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Mistakes are common in every profession, and that does hold true for footballers, including goalkeepers. Although occasional howlers by forwards in clear goal scoring chances are often accepted as normal, any blunder by a goalkeeper is something hard to digest for both teams and fans.
Over the years, the football world has witnessed some sloppy stuff from keepers, but what matters most is the stage and timing of the mistake. Certain bizarre errors on big occasions can be so embarrassing that they may hound keepers throughout their career, even after retirement.
Since the UEFA Champions League final this year, where Liverpool keeper Loris Karius made two unforgivable mistakes and gifted Real Madrid another Champions League title, goalkeeping errors have become quite common in high voltage games, something football fans have not experienced on such a regular basis probably ever before. In this article, we look back at these glaring goalkeeping gaffes.
Loris Karius: A night to forget
On 26 May 2018, rejuvenated English giant Liverpool played against Real Madrid in UEFA Champions League final, the biggest game of this decade for the club. The first half was scoreless and equally contested, with higher possession to Madrid but more scoring opportunities to Liverpool.
All of a sudden, minutes after the break, Loris Karius presented Madrid forward Karim Benzema possibly the easiest way to score a goal: the goalie made an attempt to throw the ball out to initialize an attack only for it to find Benzema’s feet, who made no mistake in converting the chance into the first goal of the night.
That unexpected incident along with their star player Mohamed Salah’s injury shattered the English side’s confidence, but Sadio Mane managed an equalizer. Unfortunately, Karius could never get rid of the hangover from the earlier mistake.
In the 83rd minute, Madrid forward Gareth Bell tried his luck from distance, and Karius, despite being perfectly placed to punch the ball away, could only allow it to slip through his hands and reach the empty net. The score-line became 3-1, and with just about 10 minutes remaining and teammates not managing any other-worldly performance to make amends for his mistakes, Karius could only wait for the nightmare to end.
David de Gea: Howler from the best in the world
It was Spain’s opening game of World Cup 2018 against Iberian rivals Portugal. The game was evenly poised at 1-1, when moments before halftime, Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo fired a shot straight at the Spanish stop-stopper.
De Gea, regarded by many as the current world no 1 in his position, looked uncharacteristically off colour and fumbled the ball into his own net. The howler from a keeper of such high calibre was so horrific that even the scorer Cristiano seemed stunned before starting to celebrate.
Willy Caballero: Worsening Argentina’s woes
Argentina were already in shambles after a poor qualification campaign, strange pre World Cup preparation with a single friendly game, injury of preferred goalkeeper Romero, and a hard-fought draw against Iceland in which Leo Messi missed a penalty.
The South Americans were desperate for a victory in their second match against Croatia, and in such a crucial game, Chelsea No. 2 Willy Caballero committed probably the error of the tournament.
His suicidal chipped pass found Croat forward Ante Rebic standing at the perfect position for a sublime finish. The former Manchester City keeper had his head in hands, a picture that summed up his national team’s miserable situation pretty well.
Fernando Muslera: Costly fumble by the experienced Uruguayan
Just when we thought we have witnessed enough goalkeeping errors for this summer, Fernando Muslera, who has been Uruguay’s No 1 choice for a decade, allowed Griezmann’s long-range shot to fly off his hands and get over the line. The veteran goalkeeper looked distraught as his horrendous fumble gifted France a 2-0 lead, ultimately ending the Latin American nation’s world cup hopes in the quarter-final.
Which of the aforementioned mistakes was the worst one in your opinion? Tell us in the comments below!
