The Keeper

They are so many cliches about goalkeepers. Some say they are crazy, oddballs and prone to moments of madness but few ever say that the position is easy. Well if you are in the minority good for you and I can't deny the fact that goalkeeping is extremely hard. I take this stance from personal experience and plain old logic. Growing up I wasn't the quickest across the ground so I could be a forward or a fullback. I didn't have the stamina to be a midfield man and the idea of playing center half seemed boring, after all I was a kid only interested in having fun...goals are fun not booting a ball in the air from the back. The only viable option, was for me to be in goal...plus I was only kid in my age group to own a pair of proper goalie mitts so by default or by fate I was chosen to don the "Number. 1," jersey. As for the training, the games and my skills let's just say I had fun despite fetching the ball from behind me most of the time. It was hard. Simple. Which brings me to the logical part, everyone isn't cut out to be a keeper. The mental aspect of it is one thing but the skills one has to acquire just to cover the basics is almost unreal. Also it's a known fact that keepers mature far slowly than outfield players. So while your best friend who plays in midfield is ready to play with the big boys at U-17 level you are stuck with the U-13s at the summer camp. Honestly I have a ton of respect for goalkeepers  having been an average one myself and I think they need to be cut a little more slack.

Name: Stephane Ruffier

D/O/B: 09/27/1986

Place of Birth: Bayonne, France

Position: Goalkeeper

Height: 6'2ft

National Team: France

National Team Debut: France vs Norway (2010)

Club Team(s): A.S. Monaco 2005-2011, Aviron Bayonnais F.C 2005-06,  A.S. Saint Etienne 2011-present

The back drop to Stephane Ruffier's career is as textbook as it gets. Like a number players Ruffier started playing the game at his hometown club suiting up for the local outfit. Aviron Bayonnais began to school the Frenchman from early, at the age of six to be exact. Initially, Ruffier entered the academy as a forward but due to necessity or by fate he was chosen to play in goal due to academy's lack of players in that position. Ruffier's name started to be waved about even as a kid having had stellar performances at Bayonnais' academy even guiding the U-13 side to glory in the Coupe de Pyrenees, a local tournament.  His showing in the tourney grabbed the attention of fellow French outfit Montpellier who gave Ruffier a trial albeit an unsuccessful one.
  The next club to come in for the keeper was Monaco in 2002 where Ruffier signed a youth contract with the side. In the principality, under the tutelage of goalkeeping coaches Jean-Luc Ettori, Andre Amitrano and Andre Biancarelli, Ruffier flourished and soon there after he was promoted to the club's Campionnat de France amateur in the country's fourth division. While there he notched ten appearances in the 2003-04 season and in the following campaign was named the first choice keeper where he made 17 appearances. Monaco was determined to see Ruffier play regularly and so sent him on loan to a familiar Bayonnais in the 2005-06 season. Ruffier's homecoming saw him take hold of the side's No.1 jersey. That season he played all 38 league games for his hometown club but despite his resilience between the sticks Ruffier could not keep relegation at bay, Bayonne finished 17th and were relegated and he returned to Monaco. His outing at Bayonne was enough to merit him his first professional contract and in May 2006, he inked a three year deal with Monaco thus making him the understudy to Flavio Roma in goal for the 2006-07 season. Roma's injury free campaign meant Ruffier didn't see a minute of action that season.  However his chance came in the following the year. Three games into the 2007-08 season Roma suffered injury while playing against Metz paving the way to make his top flight debut in the same game. Adding to the occasion was the fact Monaco had won and a Ruffier earned a coveted clean sheet for his side. That same season Ruffier managed 12 appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit and the following campaign, then coach Ricardo Gomes named him his "No.1." A successful season ensued as Ruffier managed 11 shutouts in his 36 starts and even helped his team to a semi final birth in the Coupe de France. Now a star performer for Monaco, Ruffier set his sights on glory and in the 2009-10 the custodian amassed 15 clean sheets in 32 Ligue 1 games and his super form trickled over to the Coupe de France where he steered Monaco to the final only to be bested by a very good Paris St. Germain side. The 2010-11 season brought promise former coach Guy Lacombe handed the captain's armband to the Frenchman but Ruffier's elation ended prematurely as he picked a season ending groin injury against Saint Etienne. Ruffier could only watch from the sidelines as the Monte Carlo based club went into free fall and with out him ultimately crashed out of Ligue 1 into the second tier of French football.
 Ironically following Monaco's retreat into Ligue 2 it was Saint Etienne that offered Ruffier a route back into the first division where he has been to date. At the moment Ruffier is a stalwart at "Les Verts," having taken over from club legend Jeremie Janot. 
 Internationally Ruffier has immense competition from the likes of Hugo Lloris, Cedric Carrasso, Steve Mandana, Mickael Landreau and Sebastien Frey. Ruffier earned his first and only cap so far for his country when he played against Norway in a friendly on August 11th 2010. After France's tumultuous time in the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 where player unrest marred the country's play that subsequently led to "Les Bleus," failure in the tourney. New coach  Laurent Blanc shook up the French squad and a benefactor was Ruffier who was apart of Blanc's plans through his reign with the national team. 
 In my opinion Stephane Ruffier is one of the premier goalkeepers in the world. When Jeremie Janot left Saint Etienne after 16 years of excellent service many at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard may have been concerned but Ruffier has laid to rest fears. Ruffier may not be as charismatic as his predecessor, very players are but he his a character and that is very rare nowadays in a team oriented football world. Personality and antics aside the man from Bayonne possesses wonderful tactical awareness to go along with a stiff hand, he isn't a flapper when he comes for crosses he does so with bravery and isn't afraid to pip the ball of attackers feet if they are in range. What I like about this guy is that yes, he hams it up for the camera when he flings himself through the air but he is a tough guy. He gets kicked every which way and is good for a shoulder barge or jump kick from an opponent or two a game. Stephane Ruffier is a battler and turns into the hulk when he concedes...my type of keeper.