Top 10 greatest footballers to wear jersey no 1

One even has a Ballon d’Or to his name

The position of a goalkeeper is arguably the most difficult in football. A goalkeeper is the last man in defence and cannot afford to make a single mistake. In professional football, goalkeepers are generally seen wearing the number 1 jersey.

Many footballers have etched their names and status as legendary goalkeepers over the years. Let’s take a look at the top 10 greatest footballers to wear the jersey number 1.

10) David Seaman

One of the most underrated names on this list. David Seaman had a playing career which lasted from 1981 to 2004. Unfortunately, he had to retire in 2004 due to a recurring shoulder injury. The performances which he had put in during the tenure of his career are commendable.

Seaman is well known for his time at Arsenal and the England national team from the early 1990s till the early 2000s. Seaman has 75 caps for the national side and is the country’s second-most-capped goalkeeper. The keeper has won a majority of his trophies with Arsenal. This includes three league championships, four FA Cups, a League Cup, and a European Cup Winners Cup.

9) Peter Shilton

Peter Shilton holds numerous accolades and records to his name. Shilton is England’s most-capped goalkeeper with 125 caps. The player also holds the record for most all-time official appearances in world football. The footballer also holds the record for most clean sheets (10) in World Cup matches alongside French goalkeeper Fabian Barthez.

The player however was not a one-club wonder as he has played at 11 different clubs in a playing career of 30 years. He has amassed 100-plus appearances at almost every club he has played for.

Peter Shilton’s most commendable tenure came at Nottingham Forest. At a time when Nottingham Forest were in its prime, Shilton won two European Cups, a UEFA Super Cup, the First Division Championship and the League Cup.

8) Peter Schmeichel

Sir Alex Ferguson’s captain for eight seasons at Manchester United. Considered one of the greatest keepers ever in the history of football, Peter Schmeichel is inarguably a legend of the game. Schmeichel has played at many different clubs but performed best when he was at United.

In eight seasons at Manchester United, Schmeichel won an astounding 15 trophies which includes five Premier League titles and three FA Cups. The man even captained the team in its legendary treble-winning campaign in 1999.

Peter Schmeichel also played a lot for the Denmark national team. Schmeichel is the second most-capped player for Denmark with 129 appearances. Schmeichel’s best achievement for the Danish Dynamites was winning the 1992 UEFA European Championship.

7) Edwin van der Sar

The perfect successor for the Red Devils after Peter Schmeichel left the club. van der Sar was no less than Schmeichel in terms of performances, trophies won and legacy as well at United.

Edwin Van Der Sar had won the 1995 UEFA Champions League with Ajax during their golden period. He joined Manchester United in 2005 and won four Premier League titles and the iconic 2008 UCL title as well. In the 2008-09 season, he set a record for not conceding a league goal for 1300 minutes.

van der Sar was also the most capped player for the Netherlands national team (130) until Wesley Sneijder overtook him in 2017.

6) Petr Cech

At a time when Chelsea was just starting to make its name amongst the top teams, Petr Cech was one of their star players. Cech has played at only a few clubs throughout his career but his best playing years came when he was at Stamford Bridge.

At Chelsea, he is the club’s seventh-most-capped player with 494 appearances across all competitions. During this tenure, Cech won four PL titles, four FA Cups, three league cups and one UCL title. After leaving Chelsea, Cech joined Arsenal where he won a FA Cup.

Petr Cech is also the most capped player for the Czech Republic with 124 caps. Cech has won many personal accolades as well. The most commendable amongst those are having the most Czech Footballer Of The Year awards, the most clean sheets in a single Premier League season (24) and the most clean sheets in the history of the Premier League (202).

5) Oliver Kahn

One of Bayern Munich‘s and Germany’s finest goalkeepers ever. Oliver Kahn has played at only a few clubs but his performances with Bayern have made him a legend of the game. Kahn has won eight Bundesliga titles, six DFB Pokal Cups and a UEFA Champions League title.

The goalkeeper has represented the German football team on numerous occasions. Kahn is the only keeper in the history of the FIFA World Cup to ever win the Golden Ball. He won the Golden Ball back in the 2002 FIFA World Cup because of his consistent performances for Die Mannschaft.

4) Manuel Neuer

The perfect successor for Oliver Kahn at Bayern Munich as well as the German national team. Manuel Neuer is widely known not only for his achievements and trophies but for his “sweeper-keeper” role too. Neuer revolutionised the role by redefining it and almost playing it to perfection.

The best of Manuel Neuer comes in for Bayern Munich and the German national team. Neuer has won 11 Bundesliga titles with Bayern, six DFB Pokal Cups, two UEFA Champions League titles, two FIFA Club World Cups and two UEFA Super Cups.

Neuer captained the Bavarians in their 2020 treble-winning campaign. He is the only goalkeeper to have won the European treble twice. Neuer has also won the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Germany beating Argentina in the finals.

Manuel Neuer has a plethora of accolades and records to his name. Some of them are holding the most clean sheets in the history of the Bundesliga (224), the most clean sheets in a single Bundesliga campaign (21) and a commendable third-placed finish in the 2014 Ballon D’or rankings, finishing just behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

These are just some of his many legendary accolades which shows how legendary Neuer is.

3) Iker Casillas

Iker Casillas is undoubtedly a legend of the game. Casillas is one of few players to have amassed over 1000 appearances in his career. Casillas’s best playing years were at Real Madrid.

Casillas became the youngest goalkeeper in the history of the tournament to play in a UEFA Champions League final and win it as well. Overall, Casillas won all major titles with Los Blancos, helping them assert dominance in Spanish and European football. Casillas won five LaLiga titles, four Supercopa De Espana titles, three UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups and a FIFA Club World Cup with Madrid.

Casillas is the second most capped player for Spain with 167 caps. The former Madrid keeper captained Spain in their first-ever and legendary FIFA World Cup-winning campaign in 2010. In 2008, Spain also won the UEFA European Championship.

Casillas helped Spain retain the Euros title winning it again in 2012. In doing so, Casillas became a part of a legendary and first-ever national side to win the Euros in consecutive campaigns.

2) Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon has spent the majority of his playing years in Italian football. Juventus were a force to reckon with, back in the day being contenders for the Serie A title and UEFA Champions League titles regularly.

Buffon played for Juve during this period and won a lot of titles with them. He won a record nine Serie A titles, four Coppa Italias and five Supercopa Italianos. The Italian also became the first-ever goalkeeper in the history of Serie A to win the Serie A Footballer of the Year award. Buffon also holds the record for most appearances (647) in the first tier.

The legendary keeper is also Italy’s most-capped player with 176 caps. This also makes him the most-capped goalkeeper in history. Buffon has played at five different FIFA World Cups with Italy. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Buffon was the starting XI goalkeeper. He played a key role in Italy’s 2006 World Cup winning run. He ended up winning the Golden Glove there as well.

1) Lev Yashin

Imagine being so legendary that a goalkeeping award is named after you (Yashin Trophy). That’s how legendary Lev Yashin is. Yashin has not won many trophies but is arguably the first goalkeeper in the history of football to make a name for himself because of his impact in matches.

The former Russian (Soviet) keeper holds over 250 clean sheets in his playing career. He is also the leading goalkeeper to save most penalties (150). Yashin has played at four FIFA World Cups for the Soviet Union. His most commendable achievement is winning the Ballon d’Or in 1963.

Lev Yashin is the only goalkeeper to ever win the Ballon d’Or in the history of football.

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