Galaxy goalkeeper Novak Mićović has experienced the ups and downs that come with being young in his position.
Mićović, 23, joined the Galaxy on loan from FK Čukarički in Serbia ahead of the 2023 season. He started the preseason this year as the starter and lost the job, but after John McCarthy was traded in August, Mićović reclaimed the No. 1 spot.
“Now, I have obviously have a lot of experience, more than last year for me to prove myself,” he said. “I think I need to work more and keep going for the next season.”
Mićović’s contract is through 2026, with a club option for 2027. The club added J.T. Marcinkowski in January and he has made his way back to playing after an extended injury recovery. Marcinkowski’s contract status is the same.
“For me, and I’ve said this from the start, for him, it’s just developing his confidence in the game, his leadership and connection to his back line and just his dominance of his box,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said.
Mićović had one of his better performances in last Saturday’s 2-2 draw against the Seattle Sounders. He finished with a season-high seven saves.
“At the end of the game the other day (against Seattle), we saw him come and take some big balls on some of those crosses, set pieces, where he’s extending his range off the line, which we need,” Vanney said. “We’re not the biggest team and not the best team in the air, so when you have a goalkeeper who can get an extra three, five yards off of his line and take some of those balls, is huge.
“His feet are pretty good, just contributing to grow with his decisions when balls come to his feet, so that when he plays as our first attacker, he gives our center backs, or whoever he’s picking out, the best opportunity to be successful in breaking the (other) team’s presses. He’s certainly come a long way over the course of the season, from where he was at the beginning of the year. He seemed a little bit nervous and antsy with just his role in his position, but I think he’s settled in. He’s had his ups and downs through the season, but in general, I think he’s making very good progress.”
The next step in Mićović’s game, according to Vanney, is to finally shed the young goalkeeper label. The old saying in soccer is that a goalkeeper doesn’t reach their prime until late, but that’s usually for when there’s time to develop. That’s not the case for the Mićović and the Galaxy.
“This season has been his young, first time, starting goalkeeper for a team like the Galaxy,” Vanney said. “He’s got to come out of that and we have to be talking about him not as a young goalkeeper anymore, but that he is the goalkeeper and he’s the guy that makes sure that everybody’s locked in on set pieces, that he’s really leading and commanding anything that’s in his defensive final quarter of the field and in the box, that he’s commanding everything.
“Eventually, you have to strip the young goalkeeper tag and you’ve got to be like, ‘This guy is leading the group and commanding the way he needs to.’ He’s got a handful more games of this season to make sure that that’s where all our mindsets are as we go into the future.”
Injury updates
The list of players unavailable is shorter this week than last week. Emiro Garces (foot), Matheus Nascimento (groin), Marco Reus (knee) and Lucas Sanabria (foot) are all out for Saturday’s home game against FC Cincinnati.
FC CINCINNATI at GALAXY
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Dignity Health Sports Park
How to watch: Apple TV+ (MLS Season Pass)
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