It can be the most paradoxical job in the game, that of the footballer who is paid not to pay football. The reserve goalkeeper is the sporting equivalent of a spare tyre. You never travel without one, but you hope you never need it.
Yet every now and again, the importance of an excellent understudy is underlined. Two European Cup finals — 1982, when Nigel Spink came on for Aston Villa and 2002, when Iker Casillas came off the Real Madrid bench — were won with the aid of substitute goalkeepers.
More recently, Chelsea’s wisdom in paying £8 million (Dh44.7m) for Asmir Begovic was illustrated when Thibaut Courtois was ruled out for three months. They have the division’s best stand-in shot-stopper.
Manchester City do not. Willy Caballero showed as much in their 4-1 defeat to Tottenham. He should not shoulder all the blame for defeat; not when his back four were so ragged and not when two goals should have been ruled offside, the first when Kyle Walker had strayed two yards beyond the City defence. Yet Caballero was left punching at thin air when Toby Alderweireld headed Tottenham into the lead. It highlighted his fallibility against the crossed ball. It should not come as a shock. While his distribution is excellent, Caballero’s time in England suggests his goalkeeping is not. The Argentinian’s unconvincing performance was revealing.
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It highlighted some of the quirks and foibles of Manuel Pellegrini’s management and the perils of City’s position. The Chilean is far from alone in believing he has a duty of care to his second-choice goalkeeper and, whether in the interests of fairness or freshness, trying to give him some first-team football. Where he differs from the norm is in his preference to give him two games in a row.
Caballero’s second came at White Hart Lane. Joe Hart missed last week’s League Cup tie at Sunderland with a back injury and trained for only one day. Only City know the extent of his condition, though the suggestions he could have played if required are telling.
Choosing Caballero may have been a sign of Pellegrini’s occasional tendency to underestimate opponents; perhaps four previous wins against Tottenham, by an aggregate score of 16-2, lured him into a false sense of security. Picking the lesser goalkeeper in a side already without two of its spine, in Vincent Kompany and David Silva, could look complacent.
Certainly a reluctance to risk Hart indicated the extent to which Wednesday’s trip to Borussia Monchengladbach has become a must-win game. City’s Champions League missteps have been a recurring theme. They are beginning to impinge on their attempts to reclaim the Premier League title.
And while he is yet to make his European debut for City, Caballero’s presence has already had an impact on their Champions League plans. Stevan Jovetic had to be omitted from their squad for last season’s knockout stages. City’s quota of foreign players was full, just as it is again now. The more logical move in the summer of 2014 would have been to sign a goalkeeper who qualified as home-grown, as the Bosnia international Begovic does.
It demonstrates the extent of Pellegrini’s trust in an old ally that, when City’s spending was limited by Financial Fair Play sanctions last summer, he committed a sum rising to £6m for Caballero, who occupies one of the overseas spots in his squad. The Argentine played for Pellegrini at Malaga, just as Martin Demichelis did. Another of Pellegrini’s loyalists was wretched at White Hart Lane but, after a slow start, justified his manager’s faith. A third of his pet projects, Jesus Navas, is an enduring cause of frustration.
It amounts to a mixed return. Caballero’s record is much the worst. He has played only nine matches for City but they have lost four, exiting the FA and league cups at home last season, and conceded 17 goals.
It is rare a top team lets in almost two goals per game. It is a sign City lack high-class cover for Hart. Forget resting or rotation, unless there is no chance of picking Hart, the bench is where Caballero belongs.
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