunately no damage to the head or neck, as initially feared. He could leave the hospital for further examinations on Friday again already.

Cech could not, so he says. "We need more jump in feet from oncoming enemies and combat air it will increase to collisions with heads and elbows" He too little protection of the goalkeeper criticized by the referee and has been working his accident and for rule changes. The world football governing body FIFA has instructed the referees though, attacks against the head, for example, with elbow Checks to punish strengthened.

Incidents in Stuttgart can not be avoided in general. The former Bundesliga goalkeeper Georg Koch was even more so than Cech and spoke recently in favor of general wear helmets. "When I see how many battles are fought in the penalty area with his elbow and how often pull the striker, the helmet does have a meaning.

It could prevent the determined one or other injury, "he said. HSV keeper Frank Rost does not believe that the goal keeping has become more dangerous. "Even 30 years ago strikers are running toward you and you to them. This doubles the power and the danger, "he says. But the 37-year-old goalkeeper is another interesting theory brings into play: "The problem is the new balls.

They have been developed at the health of the keeper over. They are incredibly smooth and powerful flutter. The shots can be calculated by goalkeeper often difficult and they can bounce off somehow. As rich for three to four inches difference. "This had to keep it heavy and it would be more scenes like in Stuttgart.

"The ball is very fast and stable flight. Its peril is evident to outsiders with the naked eye, "says Hanover's goalkeeper coach Jörg Sievers. This is confirmed by his Stuttgart colleague Eberhard Trautner. For the unfortunate collision in his view, it would not have come if Ziegler had the first shot of Gaitan can hold.

The Fifa take but the nature of the balls tacitly accepted in to fall more goals. Nevertheless, Trautner tends more to the notion of Cech, the need for the referee's goalkeeper even better protection. "If a striker anprescht with both feet forward, one that immediately stopped. The reverse is true as well, if the goalkeeper comes out the same again sometimes Oliver Kahn.

Happens in the middle is, but also whistled the same, "he says. For VfB was the 0-2 defeat against Benfica in Lisbon, which led to the withdrawal from the Champions League, by the incident almost a secondary matter. Ziegler was appointed only on Tuesday by coach Bruno Labbadia the new number one.

The 34-year-old had his last league game on 13 February 2010 for Dortmund at Bayern (1:3) in dispute. For him, must now play the-bottom in the groundbreaking for the league game on Sunday at Eintracht Frankfurt (15.30 Clock, Sky) in degraded Sven Ulreich again. The demotion but was due to "very disappointed and angry" as Labbadia reported.

The fight against relegation this is probably not a good basis. Employees: mli, co

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