Redcafe's All-Time Top 20. Goalkeepers | Results

35. Jens Lehmann, Angelo Peruzzi. 6 points.

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Jens Lehmann

Lehmann had a long and illustrious career — after winning the UEFA Cup with Schalke in 1997 he was voted UEFA Club goalkeeper of the Year; the second award will come almost a decade later, when Lehman's lead Arsenal defence kept consecutive clean sheets in the play-off games all the way to the final, setting up a new CL record — 853-minute spell without conceding a goal. He won't concede in the final either, but it's not a night that he would want to remember — Lehmann was sent off on the 18th minute and Barcelona went on to win it. The other highlight of his Arsenal career was the unprecedented "Invincibles" league run, when they have managed to avoid a defeat throughout the whole league season — with Lehmann starting in all 38 games. A random bit of trivia — he had won league titles in England, Germany and Italy. In the national team, he was up against an all-time great in Oliver Kahn (and their rivalry wasn't pretty). Still, Klinsmann chose him over Kahn for the 2006 World Cup campaign and Lehmann didn't disappoint — Germany reached semi-finals and Jens earned a place in the Team of the Tournament.

Angelo Peruzzi

Another Italian keeper from their golden generation — nicknamed "Tyson" for his unusually stocky physique. He spent his best years at Juventus, which was probably the best side in the world in the second half of the 90's, despite only winning 1 Champions League. The intimidating Italian organised an incredible defensive unit — that was as important to the Juventus success as were their shiny attackers like Del Piero and Zidane. 2 years in a row he was voted Serie A keeper of the Year and many considered him the best in the world at the time. He left Juventus in 1999 and, after a brief spell in Inter, ended up playing for Lazio — where he'd spend the last 7 years of his career. 2006/07 was his swan song — already thinking of retiring, he produced one of his best individual seasons, grabbing his third and last Serie A keeper of the Year award a decade after the first one; he received it in January of 2008 — almost half a year after he played his last match.
 
33. Marc-André ter Stegen, František Plánička. 7 points.

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Marc-André ter Stegen

Not much can be said about him. For the past few years he proved himself to be one of the best goalkeepers around — and the €12 million fee that Barcelona paid for him seems laughable for such a talent. Ter Stegen is a poster boy for the new, post-Neuer generation of modern keepers that are not only good at shot stopping, but are also very handy (forgive me this pun) with the ball at their feet. He is yet to become a regular starter for his national team, but that has less to do with his performance level and more to do with Löw's stubbornness. On a rare occasion when he was actually trusted by his manager, he lead Germany to the Confederations Cup win, providing a man of the match performance in the final. Ter Stegen is still only 27, so he is likely to climb up this list given time.

František Plánička

Probably one of the lesser known players on this list, Plánička was born in Prague and lived there all his life — through the times of Austro-Hungary, Czechoslovakia and, finally, Czech Republic. He was so good that Edgar decided to ignore the rules and pick him anyway, and I've only noticed the slip up as I was writing a bit about him. Well, feck you, Edgar. Anyway, Plánička was truly an outstanding keeper — alongside Zamora he was seen by most experts as the best goalie of the pre-War era. Even the infamous game when György Sárosi scored 7 goals past him didn't hurt his reputation — the game was a bit crazy in the 30s. When IFFHS created their list of best keeper of the 20th century, Plánička was voted 9th, ahead of Dasayev and Jennings.
 
32. Jan van Beveren. 8 points.

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Jan van Beveren's story is one of the biggest "what ifs" in the history of Dutch football. Van Beveren, undoubtedly the best Dutch keeper of the 70's, missed out on the World Cup because of his feud with Johan Cruyff; some argue that with him in goal, the Dutch would've never lost the final. Those who are not as prone to romanticising say that van Beveren's keeping style wasn't compatible with the newly-found totaalvoetbal — he was an old-fashioned shot stopper who never was any good with his feet. The truth, as usual, is somewhere in the middle, and we'll never know what would've really happen. What we do know, though, is that arguably the most talented keeper that Netherlands ever produced was robbed of his international career because of a stupid feud.
 
