DCU research reveals that goalkeepers really are 'different'

Now  a team of scientists from Dublin City University has proven for the first time that goalkeepers perceive the world very differently from both outfield players and individuals with no football experience.

Their groundbreaking study - which has just been published in the international journal Current Biology - is the first to highlight differences in perception between professional goalkeepers and outfield players and focuses on how their brains combine information from the different sense organs in a process known as ¡°multisensory integration¡±.

Dr David McGovern, Assistant Professor at DCU School of Psychology and lead investigator of the study said: ¡°Our results provide exciting evidence that goalkeepers possess a heightened ability to rapidly and precisely combine sensory inputs, outshining outfield players in this area.

¡°While many football players and fans worldwide will be familiar with the idea that goalkeepers are just ¡®different¡¯ from the rest of us,  this study may actually be the first time that we have proven scientific evidence to back up this claim.¡±

However, Dr McGovern said that many questions remain and these will be the focus of further research. These include whether there are other perceptual skills where outfield players might excel relative to goalkeepers, and whether outfield players with specialised positions, such as strikers and centre-backs, also display differences in perception.

What sets goalkeepers apart, according to the findings, is their ability to swiftly combine information from the senses to make split-second decisions concerning the flight and direction of the ball.

The study¡¯s foundation lies in the unique background of lead author, Michael Quinn, himself a retired professional goalkeeper and son of former Irish international, Niall Quinn.

Speaking about the origins of the study, Mr Quinn said: ¡°My journey as a professional goalkeeper convinced me that goalkeepers experience the world in a distinctive manner and this was something I wanted to focus on for the final year project of my psychology degree.¡±

¡°Unlike other football players, goalkeepers are required to make thousands of very fast decisions based on limited or incomplete sensory information. This led us to predict that goalkeepers would possess an enhanced capacity to combine information from the different senses and this hypothesis was confirmed by our results.¡±

¡°The research also raises the intriguing question of the origin of these perceptual differences in goalkeepers,¡± he said. ¡°For example, could the enhanced level of multisensory integration observed in goalkeepers stem from the rigorous training regimens that goalkeepers engage in from an early age?"

Or could it be that young football players with an enhanced ability to combine information from the senses are naturally drawn to the goalkeeping position? Further research that tracks the developmental trajectory of aspiring goalkeepers will be required to tease between these possibilities.