Author name: Leon Lee

In this SailorFanTalk special, we have a guest writer, Leon! Those who know the fanbase well will know that Leon is one of the most ardent content creators who is a Sailors fan. You might also know that he plays social football to a pretty high standard, and has amassed quite a following on TikTok and IG for his lifestyle content which also features goalkeeping videos. It seemed natural for me to link up with him to get this article done where he gives us his unique goalkeeping insight into each of the 6 saves in this goalkeeping highlights reel. Introduction over, let’s dive into the meaty stuff – take it away, Leon! Criteria for Picking Save of the Season To do justice to my 18 years of goalkeeping, and to keep up with my self-proclaimed role as Singapore’s #1 Tiktok Goalkeeper, I’ll have to break down and rate these saves according to the following criteria – Watch the saves on TikTok or Instagram! I recommend you watch them once first, then come back to see my comments as I talk you through them. Save 1 – Zharfan v Balestier (Penalty save v Ryoya Taniguchi) Reaction speed: 10/10 Some might say it’s a guessing game when it comes to penalties. However, I’m a firm believer that penalties can be read. Plant foot, hip direction – these things matter. Play it in 0.5x speed and you’ll realise that Zharfan waited for the plant foot of Ryoya to land before choosing a direction. Ryoya’s contact with the ball confirmed Zharfan’s commitment to the dive. Zharfan has a record of going the right way for penalties – I don’t have the exact stats but every single time he faces a penalty he seems to go the right way, even for the one conceded against Tampines (LCS win at OTH) (OTH is blue btw). For him to read, react and commit all within that 0.15 seconds – is pure class. Insane reactions. Footwork: 10/10 The change of weight, the plant foot, everything was straight out from a diving tutorial. Or a textbook. If “How to Save a Penalty” was a video – this is it. Diving: 10/10 I’m sorry, but I just have to give this save so much credit. It’s a one-step power dive. Full extension. Two-handed, full stretch. Realise after Zharfan lands he is already beyond the posts. Zharfan isn’t the tallest of goalkeepers, but for him to reach such a well-placed shot from Ryoya is just insane. Apologies for giving so many 10/10s, but this save really is bloody outstanding.  Bravery: 5/10 Balls of steel from our custodian to stand his ground, and instead of guessing, goes with his guts to just bloody read Ryoya before going for the dive. This was still early on in the game – so for him to really stay calm and pull this off really is impressive. Nonetheless, as this point is about bravery, we have to consider that he didn’t have to put his body on the line, and there was no direct threat to him as it was a penalty. 5/10. Save timing: 6/10 On the surface level, it’s a 5-2 win, so this save might not seem too significant. But it came right after our penalty didn’t find the back of the net – which was basically a huge middle finger to the opponents, and of course made the Crew go wild. 6/10. [Editor’s note – one of our followers on IG pointed out that this was a crucial save because Ryoya and Maxime were neck and neck in the race for the Golden Boot at this point. Fair point that I thought I’d include in here.] Total average score – 8.2/10 Save 2 – Zharfan v Young Lions (Double Save) Reaction speed: 10/10 Bloody hell – I loved this one so much. Nur Adam sliding in already blocks Zharfan’s vision once. Brilliant fake from Harhys. Then Lionel and Hariss come in to try and cover the angle, and they block Zharfan’s vision once more. Reacting quick enough to get his hands to it once is already commendable, but the second save is what makes it even more outrageous. It was a clear shooting opportunity. Zero blockage. Mano E Mano. And it was a hard shot as well. And yet he still manages to get his hands to the ball. 10/10. No contest. Footwork: 8/10 Amazing kick-in of his left foot to drop his body fast enough to block the low shot. I would have him do the spin that Kepa/Cortouis usually does to get up even faster – but even though it wasn’t pretty, man palmed the ground and got up fast enough, then dived a little backwards to save the shot. Granted, it was a very fast shot and reaction time meant Zharfan had to claw the ball away at the last second – it definitely could have been faster. I’m being critical about the nitty-gritty, and I hope you understand why. If I don’t, I’d be giving every single part of this review a 10/10 so.. 8/10. Diving: 6/10 Contrary to what it might seem – I would say that the first save was more demanding diving-wise as compared to the second. Why? The first ball was a dipping and bouncing ball – requiring a very precise drop of the body to get his hand in position. Incredible. The second save, while equally stunning, was a reaction save that demanded a backwards dive. It got the job done, yes, but it wasn’t pretty. But as above – I have to be extremely critical – these are all his BEST SAVES after all 😩 Bravery: 7/10 Great mentality to not give up after deflecting the ball right into another striker, and to force the second shot by staying his ground. Normally I’d have seen a keeper go out and try to Emi Martinez such a ball, but Martinez isn’t Zharfan. He doesn’t have the same guts to stand his ground and tell