Understated Dani Lopar is not your typical shot stopper.
Legendary Italian goalkeeper Gigi Buffon once said: “In the end, you need to be a little masochistic to be a goalkeeper. A masochist and egocentric as well.”
That might be the case with the majority of goalkeepers around the world, but there are always exceptions to that hard and fast rule.
Certainly, not all goalkeepers are the crazy men they are made out to be.
Take, for instance, Wanderers goalkeeper Daniel Lopar.
Sit down for a chat with the quietly spoken former Swiss international and the thing that strikes you after just a few minutes is that he is far from your archetypal goalkeeper.
What you see is what you get from Lopar both on and off the field.
He is a no fuss, no extrovert sort of guy who goes about his work with a minimum of fuss.
Instead, Lopar prefers to do his talking on the field – and how.
The Red & Black gloveman, who signed with the club in May, has been a revelation in the Hyundai A-League this season, earning the highest praise for his performances in the first third of the season.
Lopar has come to the rescue of the Wanderers a number of times with statistics showing he has made close to 40 saves – second only to Central Coast’s Mark Birighitti.
In a season in which there have been some remarkable goalkeeping performances right across the A-League, Lopar’s shot stopping has been an eye-opener and has earned him a number of spots in the A-League team of the round.
The 34-year-old has certainly justified head coach Markus Babbel’s faith in luring the relatively unknown (to Australian football fans at least) goalkeeper to Australia.
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During his time coaching Luzern in the Swiss league, Babbel experienced first hand just how good Lopar is at his job.
Playing for St Gallen, where he spent 13 years and 300 games, Lopar was a huge thorn in the side of Babbel’s then club.
In the four times they met that season, Lopar was like a brick wall as Luzern failed to score against him.
“I don’t know why, but against Luzern I always had a good game. They did not score against me and I always kept a clean sheet against them,” said Lopar.
As painful as those games might have been for Babbel, the Wanderers boss obviously never forgot them so it was it was a “no brainer” that Lopar was top of the list when he started looking to strengthen the goalkeeping ranks at the club.
Lopar jumped at the opportunity for a new adventure when the Wanderers came knocking, not just for himself by for his young family.
“I knew it was the right time to do something different,” explained Lopar.
“I was at St Gallen for 13 years and I wanted a new challenge.
“My daughter is two and is the right age for a new adventure.”
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It made the 34-year-old’s decision even easier knowing that he would have a familiar at the Red & Black with the club having signed former Swiss international Pirmin Schwegler, who he knew from their younger days in the Swiss junior national teams.
“I knew Pirmin from our youth days, so it was good to have someone like him at the club,” added Lopar.
As to the footballers he looked up to, Lopar cites former German great Oliver Kahn as the biggest influence in his career. Kahn played over 700 games in the Bundesliga and was capped 86 times for his country.
“It was always Oliver Kahn from Bayern Munich,” said Lopar.
“I liked his mentality as a player on the pitch and he was always a good example on and off the pitch.”
Lopar said he is enjoying playing in the A-League and is not surprised by the quality of the competition.
“It is a league that is growing up. I saw some games on television so I knew it is good,” added Lopar.
While he says his focus is strongly on the Wanderers and getting them success, Lopar tries to ensure he is not totally consumed with football as he likes nothing better than to explore the sights of Sydney and the surrounding areas.
“I settled in very good with the football and the club,” said Lopar.
“My family and I like it. We wanted to enjoy the culture. We picked a big bus tour when we first got here.
“I was in Manly and I also saw all the beaches. It’s a wonderful city and a high quality of life, the same as back home.”
