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Goalkeepers are a crucial part of an outfitThe World Hockey League finals started on November 27th and are on in full flow at Raipur. This is the final leg of the competition, which is played over two years and features the top eight teams in the world. The tournament is the most prestigious of this calendar year and the winners will have supreme bragging rights.Needless to say, these hockey heavyweights feature some of the brightest current hockey talent and those who will be remembered as legends of the game. Amongst them are the custodians. Goalkeepers are an important cog in the teams and to celebrate their importance, we take a look at the five best goalkeepers in the tournament.
#1 Andrew Charter (Australia)
The Australian goalkeeper is one of the most renowned in the field hockey circuit. Charter had a brilliant 2014 with the Kookaburras when he helped his team to win the World Cup in The Hague.
Prior to the world cup victory, the 28-year old was also part of the Aussie squad which won the gold medal in the Champions Trophy 2012 in Melbourne, and also a bronze medal in the next edition of the competition in Bhubaneswar in 2014.
In acknowledgement of his brilliant performances in the calendar year 2014, he was nominated for the International Hockey Federation’s Goalkeeper of the Year award.
Charter who initially played football and baseball before turning to hockey has mustered 100 caps for the Australian field hockey team.The Canberra-born shotstopper also won the Commonwealth Games gold medal with the Kookaburras.
#2 Nicolas Jacobi (Germany)
Nicolas Jacobi, the German goalkeeper has been a mainstay in the team for quite some time now. The 28-years old plays his club level hockey with Delhi Waveriders in the Hockey India League.
Jacobi was part of the 2014 Champions Trophy winning German squad, who finished fourth in the group stage, yet went on to win the tournament by defeating Pakistan in the final. The German has played 93 matches for the third-ranked team in the world.
He was also part of the Olympic gold medal-winning squad in London 2012 but was a reserve player in the final. Delhi Waveriders bought the goalkeeper for an astonishing $50,000 in the Hockey India League, which is a reflection of his abilities.
#3 PR Sreejesh (India)
The vice-captain of the Indian team is a world renowned goalkeeper. He was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament in the 2008 Junior Asia Cup. His second 'Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament' award came at the 2013 Asia Cup.
Sreejesh has represented India on 140 occasions and has won the gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games where he saved two penalty strokes against arch-rivals Pakistan in the final match, along with the silver medals in 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth games.
The shot-stopper was once again named the goalkeeper of the tournament after his impressive performance in the 2014 Champions Trophy.
He was also nominated for the Best Male Goalkeeper award for his brilliant performances in 2014.
The 27-year-old currently plays for Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the Hockey India League.
#4 Juan Manuel Vivaldi (Argentina)
The Argentine goalkeeper has represented his country on 192 occasions and has been part of the National Hockey team of the South American team from 2001.
He has won various accolades with his country, most notably the bronze medal in the 2014 World Cup. The shot-stopper has won a couple of Gold medals in the Champions Challenge cup and two gold medals in the Pan American games.
He has represented Argentina in two Olympic Games, 2004 Athens and 2012 London. He plays club hockey in his native country for Banco Provincia.
#5 Jaap Stockmann (The Netherlands)
Jaap Stockmann is probably the best goalkeeper of the lot. He has represented the Netherlands on 120 occasions.
He won the silver medal in the 2014 World Cup when Australia thrashed his team 6-1 in the final. He also won the silver medal in the 2012 London Olympics along with the silver medal in 2011 European Championships.
He was awarded the goalkeeper of the year in 2014 for his heroics in the calendar year.
He also plays for Jaypee Punjab Warriors in the India Hockey League, and won the player of the tournament for the 2014 edition.