30. Bert Trautmann, Jan Oblak. 9 points.

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Bert Trautmann

If it was a screenplay, you'd say that it was completely unrealistic. A former Nazi soldier who fought on the eastern front, embraced Hitler wholeheartedly, and was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class for bravery, had became a British hero. When he first started playing, he was getting death threats — 15 years and 545 games later he retired as Manchester City's biggest and most cherished legend. He discovered his talent as a keeper at the British prison camp, and he decided to stick with it (and stick around in England) even after the camp was closed. He achieved incredible things — on and off the pitch. His heroics in the 1956 FA Cup final, when he kept playing despite literally breaking his neck, are fondly remembered as one of the defying moments of the competition history. But perhaps his biggest success was in changing the image of German people in the eyes of the post-War Britain. He was appointed an honorary OBE in 2004 for his work in Anglo-German relations, and when he met the Queen shortly after, she asked him if he still got that pain in his neck.

Jan Oblak

26-year old keeper came to Spain just 5 years ago, but he had already proven himself as one of the best goalies in the world. He spent his first season adjusting to the new league, but after securing the starting place he went on to win 4 consecutive Zamora awards (lowest goals-to-games ratio in the league) — only Valdes did they same, but he played for an all-time great Barcelona. Oblak is not a modern keeper in a sense that he doesn't really participate in the build up, but when your numbers are that good, you can afford it — in the beginning of last season he had kept his 100th clean sheet for Atletico Madrid. He did it in 178 games!
 
@harms not that it matters but you named him Branco Oblak :)
Great to see trautmann in there, great story behind him.
 
29. Amadeo Carrizo. 11 points

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If you're into football history, you can name at least 10 "first sweeper-keepers" off the top of your head, so it's fair to say that this particular label had lost its value. From Leigh Richmond Roose to Manuel Neuer, keepers had been revolutionising the game over and over again by extending their control outside the penalty box... and yet, some examples were so striking that you can't doubt their importance. Amadeo Carrizo is one of them — named by IFFHS the best South American keeper of the 20th century, he transformed the way goalkeepers played in Argentina. He was the first one to use gloves, the first one (allegedly) to leave the penalty box while defending... et cetera. In 1968, Carrizo simultaneously established two records for his time: official matches in the Argentine First Division (513) and consecutive matches without conceding any goals (8).

28. Harald Schumacher. 13 points

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Harald Schumacher is possibly the most hated goalkeeper in history of the sport — in one of the most fascinating games that you'll ever see, when France and West Germany clashed in the World Cup semi-final, Schumacher blatantly fouled French defender Patrick Battiston, knocking him out with a few broken bones and missing teeth. But no foul was given — and the Germans proceeded to the final. Behind that story there's an overlooked player, whose whole career was simplified to one moment of madness... but aside from that Schumacher had an exemplary career, leading Köln to a domestic double and participating in 3 major finals with his country. Twice named Footballer of the Year in Germany, he takes his place as the 5th best German keeper in history according to us.

Fun fact — Flavio Briatore, a man who discovered Michael Schumacher, said that his choice was based solely on his name (which is probably bullshit). Apparently, Flavio was into football at the time and decided to go with a guy whose name sounded familiar — it reminded him of the infamous goalkeeper.

27. Gilmar. 15 points

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Gilmar had won 2 World Cups and numerous titles with Corinthians and Pele's Santos. He is considered by many as the best Brazilian goalkeeper of all-time and it looks like the caf agrees with them — none of his compatriots matched his total points tally.

26. David Seaman. 17 points

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Ah, come all ye teenage goalkeepers
And listen unto me,
I'll tell you of a goalie
Who went out to gay Paree;
The Gunners called him 'Safe Hands',
David Seaman was his name,
But that lonely night in Paris
Was his world consumed in flames....

25. Neville Southall. 34 points

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Big Nev was one of the best goalkeepers of the 80's... but the Everton side he was playing for were denied their place in the European Cup because of the Heysel disaster. Him playing for Wales didn't do much for his international image either. You can only guess how much higher in that list he would've been if he was a bit luckier.

23. José Luis Félix Chilavert, Jürgen Croy. 49 points

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José Luis Félix Chilavert

In his professional career Chilavert scored 67 goals and won the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award three times... but ultimately that wasn't enough to break into the top-20. And I think it's quite fair — he was an incredible character but as a keeper I'd rate him a notch below the very best.

