With most of the focus being placed on goal scorers, goalkeepers seem to be underappreciated. Some have been the focal point of very successful teams and established themselves as leaders of elite teams. The following is a list of the top five goalkeepers in soccer history.
5) Iker Casillas: Statistically, Casillas is the most successful of all time. Throughout the Champions League legendary history, he is the only goalkeeper to lead his team to the league’s title as captain. He is also second all-time in appearances for Real Madrid.
4) Peter Schmeichel: He is often considered the greatest goalkeeper during the Premier League era. Manchester United had historic success during the 1990’s and much of that credit goes to Schmeichel for his outstanding play in goal. He is also in the conversation for the best Scandinavian player in soccer history regardless of position.
3) Gianluigi Buffon: If you are under the age of 25, Buffon is probably the greatest goalkeeper you have watched live. For 18 straight years, Buffon has been Italy’s number one keeper and led them to the 2006 World Cup title. When he signed with Juventus in 2001, many considered the deal foolish for how much he was offered. Looking back, Buffon may have been worth every cent.
2) Gordon Banks: Many English soccer fans would like to put Banks as the greatest ever, and they may have a fair argument. The very athletic goalkeeper was able to get a hand on more balls than not which kept his teams in games day-in and day-out. He helped bring England the World Cup in 1966, which is the only one in the country’s history.
1) Lev Yashin: Undoubtedly the greatest Russian player of all time, Lev Yashin may have had the best reflexes of any goalkeeper ever. He is the all-time leader in clean sheets with 270, and saved 151 penalties which is also a record. He is the only keeper to win the Ballon d’Or and won 78 caps for the Soviet Union.
Leave a Reply