Top 10 greatest goalkeepers in football history

These Goalkeepers have won various accolades for their teams.

Goalkeepers are the ultimate saviors in a football team, responsible for clearing up mistakes made by the outfield players. While outfield players can sometimes recover from their errors, goalkeepers rarely get away with a mistake. They must perform at their best week in and week out.

Football history has seen some incredible goalkeepers who have single-handedly won matches for their teams. These players have cemented their names as some of the greatest ever to play the game. In this article, we discuss the top 10 greatest goalkeepers in football history.

10. Gordon Banks

Banks played the majority of his career for the two clubs, Leicester and Stoke. He has won the league cup in both clubs. Gordon has played 76 games for the England national team and is best known for the incredible save that he made in 1970 against Pele, which has been registered as one of the greatest saves ever made in football history. His career spanned from 1958 to 1978.

9. Dida

No argument! DIda is the greatest ever goalkeeper to ever play for the Brazilian national team. His career spanned from 1992-2015. He was an integral part of the AC Milan team in 2000’s and also the first-ever goalkeeper from Brazil to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or. Dida has amassed one World Cup, one Copa America, one Serie A title and two Champions League titles under his name in his playing career.

8. Edwin van der Sar

Edwin van der Sar played for clubs like Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. Van der Ser was an integral part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United team. Moreover, he has played in over 130 games for the national team of the Netherlands. He is one of the greatest ever goalkeepers to ever grace this game.

7. Peter Schmeichel

His professional career spanned from 1981 to 2003. He had 47 appearances for Brøndby, 395 appearances for Manchester United, 52 appearances for Sporting CP, 36 for Aston Villa, 31 for Manchester City and 121 for the Denmark national team. Peter won the Euro in 1992 and a treble for Manchester United in 1999. He remains one of the greatest ever goalkeepers.

Also read: Goalkeepers with most penalty saves in history of football

6. Petr Cech

Cech’s playing career spanned from 1999 to 2019. He suffered a serious head injury and a fractured skull in 2006 but continued playing with a helmet on. Peter Czech amassed 31 appearances for Chmel Blsany, 39 for Sparta Prague, 78 for Rennes, 494 for Chelsea, 139 for Arsenal, and 124 for his national team Czech Republic. Czech had a legendary playing career with Chelsea winning 4 Premier League titles. He also holds the record of the most clean sheets in Premier League history with 202 clean sheets under his name.

5. Oliver Kahn

The German had his playing career spanned from 1987 to 2008. Regarded as one of Germany’s greatest-ever goalkeepers, he was an integral part of all the teams that he has played in. He won eight Bundesliga titles with Bayern, six German Cups, and the UEFA Champions League in 2001, under his name. He also won the Golden Glove in the 2002 World Cup, but Germany lost the final against Brazil. Kahn made 153 appearances for Karlsruher SC, 632 for Bayern Munich, and 86 for Germany.

4. Iker Casillas

The Spaniard had his playing career spanned from 1999 and end in 2020. He won the FIFA World Cup in 2010 as the captain of the Spanish National team. He also won 3 UCL and 5 LaLiga titles during his legendary time with Real Madrid. Casillas has also won 2 Euros with Spain. He is one of the most legendary shot-stoppers to have ever played this game. Casillas made 725 appearances for Real Madrid, 156 for FC Porto, and 167 for the Spanish national team.

3. Manuel Neuer

The German sweeper keeper made his debut in 2005 and is still playing the game. He has been one of the most consistent goalkeepers during the current era. He ranks at number one for the most clean sheets amassed by any German goalkeeper. Neuer won the World Cup in 2014 along with the Golden Glove. He has also won 2 UCL titles during his time at Bayern Munich. Neuer has made 203 appearances for Schalke 04, over 500 for Bayern Munich and 124 for Germany.

2. Gianluigi Buffon

The Italian goalkeeping legend had a long and illustrious playing career between 1995 and 2023. He is one of the most legendary goalkeepers of all time. However, the major absence in his playing career has been the lack of any Champions League titles. Buffon won the World Cup in 2006. He also won 10 Serie A titles and six Italian Cups during his career with Juventus and Parma. Buffon made made 265 appearances for Parma, 695 for Juventus, 25 for Paris Saint-Germain, and 176 appearances for the Italy national team.

1. Lev Yashin

The greatest ever goalkeeper to ever play this beautiful game. France Football has used his name in the Ballon d’Or ceremony to award the best goalkeeper of the season with the Yashin Trophy. The ‘Black Spider’ remains the only goalkeeper to have ever won the Ballon d’Or award. He won one Euro in 1960 for his national team, the Soviet Union. Yashin amassed 358 appearances for Dynamo Moscow and 74 for the Soviet Union.

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