Jürgen Croy

Croy is yet another German keeper in our list, that country had produced an insane amount of talent over the years. His career takes place in the 70's, but he is separated from the golden age of the German football by the Berlin Wall. Both East and West German media rated him very highly and usually considered him an equal to his famous contemporaries — Sepp Maier and Dino Zoff. On one hand, you can say that he was unlucky — he missed out on the international titles and haven't been able to play for the truly dominant teams of that era, be it Borussia Mönchengladbach or Bayern Munich. But then, who knows if he would've earned anything close to his 86 caps with Sepp Maier in direct competition.

22. Jean-Marie Pfaff. 52 points

21. Michel Preud'homme. 61 points

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It's quite fitting that those two ended up together. Not much to say about them — both enjoyed enormous success and at some point were probably the best keepers in the world. Both achieved legendary status abroad — Pfaff with Bayern, Preud'homme with Benfica.
 
The list so far. To be continued...

21. Preud'homme
22. Pfaff
23. Chilavert, Croy
25. Southall
26. Seaman
27. Gilmar
28. Schumacher
29. Carrizo
30. Trautmann, Oblak
32. van Beveren
33. Ter Stegen, Planicka
35. Peruzzi, Lehmann
37. Toldo, Pagluica, Navas
40. Albertosi
41. Zubizarreta, Viktor, Dida
44. Alisson, Julio Cesar
46. Given, Lloris, Higuita
 
harms said:
The list so far. To be continued...

21. Preud'homme
22. Pfaff
23. Chilavert, Croy
25. Southall
26. Seaman
27. Gilmar
28. Schumacher
29. Carrizo
30. Trautmann, Oblak
32. van Beveren
33. Ter Stegen, Planicka
35. Peruzzi, Lehmann
37. Toldo, Pagluica, Navas
40. Albertosi
41. Zubizarreta, Viktor, Dida
44. Alisson, Julio Cesar
46. Given, Lloris, Higuita
Click to expand...

Great stuff.. Love the Seaman poem!
 
20. Ladislao Mazurkiewicz. 67 points



You've all seen the outrageous dummy that Pelé pulled off in the 1970 game against Uruguay before sending the ball just wide. It was even more incredible as he did that to the best goalkeeper of that tournament — and probably the best keeper in the world at the time. An embarrassed Mazurkiewicz later claimed, with a wink, that he had "done enough to put Pele off". Mazurka (his hard-to-pronounce name comes from his Polish father, although Ladislao was born and raised in Uruguay) had starred in 3 World Cups, won Copa America and everything there was to win with the great Peñarol team of the 60's, including the International Cup, where they defeated Real Madrid.
 
19. Ubaldo Fillol. 69 points



Diego Maradona said:
The best goalkeeper I've ever seen was Ubaldo Fillol
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Many consider Fillol to be the best goalkeeper in the rich Argentinian football history, which is understandable, since Fillol helped his country to its first World Cup title in 1978. It's hard to overstate his importance to that team — he was rightly included in 1978 Team of the Tournament and in the annual vote for South American footballer of the Year he came second behind only Mario Kempes (he'll be the runner up for that award 2 more times — in 1983 and 1984). His iconic №5 jersey (Argentina decided to give the numbers in alphabetical order) had secured its own place in football's folklore.
 
18. Guyla Grosics. 74 points



By the way, it's an actual footage of Grosics celebrating a win over Brazil. Aranycsapat, the Hungarian "Golden Team" of the 50's is usually associated with its forwards — genius Puskas, elusive Hidegkuti, prolific Kocsis... but their breathtaking attacking play was based on the solid foundation, and at the base of it was Guyla Grosics. Another one of "the first sweeper-keepers", he understood the importance of a proactive keeping for the Hungarian revolutionary approach to the game. Their forwards pressed aggressively higher up the pitch, knowing that their goalie can push up the defensive line and cover for any of their potential mistakes. By 1956, Hungary had recorded 42 victories with Grosics in goal, 7 draws, and just that one loss.
 
