In a move dubbed the "hand of pod", Ben Foster, the Manchester United goalkeeper who saved a penalty to help his team to lift the Carling Cup at Wembley yesterday, has revealed his secret technological weapon. The 25-year-old watched videos of his opponents taking spot kicks on an iPod while on the pitch before facing them in a penalty shoot-out.
The trick seemed to work because Foster made a crucial save from Jamie O'Hara, after using the break between the end of extra-time and the start of penalties to check out footage of the Spurs team's previous spot kicks. As the celebratory champagne was sprayed across the Wembley turf, the 25-year-old explained the iPod videos were an innovation bought in by United's latest goalkeeping coach, Eric Steele.
It has to be said that Foster also received more traditionally conveyed words of advice from the club's record breaking and highly experienced No1, Edwin van der Sar, who could be seen talking directly into his ear before the shoot-out began.
Nevertheless, IT fans are likely to see the iPod's use as an example of a new technology-aided game that might be dubbed Football 2.0. Certainly, the iPod was an innovation that seemed to chime with Foster's potential in the eyes of his manager Alex Ferguson as the future of goalkeeping for both England and Manchester United. It was also proof of Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp's view that United seemed to have prepared better and were more confident.
This morning, the Football Association, which governs the game in the UK rushed to check with Fifa, which controls the rules of the game, if such digital aids are legitimate. "It is not against the laws of the game and as far as we're concerned we don't have any problem with it," said a spokesman.
For some, the innovation meant that Apple's chief executive, Steve Jobs, who devised the iPod, should take credit for United's victory which keeps them on course for a historic quintuple of trophies this season. People selling computers to educational establishments tried to spin the news as an endorsement of the powers of their services claiming somewhat improbably that "the real winner was e-learning".
Football dug-outs have been remarkably low-tech places until now and indeed there was a minor scandal when there were allegations that the Chelsea fitness coach, Rui Faria used a secret electronic earpiece under a wooly hat to communicate with Jose Mourinho after he had been sent to the stands. Compared to cricket coaches, who have logged every ball on a laptop for years now, football seems to lag behind.
For some, Foster's use of the iPod adds weight to calls for more technology to be used in football, not least when it comes to refereeing. Currently TV monitors are not allowed in dug-outs and it is against the laws for a match official to consult with video evidence before a decision is made.
