The label of a legend in football seems strictly reserved for outfield players, namely lethal frontmen or dynamic midfielders. It is not necessary to scour the depths of the internet for hours in order to find countless lists of the most under-appreciated talents in attack, but when it comes to men between the sticks, they’re generally under-rated anyway.
With the exception of Manuel Neuer, Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon, the majority of goalkeepers in the modern game are viewed as a requirement rather than luxuries, even though a last-gasp save or penalty stop can be as crucial to a team’s success as a late goal or defence-splitting pass.
Here, we take a look at five individuals in particular who have unjustly slipped off the radar when discussing great goalkeepers…
#5 Neville Southall
When any professional ends their career by playing just a single game across spells with eight different clubs, it’s evident that any value they previously had evaporated quickly. It’s due to this dismal end to his career and the fact he seldom maintained a physique of athleticism that Southall fails to be acknowledged as the true great that he was.
It was during his seventeen-year career with Everton that Southall achieved the most success, winning two Division One titles, two FA Cups and the European Cup Winners’ Cup; all bar the second FA Cup were won in a three year period from 1984 to 1987. Southall made close to 800 appearances in total for the Toffees, rendering him their record appearance holder and a club legend
Southall also made the PFA Team of the Year every season from 1986 to 1990, in what turned out to be an incredibly prolific decade for the shot-stopper. The Welshman also made a credible 92 appearances for his country and is regarded as their greatest man between the sticks of all time.
#4 Shaka Hislop
Having finished runner-up in the Premier League twice, as well as having reached the FA Cup final on two occasions, English-born Hislop may not have a glittering trophy cabinet, but he was a consistent performer for the likes of Reading, West Ham and Newcastle during his long spell in the nation’s top flight.
At the latter, Hislop was part of the team which blew an extraordinary league title chance in 1995/96 season and something many may forget is that the Magpies’ decline started shortly after Hislop was sidelined with injury, outlining just how important a component he was to the Newcastle side.
Hislop was hit heavy by injury during his time with the club and thus opted to move to West Ham, so perhaps another reason people forget how useful a commodity he was is because he was sidelined so often.
Whilst Hislop had the opportunity to play for England, he opted to fly the flag for Trinidad and Tobago, earning the label as their best player at their first and only ever World Cup finals in 2006; that in itself is a remarkable achievement and deserves praise in itself.
#3 Adrian
Now for a more modern inclusion, the Spaniard Adrian was pretty unknown when he signed for West Ham from Real Betis in 2013. At the end of the 2014/15 season however, a study carried out by ‘Scottish Friendly’ estimated that, based on statistics, Adrian was the division’s best value goalkeeper.
That season, the Spaniard would maintain an average claim success rate of 98%, as well as keeping nine clean sheets across the season as a whole, a figure he would replicate the following campaign and this term he has three clean sheets in the bag so far.
He’s by no means a world-class property but nonetheless is severely under-appreciated in a side which has kept him as their number one choice for four years now, despite threat from Darron Randolph to supersede him.
The 30-year-old shot-stopper is well renowned for his razor-sharp reflexes and movement in the box during set-plays. West Ham have chopped-and-changed personnel frequently over the years, with the defence especially being shuffled around.
During this though, Adrian has always been a consistent performer and helped navigate the club towards a seventh place finish last term.
#2 Vincent Enyeama
With Ligue 1 the highest level of domestic football he’s played, it’s perhaps not surprising to see that Enyeama has failed to receive the recognition he deserves. Having started out with the likes of Enyimba in Nigeria towards the start of his career, Enyeama eventually moved on to Hapoel Tel-Aviv where he would play over 100 games and even contribute nine goals during his tenure with the Israeli outfit.
Enyeama currently plies his trade in the French top flight in Lille and has been their number one for five years now. He’s not won countless Ligue 1 titles or UEFA Champions League crowns, but Enyeama has always lead as an example from the back, demonstrating superb leadership as well as a solid defensive knowledge of the game.
Whilst his performances in France should rank him highly, it’s his performances on the international stage which should mark him out from the rest.
In 2010, 2013 and 2014, Enyeama was the goalkeeper in the African Team of the Year award and in the second of those years, he’d captain his country to African Cup of Nations glory, keeping a clean sheet in the final against Burkina Faso.
One of his most noteworthy performances though has to be a faultless display in a 2010 World Cup group stage match against Argentina, during which Enyeama limited Argentina to a 1-0 win and picked up the MOTM award for the way he kept tabs on Lionel Messi for the night – anyone able to keep that man quiet deserves a medal.
#1 Jussi Jaaskelainen
Perhaps it’s the fact he never played for one of the ‘big’ clubs, perhaps it’s because he just got on with things and never caused a stir, but whatever the reason may be, Jussi Jaaskelainen has never really been given the credit he deserves.
From 1997 to 2012, the Finnish international would ply his trade for Bolton Wanderers, making well over 400 games for the Trotters, seeing them gain promotion to the English top flight and admirably guard their Premier League status for many years afterwards.
The now 38-year-old, playing out his career at Wigan Athletic, is a legend of the Premier League in every sense of the word and I’d like to see anybody argue otherwise.
Jaaskelainen demonstrated loyalty, footballing intelligence and commitment during his years at Bolton and it’s an awful lot harder to perform so well at a club likely to have its defence peppered every week than with a side where the back-line remains untouched.
Jaaskelainen began to fall out of favour with Owen Coyle in the 2011/12 season when the club got relegated from the top flight and Adam Bogdan would succeed him as first choice; perhaps the wrong decision in hindsight, as Jussi went on to rebuild his career with former boss Sam Allardyce at West Ham, where he helped the club secure a 10th place finish in their first season back in the Premier League, during which he recorded nine clean sheets.
The Premier League simply isn’t the same with Jaaskelainen’s ever-reliable presence.