17. Walter Zenga. 85 points



Zenga, Maldini, Baresi, Ferri, Bergomi. The backline that Italy fielded in the 1990 World Cup still remains the golden standard for international defenses. When they conceded their first goal, they were already in a semi-final. For a few years, before Schmeichel's emergence, Zenga was pretty much unrivalled as the best goalkeeper in the world. He wasn't flawless — many thought that he doesn't come off his line often enough, that he wasn't a particularly good passer... but his agility and reflexes were second to none. It's fair to say that the Inter side of the 80's significantly underperformed in the league, winning only 1 Serie A title — which would remain the only league title in Zenga's career; Italy failed to win anything with Zenga as its keeper; but you simply can't judge Zenga's career by that. I'll finish this with mindblowing stat (which, of course, also indicates the true level of Italian defenders at the time) — in his 58 caps Zenga conceded only 21 goals and kept 41 clean sheets. How's that for an underachiever.
 
16. David De Gea. 90 points



It's a weird coincidence, but both Zenga and De Gea had won exactly 1 league title, 1 domestic cup and 2 UEFA (Europa League) Cups. Leaving a few Super Cups aside, that's pretty much their entire trophy cabinet, which does not correlate well with their countless individual accolades. What's even weirder is that both compensated for "modern" skills like sweeping and passing with their ridiculous shot-stopping ability. Maybe there is a connection here. Anyway, De Gea takes the №16 spot on the list despite not performing well for the national team, coming off his worst individual season in years and being pretty much the opposite of the current "modern keeper" image. Because when he's at his best, he's just unbeatable.
 
15. Petr Čech. 103 points



Gianluigi Buffon said:
The best goalkeeper with his feet? Pepe Reina. In the air I’d say Neuer. With his hands: Casillas. The best overall I’d say is Čech.
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Petr Čech retired less than 2 months ago after rewriting multiple Premier League records like most clean sheets in PL history (202) and most clean sheets in one season (24). His helmet is probably the most recognizable piece of goalkeeping equipment of all-time. Yet somehow this is a story about an unrealised potential (not fully realised is probably a better choice of words). His career was divided in two parts by an injury that nearly ended his life, and the general consensus is that he never truly returned to his best (or fulfilled his early promise). But even like that he was, without a doubt, one of the standout keepers of his generation.
 
14. Vladimir Beara. 113 points



When Lev Yashin collected his European Player of the Year award in 1963, he insisted that the best goalkeeper in the world wasn't him, but the Yugoslav Vladimir Beara. Perhaps they were words born of modesty, but none who saw him play would doubt that Beara, who turns 80 this month, was one of the greats. It wasn't just his athleticism and reflexes that impressed; there was also a grace and a majesty to his goalkeeping. As Bob Wilson said, "there was an entertaining, aesthetic air about him", which was perhaps appropriate for a player who once studied ballet. That, Wilson went on, was "why his jumps and dives with feet curled and body perfectly poised appealed. He kept goal on his toes, like a coiled spring, always ready to pounce." He always cut a relaxed figure on his goal-line, preferring to trust in his ability rather than in any mechanical learned technique. He even eschewed walls while facing free-kicks. "Somehow it always seemed easier when I could look at a player eye to eye," he said.

The bits are shamelessly stolen from the great article on Beara by Jonathan Wilson:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/aug/05/europeanfootball
 
13. Pat Jennings. 151 points



A legend for both North London clubs Spurs and Arsenal, Pat Jennings was the first player to make over 1,000 top-level appearances. Well, you know all this anyway.
 
12. Iker Casillas. 163 points



Despite his enormous list of trophies, Casillas proved himself to be one of the most controversial figures in the list during the vote. Some argue that his individual level did not match his achievements, some were surprised with his underrating on the caf. However, he still remains one of the most successful footballers of all-time and he proved himself to be very important both for his club and for his country (especially in the 2010 World Cup win). A few months ago he suffered a heart attack during the training but, incredibly so, decided to keep playing for Porto. Hopefully he won't have to worry about it ever again.
 
11. Peter Shilton. 186 points



Speaking about longevity... English keeper holds the all-time record for the most competitive appearances in world football (1,390); most games for England (125); and, perhaps most incredibly, for most World Cup clean sheets (10) despite playing in his first World Cup at the age of 32! He was a stalwart for Bryan Clough's miraculous Nottingham Forest, but other than that he wasn't too lucky in his club career — never winning a major title outside of Forest. 10 times he was chosen in PFA's team of the season and, unsurprisingly, usurped the goalkeeping spot for PFA's team of the century.
 
