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Analogous to the drummer in a band, the goalkeeper rarely gets the love and adulation that they deserve. Again, just like the drummer, a goalkeeper is the backbone of the team. Their duties do not merely stop at pulling of tremendous saves in the game. They are the eyes and ears of the defence. The organisation of the defence lies to a great extent on the instincts of a goalkeeper to anticipate the attack and communicate to the backline how it should set it’s stall up.
The men between the sticks are a vital cog in the large wheel of an organised team. Below, Sportskeeda picks out the most inspiring men between the goals from the European competitions as well as in their domestic leagues in the month of November. These keepers came up trumps and answered the team’s call whenever they were needed, better than any other last month.
Who would have thought that John Ruddy would emerge as the biggest contender to Joe Hart for the English no.1 shirt? The Norwich keeper seems to have finally come of age as he keeps on putting one fine performance after another which sees the Canaries in the mid-table after recovering from a poor start to the season.
Ruddy was on hand to nearly single-handedly deny Manchester United the deliverence of all three points on their meeting at Carrow Road. He was a huge factor is determining that Norwich remain undefeated in November while pulling out an average of 4 saves a game
A month without conceding a goal is a monumental feat and deserves every bit of praise from all and sundry. Siena’s Italian custodian Pegolo managed to achieve just that and that is reason enough he ends up as a nominee for goalkeeper of the month.
Siena’s three man defense has been nearly impenetrable but whenever it has been, Pegolo was on hand to smother anything from developing into something serious. His best performance came in the 2-0 win over Inter at the San Siro when he thwarted the Nerazzurri 11 shot attempts on target. The Italian has kept 8 clean sheets in the 14 games played so far.
He may not have the clean sheets to prove it but Giefer has had an outstanding season so far for the new boys of the Bundesliga. His stupendous performance between the posts enabled Fortuna to hold the mighty Dortmund despite being reduced to ten men. They also got the better of the likes of Frankfurt and Hamburg. Averaging close to 4 saves per game, the young German lad’s performance has only been surpassed by a certain Rene Adler this season. The month of November however belongs to the Leverkusen youth product.
Osasuna seem to finally getting back on track in the La Liga table. They largely have a certain Andrés Fernández Moreno for saving them from getting derailed. Only one goal went past the Spanish custodian this month. Moreno lead a miserly backline to 4 clean sheets on the trot with his standout performance coming against Espanyol.
Ligue 1‘s surprise team of the year Saint-Etienne’s success has largely come due to its strong displays at the back, especially from their keeper Stéphane Ruffier. Saint Ettiene defeated PSG twice in the month of November and are arguably the most in-form team in the Ligue 1 at the moment. Ruffier has not only shone but made himself the spotlight. St-Etienne has conceded just four goals in his last ten games in all competitions.
