The goalkeeper in football is like the drummer in a great band – rarely in the spotlight, but vital when it counts.
Often, it’s the keeper tasked with making the near-impossible save that can decide a match. Unlike the Achilles-like, mercurial heroics of a forward, the goalkeeper maintains a herculean focus, immune to the accolades of adoring fans. Just as often, they’re the target of fans’ censure when they miss. It’s then that resilience matters most –to get up, dust off, wipe away the pain, and focus again.
It’s time to honour the art of goalkeeping, and a Greek-Australian-run academy is doing just that. Goalkeepers United, co-founded eleven years ago by former professional goalkeeper Sam Frangos and managed by his partner, Regina Georgakilas, is focused on developing skilled, mentally tough, and culturally grounded keepers. Some, no doubt, are bound for glory.
Sam Frangos has dedicated his life to football, playing professionally in Greece for Ethnikos Pireas and Prodeftiki, and in Australia for clubs including South Melbourne Hellas, Heidelberg United, Port Melbourne Sharks, and Oakleigh Cannons.
“My passion is youth development,” Frangos told Neos Kosmos.
“I also wanted to give something back to a game that has given me so much.”
Frangos spent seven years as a goalkeeper coach at A-League club Melbourne City and served as goalkeeper coach for Australia’s U20 Young Matildas.
He recalls liminal moments from his playing days – saving a last-minute top-corner strike from Sash Becinovsia to secure a win for Port Melbourne, and stopping ten clear-cut chances in a 1–0 win for Altona East against Bulleen.
Another standout memory, he said, was “being on the bench against Panathinaikos – first game in Karaiskaki.”
The academy focuses on what it takes to become a top-level goalkeeper.
“First, we teach how to maintain a good culture – without that, the rest is irrelevant,” said Frangos.
“We develop tactical awareness, teach how to play in the game as a goalkeeper, and focus on correct technique.”
Frangos said most junior clubs lack the resources to provide dedicated goalkeeper training during the early discovery phase.
His experience across NPL clubs and professional academies, he said, has given him “the technical expertise, tactical insight, and ability to prepare elite-level goalkeepers.”
“We focus on mindset, confidence, discipline, and consistency.”
His partner in life and the academy, Regina Georgakilas, said what began as “simply helping my partner with marketing turned into something so much bigger”.
“I found myself deeply connected to the heart of Goalkeepers United- the joy on the kids’ faces, the resilience they build, the confidence they carry off the field.
“I found my purpose in it.
Goalkeepers United runs one-on-one coaching, junior development for kids and teens, and high-performance sessions with mindset training for advanced players.
Whether a child is learning the basics or chasing a professional dream, the academy aims to produce confident, capable keepers – with community and culture at the core of the journey.
