Understand your point, but this is not soccer he plays. And believe me, the game very often does come down to one player making a play at the end of the game - in front of thousands of people, who are rabid about the sport, and they aren't quite strangers either, because the game in insular, and they know you, or your family or people who know you.
I don't know this guy from Adam. But he doesn't play soccer but rather GAA, which is more physical and which is played in a bit of a local pressure cooker environment. I would say he's a goalkeeper apparently, so not as active around the field.
I should also say, I don't really have a vested interest as I don't even like kickers, never have, and would be entirely happy to remove kicking from the game altogether. :)