10. Rinat Dasayev. 206 points



Dasayev had it all — fantastic reflexes, positioning, control over the box and the ability to start a counter with a perfectly timed hand-throw. He spent most of his pick in the Soviet league, but still managed to create a solid fanbase abroad, due to his performances for USSR and Spartak Moscow (mostly in the UEFA Cup). Probably the best keeper of the 80's.
 
9. Edwin van der Sar. 234 points



A true legend of the game, from the very beginning (winning CL with Ajax in 1995, showcasing his revolutionary role), until the very end (losing a CL final against Barcelona aged 41). His reflexes were never as fast as Buffon's, but his positioning and incredible football intelligence reserved him a place between the very best. For a long time he was a reference for most modern keepers in how to be involved in the game and how to make your saves seem like an easy ones, even if they don't. As Fergie said, one of his biggest mistakes were not signing van der Sar straight after Schmeichel's leave and losing 6 years before finally finding him.
 
8. Sepp Maier. 318 points



Franz Beckenbauer said:
Without Sepp we would never have won the World Cup
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3 times German Footballer of the Year in the times of Beckenbauer & Müller and another keeper who had won virtually everything. Believe it or not, a player who became a household name in the 1970s for his heroics between the sticks actually started out as an attacker. Yet in his own words, it was a case of, "you're the laziest, you're the fattest – you go in goal" - and thus a legendary career began.

While Maier was an example to many, he had two heroes of his own in the shape of the iconic Russian keeper Yashin and German comedian Karl Valentin. Indeed, Maier was always known for having a sense of humour as rich as his talent. Once, having been standing idle after his team were awarded a penalty at the other end of the pitch, Maier chose to divert his energies and comedy timing to chasing after a duck which had waddled inadvertently on to the field of play.
 
7. Dino Zoff. 368 points



Another legend that easily could've been at the very top of this list. In the abundance of goalkeeping talent that Italy brought up 2 names stand out — Gianluigi Buffon and Dino Zoff. Like Buffon, he was close to actually winning Ballon d'Or in 1973 — when he had beaten the likes of Beckenbauer and Müller to the runners up spot behind Cruyff, an incredible achievement for a goalkeeper. He still holds the record for the longest playing time without allowing goals in international tournaments (1142 minutes), that was set between 1972 and 1974. When Italian football association was asked to pick the single most outstanding player of the last 50 years in 2003, they chose Dino Zoff — ahead of Rivera, Baggio and Baresi. The best moment of his career happened only a year before his retirement — when he captained Italy to the World Cup win in 1982, aged 40.
 
6. Gordon Banks. 372 points



Surely, it's impossible to agree on the best ever save; but if you'll have a vote, the one that will probably come at the top would be Banks' save against Pelé in 1970. It was a brilliant piece of skill — both by the goalkeeper and by the Brazilian; it happened on the biggest stage possible; and the man who was denied the goal, was O Rei, the king of football himself. It wasn't a one-time thing, Banks had an illustrious career and is widely considered to be one of the best keepers in history — by some experts, only second to Yashin in the whole XX century.
 
I'll let it rest for a day. If anyone will guess the correct order of top-5 (the names should be quite obvious at this stage), he'll get a Kenwood Juicer. Or not.

This is the list so far:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. Banks
7. Zoff
8. Maier
9. van der Sar
10. Dasayev
11. Shilton
12. Casillas
13. Jennings
14. Beara
15. Cech
16. De Gea
17. Zenga
18. Groscis
19. Fillol
20. Mazukiewicz
21. Preud'homme
22. Pfaff
23. Chilavert, Croy
25. Southall
26. Seaman
27. Gilmar
28. Schumacher
29. Carrizo
30. Trautmann, Oblak
32. van Beveren
33. Ter Stegen, Planicka
35. Peruzzi, Lehmann
37. Toldo, Pagluica, Navas
40. Albertosi
41. Zubizarreta, Viktor, Dida
44. Alisson, Julio Cesar
46. Given, Lloris, Higuita
 
There's not much of an intrigue here, is it? :)
 
5. Manuel Neuer. 385 points



Neuer is pretty much the ideal of a modern keeper. He is a fantastic shot-stopper who is capable of single-handedly winning the games, which he showcased playing for Schalke; but most of all, he is incredible as a sweeper keeper, who is used to intercepting the ball way out of his penalty box and is not afraid do dribble past confused forwards.
 
He’s top 10 for me but in the lower end, surprised he’s up this high.
 
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