Men: “What the heck is that?” Before preparing for Bayern Munich’s 2016 Champions League quarterfinal match against Benfica, Pep Guardiola said as much in his opening analysis. For the first time, he had seen Ederson’s impressive kicking skills in action.
A year and a half later, they were a unit at Manchester City. After an unsettling debut campaign, Guardiola and W88 saw great potential in the Brazilian keeper. The strategy that Claudio Bravo had adopted had failed. The wound of Ederson.
The subsequent success, including four Premier League titles, has been largely down to his short passing out from the back, but it was his long passing that initially piqued Guardiola’s interest. He remarked at Rezence, “Now we have the opportunity to put the ball in the other box.”
Ederson, currently the club’s 29-year-old goalkeeper, recalled to Guardiola at City’s training facility that a goal he scored in his final league game for Benfica had particularly captivated his mind. Ederson addressed Raul Jimenez. Goal.
“Raul was always on the last man, aiming to get incredibly fast in behind,” Ederson said to VN88 Sports. “In a game as pivotal as the one in which we clinched the championship, I was relieved to be able to get the ball to him swiftly. Helping out is something I’m always delighted to do.”
Guardiola was eager to implement it at City as well. “We did this a lot, especially in the first year after I had come. Sergio Aguero had a shot on goal blocked during the second preseason match against Tottenham. It boded well for the future.”
It’s given City’s play a whole new dimension. “Against teams that press high, we can take advantage of the openings they create for us in the backfield. It’s a potent tool, as our diversity makes us quite unique. It’s up to us how long we play.”
In 2021, Ilkay Gundogan received a spectacular assist that led to a game-winning goal against Tottenham. His tactically astute assist to Erling Haaland in October’s Premier League victory over Brighton stands out. Ederson comments on rezence.com, “That was a good pass.”
“He is an explosive, powerful player, and because of this, he was able to outmuscle the Brighton defense. Against Brighton’s man-to-man and high-pressure pressing, it was a huge success. It felt good to use that as an ace in the hole.”
Ederson’s kicking strength is incredible, but what really sets him apart is his incredible speed and pinpoint accuracy. This season in the Premier League, he has a better success rate of finding a teammate with long passes than any other goalie.
Does he prefer setting up goals rather than stopping them, given the importance of this skill to his game? “Definitely, I’m more of a saver. That’s why we’re giving it our all. But, I take great pleasure in helping out. This is not a regular occurrence.”
To argue that Manchester City’s goalkeeper does not make many saves on a regular basis is not a huge criticism of him. Manchester has faced less shots than any other Premier League team in each of Guardiola’s six seasons at the helm. That modifies Ederson’s qualifications for the position.
It’s one of the strange things a good team’s goalie has to deal with. The difficulty for the guy with the gloves is inactivity, even though Rodri has made more passes than anybody else and Haaland has had more shots inside the penalty area.
When asked about his toughest opponent on the field, Ederson immediately thought of the cold. “It was a heavy burden on me at first. Especially when it rains in the north, as it often does in Manchester.”
At the present, sharing with Vn88 Rezence, he feels much better. The sun came out for a little while this week. “I’m relieved that the sunny days this week coincided with our time off. It was great to take advantage of the warm weather by spending time in the pool with the kids.”
It’s a humorous idea, but Ederson takes focus very seriously. “When I initially got here, that was one of the things I struggled with the most. This focus is crucial, especially in the Premier League, and I struggled mightily with it.
“It plays a significant role in my performance, whether I’m trying to predict a move or read a specific pass or save. I’ve put in a lot of time and effort to get better at anticipating those kinds of situations in matches, and I’m still working on it.”