The Goalkeeper’s Back-Pass Revolution

Before 1992, a goalkeeper could pick up a deliberate pass from a team-mate's foot. That made it possible for teams to waste time by repeatedly returning the ball to the keeper, who could safely handle it. Following criticism of negative tactics, the laws changed: goalkeepers could no longer use their hands on a ball deliberately kicked to them by a team-mate. The alteration forced keepers to become more comfortable controlling and passing the ball with their feet. It also made pressing defenders more dangerous and reduced one obvious method of slowing a match. Today, distribution is a major part of a goalkeeper's job. The change shows how one adjustment to the laws can transform tactics across every level of football.