Goalkeepers are never appreciated enough. Their 100 saves might not be spoken of but their one bad miss will become the talk of the town. The reality is they are the spine of any team in the world. They are the starting point of the attack in a team and also the end point of defence.
In recent teams, some goalkeepers seem to have doubled up as midfielders. We probably have the best generation of goalkeepers in the world right now. Without much ado, let’s look at some of the best current goalkeepers in the world.
1. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
His unique “sweeper-keeper” playstyle, where he almost plays like a defensive midfielder spraying around passes, has revolutionized the position and is coveted by all the coaches in the world.
He is the epitome of how Guardiola wants a keeper to play and it is no wonder that year after year, he is named in the world’s best 11 and he truly deserves all the praise in the world. World Cup Champion, Champions League Champion are some of the suffixes attached to his name.
2. De Gea (Manchester United)
De Gea was voted as Matt Busty Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons. That may say a lot about United’s disappointing campaign since the Fergie era, but there’s no doubt the Spaniard is the best in his position in PL and one of the best in the world.
He is Spain’s No. 1 and is now and again flirted around by Madrid which speaks volumes about the talent of the best shot-stopper.
3. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
Gianluigi Buffon continues to perform at the highest level even at this age and his brilliance in between the posts guided Juventus to the CL final and moreover clinched yet another Serie A title.
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I personally do not consider Buffon to be the greatest keeper of all-time but definitely one of the best the footballing world has produced.
Buffon has been the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for nine times, is the only goalkeeper to win UEFA Footballer of the Year, was runner-up for the 2006 Ballon d’Or and is the most capped player for the Italian national side. Legend.
4. Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea)
If there is anyone who can give De Gea a run for his money for the tag of best goalkeeper in PL, it has to Courtois. He dislodged Petr Cech from the first 11 which easily proves that the Blues have had a gem in their team for the past few years.
With a couple of PL titles under his belly, Courtois has even a brighter future ahead of him due to his shot-stopping skills and cat-like reflexes.
5. Keylor Navas (Real Madrid)
Easily the most underrated keeper in the world. I do understand that De Gea is a world-class keeper himself but Madrid would have been disrespectful and probably made a blunder if the swap transfer between United and Real had taken place. Navas is a CL winner. 3 time CL winner. De Gea hasn’t even played in the semi-finals yet. The only reason De Gea is preferred over Navas is because he is a Spaniard. That’s it. No other reason whatsoever.
I hope he gets his due because no one becomes a 3 time CL winner by just being some other average keeper. He is world class.
Well, there are other top-notch keepers as well like Hugo Lloris, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Samir Handanovic, etc who missed out on the list but are the creme de la crème of goalkeepers.
All said and done, Neuer is currently the best in the world.
Image Credits: Google Images
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