In simple terms, a sweeper keeper controls the space behind the defensive line by pushing
up and staying as close to it as possible and actively participates in launching attacks
acting as an eleventh outfield player. The first sweeper keeper of sorts was Lee Richmond
Roose, and eccentric but talented goalie for Stoke and Sunderland among others, from 1895
to 1912. Taking advantage of the FA's rule 8, which stated "the goalkeeper may, within
his own half of the field of play, use his hands, but shall not carry the ball." Roose
would bounce the ball right up to the halfway line before launching attacks. In 1912 rule
8 changed to limit handling within a keepers own penalty area, and Roose retired from top
flight football. Then, in 1925, the two player offside rule was introduced. This meant that
the space between the defender and the last attacking player on the shoulder, and the
keeper became a contested zone. Pushing up allowed the defender to force offsides, but
a well timed ball could leave a goalkeeper exposed, especially if the defender was slow.
To create a higher line, then, goalkeepers had to be aware of the space between them
and their last man, and control that space. Lev Yashin and Gyula Grosics, two of the greatest
ever goalkeepers, were both noted for their ability to leave the penalty area and play
the ball with their feet, and Yashin also often launched counter attacks with his quick
throws. Both are early examples of a sweeper keeper. "In my teams, the goalie is the first
attacker and the striker the first defender." So said Johan Cruyff, the great expositor
of Total Football. Dutch Football, especially where Cruyff is concerned, is about mastery
of space. Compressing the opponents and creating your own, so his emphasis on sweeper keepers
is not a surprise, but a proactive defensive approach was not enough for Cruyff. He encouraged
his keepers to contribute as an eleventh outfield player, passing, creating attacks and offering
an option to men in possession. In 1992 keepers were banned from picking up back passes and
the need for a goalkeeper to be a debt with their feet increased. Cruyff and his disciple
Pep Guardiola have played with, or developed keepers, who exemplify this approach. Jan
Jongbloed, Edwin Van Der Sar, Victor Valdes and most obviously Manuel Neuer. When Guardiola
arrived at Manchester City, he quickly moved to sign Claudio Bravo to fill the sweeper
keeper role. Bravo leads the passing accuracy stats for goalkeepers this season, with 73.6%.
His long passing though is poor, only 8.3% of his passes landing in the oppositions final
third find their man. Interestingly, Bravo's rival Willy Cabellero, has the best aggregate
passing stats. He is fourth for overall passing accuracy with 69.6%, and fifth for accuracy
of passes ending in the final third with 40%. Since Opta started measuring what they call
"keeper sweepings" in 2009/2010 season, defined as "when a goalkeeper comes out of his goal
to sweep up behind his defence and attempt to clear the ball", the Premier League's numbers
have trended upward, peaking at 2013/14, and 2014/15. This season, there have been a average
of 15 keeping sweepings per game, with 13.2 per game being accurate. Increasingly, keeper
sweeper accuracy has consistently declined since 2009/10, perhaps because keepers who
are ill equipped to perform the role are being asked to do so by managers due to a general
tactical trend. So far this season, Bravo and Lukas Fabianski have attempted the most
keeper sweepings, 14 each, but Fabianksi has succeeded with 13 to Bravo's 10. Hugo Lloris
has come out 11 times to sweep up and has been accurate on every occasion. Ben Foster
also stands out at 10 times with 100% accuracy. The Premier League's outstanding sweeper keepers
though since the event has been measured, have been Julián Speroni, Wojciech Szczęsny
and Hugo Lloris. Szczęsny and Lloris have completed the most accurate interceptions,
167 and 164, while Palace icon Speroni managed 1.36 accurate keeper sweepings per game, better
than any keeper who played more than a single game. When the history of the position is
written, will the contributions of Julian Speroni be remembered? We can only hope.