Fabien Bartholomew is one of the greatest French goalkeepers. However, his passion for sport made him hesitate between football and rugby during his youth. He finally chooses the round ball and enters the Toulouse training center. At 22, he became European champion with Marseille. He then joined Monaco, Manchester United and of course the France team. In 1998, he achieved the feat of becoming world champion and, at the same time, built his legend.
At the microphone of Bixente Lizarazu, Fabien Bartholomew looks back on the highlights of his exceptional journey. He also shares his view on the evolution of his discipline.
“We tend to forget what a goalkeeper is”
Fabien Barthez is now a goalkeeper consultant at Toulouse FC. Expert in his discipline, the former emblematic goalkeeper of the France team wears a critical look at the new generation which he qualifies as formatted.
According to him, the goalkeeper position has not evolved in the right direction. Today, to accompany increasingly fast football, a good goalkeeper must know how to throw the ball back with precision with both feet. In certain circumstances, he no longer has the right to use his hands.
We want to train the goalkeepers, it’s not normal. They are all different! – Fabien Barthez
All current goalkeepers are trained to kick and are recruited according to their size. “What does it mean that a goalkeeper is 1m92? A goalkeeper is not a question of size. Above all, it is knowing how to give confidence in your team”he protests, adding: “I prefer a smaller goalkeeper who has a great reading of the game, rather than a tall goalkeeper who stays on his line with his arms crossed”.
Fabien Barthez claims to be the first defender, protector and passionate goalkeeper. Today it is worried about this post. “The goalkeepers are not playful enough, they suffer. We have a generation of goalkeepers. When I see goalkeepers with their feet behind the goal line, I find it absurd: what hope can he have? Except if the ball hits his face, he has no means of intervention. »
For him, coaches are the first culprits and he regrets that goalkeepers no longer have their own style.