Four penalties, three saved: Austria goalkeeper Christian Früchtl currently finds himself among the best goalkeepers in Europe when it comes to penalty kicks
Austria Vienna among the best clubs in Europe sounds utopian at first. But not if you look at the statistics for penalty kicks saved. Because with Christian Früchtl, the “Veilchen” have a real penalty killer in their ranks. The German has already saved three penalties this season. The Austria goalkeeper was only powerless to save one.
Früchtl points out that penalty kicks are not just a matter of chance; with targeted preparation, goalkeepers can adapt well to the shooters. “Of course, we prepare for the shooters with Udo Siebenhandl and go through the scenarios. Where is their favorite side? What is the score? Where does the shooter prefer to shoot if it’s a close game? Does the shooter start faster or does he delay? If they tend to look a lot, then I look at: How are their hips positioned? If they are more open, then the shooter is more likely to push the ball into the corner. We discuss these possibilities and we’ve been right quite often this season,” Früchtl tells Sky.
Elfer training with Lewandowski
Penalty kicks can also be trained and Früchtl also had one of the best training partners during his time at Bayern. Früchtl benefited from Robert Lewandowski. “We took a lot of penalties after training. I was able to learn from the best. “
No goalkeeper in Europe can beat a 75% save rate. Only Berraat Turker, who plays for Northern Irish club Loughgall FC, has exactly the same penalty save percentage (three out of four) as Früchtl.
Früchtl could well manage to extend his already impressive penalty statistics next Saturday against Altach. Incidentally, Altach’s Mike Bähre is the only scorer to beat the Austria keeper from the spot this season
