Sal Bibbo has named four former Arsenal players who taught him a lot ahead of his move to Sheffield Wednesday.
Speaking to the club’s official YouTube channel, the goalkeeping coach admitted that he would ‘take little bits’ from some of the huge talents at the Emirates Stadium.
Sal Bibbo was appointed Sheffield Wednesday’s goalkeeping coach this week, as he became one of the latest addition to Danny Rohl’s backroom staff in what appears to be a major overhaul.
The 49-year-old enjoyed very brief spells in his playing career with the likes of Reading, Havant & Waterlooville and Bath City, before retiring in 2001.
Bibbo’s coaching career has been much more successful though, having joined Reading back in 2006. The former goalie helped develop the likes of Adam Federici and Alex MccCarthy during his time with the Royals.
Bibbo went onto join Arsenal in 2015, spending a lot of time with Arsene Wenger’s first team and also the U23s.
The coach has now mentioned four former Gunners who he was happy to learn from during his time in North London.
“I went to Arsenal in 2015 and it was a really good experience,” Bibbo said.
“I went to work for Arsene Wenger and we had some top, top goalies at the time in Petr Cech, David Ospina and Emi Martinez. Then later on we had Bernd Leno as well. So really good for my own experience.
“Like anything, you try to give them something and you learn off them. Especially with goalies that have played at the very top, every day you are trying to take little bits off them.”
Bibbo certainly had a very positive impact at Arsenal, with Petr Cech claiming the most clean sheets in Premier League history (202), while Emi Martinez has most recently lifted the 2022 World Cup trophy.
Sal Bibbo and Emi Martinez – an unstoppable duo!
The Argentine is very familiar with Bibbo from his time with the Owls, Rotherham and Reading too. Speaking on Bibbo back in 2019, Martinez said: “I really look up to Sal, he’s a great goalkeeper coach and a great man so he was a major influence in me coming here [Reading].
“When (Arsene) Wenger left, so many people were sacked at Arsenal. The fact that Arsenal wanted to keep him (Bibbo) in the club, it was for a reason. I’m very pleased that he’s still at Arsenal.”
Sal Bibbo arrives at Sheffield Wednesday with plenty of experience, and it is certainly a very good sign that he has received so many compliments from one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
Hopefully the likes of Cameron Dawson and Devis Vasquez can have some confidence in knowing they are learning from him and can look to improve their performances this season.