Top 10 Goal Keepers in the World
In soccer, a goalkeeper defends the goal posts, just like in many other team sports. The goalkeeper’s position is one of the most important positions in this sport. A person in this specialized position is required to make sure that the opposing team is not able to score. He is the only player who is allowed to touch the football with his hands as well as feet. He is always alert, and is often is seen to guide the other team members. That is why, very often, a goalkeeper is made the captain of their team, and they even make excellent captains. Some of the greatest players on the world of sports are goal keepers. Here is a list of the Top 10 Goal Keepers in the World. Let us take a look at their names, their contributions to the world of soccer and their achievements:
Top 10 Goal Keepers in the World
1. Oliver Kahn
Legendary former German football goalkeeper Oliver Rolf Kahn was nicknamed as “Der Titan” by the press and “Vol-kahn-o” by his avid fans for his aggressive style and commanding presence in goal. He is one of the most successful German players and one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. Kahn achieved won eight Bundesliga titles, six DFB-Pokals, UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup in 2001, and won the UEFA Cup in 1996. He received the UEFA Best European Goalkeeper awards consecutive four times. Kahn also received three IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper awards and became German Footballer of the Year twice in his active career. He is the first and the only goalkeeper to win the Golden Ball which he achieved at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Kahn’s wax figure was inaugurated in the Berlin branch of the Madame Tussaud museum in 2008.
♦ You May Also Like ⇒ Top 10 Female Goal Keepers in the world
2. Gianluigi Buffon
Legendary Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi “Gigi” Buffon is the current captain of both the Italian national soccer team and Serie A club Juventus. He holds the record for most appearances by any player for Italy. He also holds the record for the most number of clean sheets in Serie A League. Buffon became the current most expensive goalkeeper of all time during his £32.6 million transfer to Juventus from Parma in 2001. He was induced in the list of the world’s greatest living players, the FIFA 100, by legendary Brazilian player Pelé in 2004. Buffon achieved the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year award a record nine times and also received the Yashin Award after the Italian team won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He is the only goalkeeper to win the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year Award in 2003. Buffon was named the goalkeeper of the year four times by the IFFHS.
♦ You May Also Like ⇒ Top 10 Hottest Soccer Players 2015
3. Iker Casillas
Legendary Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas Fernández is the current captain of both the Spanish national soccer team and the La Liga club Real Madrid, and is widely considered by many as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He was the captain of the 2008 European Championship winning Spanish team which Spain achieved for the first time after 44 years. He led the Spanish team to win Spain’s first World Cup and achieved the Yashin Award on the tournament for being the best goalkeeper. Casillas also led his national team to win the 2012 European Championship. He holds the record for achieving IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper Award for five consecutive years. Casillas was inducted in the UEFA Team of the Year consecutive six times. He is the third captain to win the World Cup trophy, the Champions League trophy and the European Championship trophy in football history.
♦ You May Also Like ⇒ Top 10 Hottest Female Soccer Players 2015
4. Manuel Neuer
German professional goalkeeper Manuel Peter Neuer currently plays for the German national team and Bundesliga club Bayern Munich, and is widely regarded by many as one of the best goalkeepers of modern football. Because of his unique goalkeeping style, superb shot-stopping abilities and quick reflexes, he was described as a “sweeper-keeper”. Neuer won the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in Sweden 2009. Neuer is the member of the 2014 FIFA World Cup winning German national team and also recived the Golden Glove award for being the best goalkeeper in the tournament. He was named IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper of the year twice consecutively in 2013 and 2014, and was inducted in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team and FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2014. Neuer was named AIPS Athlete of the Year in 2014.
♦ You May Also Like ⇒ Top 10 Home Grounds of Soccer Clubs
5. Petr Čech
Czech professional soccer goalkeeper Petr Čech currently plays for the Czech Republic national team and also for the Premier League club Chelsea. He previously also played for Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague and Rennes. He made 112 appearances for the Czech national team and became the second most capped player in the Czech history. Čech represented his country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He also represented Czech Republic team in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 European Championships, and was inducted in the UEFA Champions League teams of the season in 2006. He was named as the Best Goalkeeper of the UEFA Champions League three times and was also included in the FIFPro and UEFA Champions League teams of the season in 2006. Čech won the Golden Glove award with the most clean sheets at the Premier League three times till now.
♦ You May Also Like ⇒ Top 10 Most Handsome Soccer Players 2015
6. Lev Yashin
Legendary former Soviet-Russian football goalkeeper Lev Ivanovich Yashin was there with us from his birth on 22 October 1929, till he died on 20 March 1990. He made more than 150 penalty saves and achieved 270 clean sheets in his career and is widely regarded by many as the greatest goalkeeper in football history. Yashin, for his unique appearances in the football ground, was nicknamed as “The Black Spider” and “The Black Panther”. He won the Gold medal at the 1956 Olympic football tournament, and made his appearances in four World Cups from 1958 to 1970. Yashin was inducted in the FIFA Dream Team of the history of the World Cup in 2002. He was included in the World Team of the 20th Century and was honored as the member of the FIFA World Cup All-Time Team in 1998. Yashin became the only goalkeeper ever to receive the European Footballer of the Year award in 1963.
♦ You May Also Like ⇒ Top 10 Highest Paid Soccer Players 2015
7. David de Gea
Young Spanish professional soccer goalkeeper David de Gea Quintana currently plays for the Spanish National Team and also the English club Manchester United. He made the British record for a goalkeeper transfer during his signup with the Manchester United for £17.8 million in June 2011. De Gea appeared for more than 100 times and achieved the Premier League winner medal in 2013 with the Manchester United. He was the captain of the Spanish under-21 national side that won the European Championship twice in 2011 and 2013. David was considered by many, including Casillas himself, as the successor of Iker Casillas as the long-term number one goalkeeper. He was inducted in the Premier League PFA Team of the Year in 2013 and became the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year in 2014. David recently achieved the Manchester United Players’ Player of the Year award in 2014.
♦ You May Also Like ⇒ Top 10 Richest Soccer Players 2015
8. Claudio Bravo
Superior Chilean professional football goalkeeper Claudio Andrés Bravo Muñoz currently plays for the Chilean national soccer team and also for Spanish club FC Barcelona. He set the La Liga record for not conceding a goal for 754 minutes in 2014. Bravo, after Marcelo Salas announced his retirement, became the national side captain of Chile. He led his national team in two World Cups and three Copa América tournaments since his debut in the national side in 2004. Bravo is currently the most capped player in the Chile national football team. He signed a four-year deal for €12 million with FC Barcelona on 18 June 2014, and became the second only Chilean to ever play for the club after Alexis Sánchez. Bravo, after his signing with the Barcelona, succeeded Víctor Valdés as the first-choice goalkeeper of the team.
♦ You May Also Like ⇒ 10 Most Beautiful Wives and Girlfriends of Footballers
9. Júlio César
Brazilian professional soccer goalkeeper Júlio César Soares de Espíndola currently plays for the Brazilian national soccer team and also for the Portuguese club Benfica. He achieved the 2010 UEFA Champions League, 2010 FIFA Club World Cup and five Scudetti during his seven-year tenure with the Italian club Internazionale. César achieved the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year award twice consecutively in 2009 and 2010. He was also nominated for the FIFA Ballon d’Or in 2009. César was a member of the Brazilian squad for 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2009 Confederations Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He was also named in Brazil’s squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on 2 June 2014. César achieved the Golden Glove award at the 2013 Confederation Cup and was also included in the FIFA Confederations Cup Dream Team in 2013.
♦ You May Also Like ⇒ Top 10 Benchwarmers in Soccer
10. Peter Shilton
Legendary former English professional soccer goalkeeper Peter Leslie Shilton holds the record for being the most capped player of the England men’s soccer team with his 125 caps. He was included in the list of top ten goalkeepers of the 20th century by IFFHA in 2000. He played for eleven different clubs in his 30-year career, and won more than 1,000 competitive matches and two European Cup finals. Shilton represented the English team at the 1980 UEFA Euro and 1988 UEFA Euro, and was also a squad member of the FIFA World Cup thrice consecutively in 1982, 1986 and 1990. Shilton shares the record with French keeper Fabien Barthez for 10 clean sheets in the World Cup finals. He achieved two European Cups and the UEFA Super Cup during his tenure with Nottingham Forest. Shilton was inducted in the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
♦ You May Also Like ⇒ Soccer Hall of Fame 2015
Goalkeepers are extremely important to any soccer team. They are in charge of defending the goal post at all times, and their responsibility just gets multiplied during the penalty shots. But of course, their glory with god performance is also a lot.