Top 10 Indian goalkeepers of 2016

2016 has been a good year for Indian football. For the first time ever, we saw an Indian club reach the final of a continental event, with Bengaluru FC reaching the final of the AFC Cup. The national team, too, didn’t do really badly for themselves.

The national team played six matches this year, winning four of them. The highlight was the first win of the year, as captain marvel Sunil Chhetri and Jeje Lalpekhlua inspired the Blue Tigers to a 2-1 win against Afghanistan in the final of the SAFF Cup.

That was followed by two losses against Iran and Turkmenistan in the last two 2018 World Cup qualifiers, but the Asian Cup qualification got off to a good start with a 7-1 aggregate win over Laos, that was embellished by a 6-1 second leg win in Guwahati. They also played non-AFC opponents for the first time in a long time as Puerto Rico were dispatched 4-1 in the first international match at the Mumbai Football Arena.

But, in this piece we take a look at the goalkeepers – ten of the best custodians from the country. We asked our readers to rank the best goalkeeper in India and this is how you voted:

The top-ranked player on each list is given ten points and the bottom-ranked is given one point. The average of the two was taken to arrive at our final ranking. In case two players are on the same number of points, the Sportskeeda team’s ranking is given preference.

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#10 Albino Gomes (Readers’ Ranking – 10^th)

Average Score – 1

Gomes is among the brightest young prospects for India, but his 2016 was spent more on the bench than on the pitch. That would do his development as a player no harm, though.

In the I-League, he played for Salgaocar, but the Goan club played Gomes in only one I-League game. Where he truly impressed in 2016 was in the four games that he played for Mumbai City FC in the ISL. He kept two clean sheets in those four games and made some fabulous saves, none more than the one against Atletico de Kolkata, as he helped his side hold on to a 1-0 lead.

In his time at Mumbai, he would’ve learnt a lot from training with fellow goalkeepers Roberto Netto and Amrinder Singh, which would have done his game an awful lot of good.

One thing is for certain, though, he will not be playing for the same I-League club in 2017 as Salgaocar have pulled out of the I-League.

#9 Luis Barreto (Readers Ranking – 8^th)

Average Score – 2

The East Bengal custodian helped his team finish third in the I-League this season. He signed to play for FC Goa in the ISL but did not play a single game ahead of Laxmikant Kattimani.

The veteran goalkeeper played ten games for East Bengal in the I-League last season. He conceded ten goals in those games, as the Red and Gold brigade finished only behind eventual champions Bengaluru FC and their fierce rivals Mohun Bagan.

That has meant that East Bengal now have an outside chance of playing in the 2017 AFC Cup. They are the stand-by team and will make the group stages if Bengaluru FC win their two AFC Champions League qualifiers and make it through to the group stage.

The veteran goalkeeper probably does not have too many years of football left in front of him, but he will be satisfied with what he achieved when he stepped on the pitch in 2016.

#8 Soram Poirei Anganba (Readers’ Ranking – 9^th)

Average Score – 2.5

This was the young Manipuri’s breakout year in Indian football, and he did himself no harm. He played 11 games for Aizawl FC in the Mizoram side’s first I-League season and they did not finish with the wooden spoon – which was taken by fellow debutants DSK Shivajians.

Soram conceded 14 goals in the 11 games that he played for Aizawl and kept only one clean sheet but he did make enough of an impression for the Delhi Dynamos to sign him for the ISL. He played five games for the Dynamos ahead of Toni Doblas and did make a decent impression, although he conceded nine goals in those five games.

His best moment of the ISL was a stunning penalty save that he made against FC Pune City. Momo Sissoko’s penalty wasn’t placed too well, but there was plenty of power behind it and Soram did really well to push the ball away.

#7 Karanjit Singh (Readers’ Ranking – 7^th)

Average Score – 4.5

The experienced man from Punjab lost his place in the national team to TP Rehenesh and Amrinder Singh, but he still showed signs of his prowess throughout the year. He captained Salgaocar in the I-League and used all of his experience to ensure that the Goan side avoided relegation.

He continued his ISL stint with Chennaiyin FC and became Marco Materazzi’s first choice very quickly, after outshining Duwayne Kerr in every aspect. With four clean sheets, he had the second most shutouts for a goalkeeper in the ISL season and he will be annoyed that his defenders let him down far too often, ensuring that Chennaiyin did not make the playoffs.

The 30-year-old Punjabi custodian, like Albino, will be looking for a new I-League club after the Goan club pulled out, citing AIFF irregularities. Even though he put in a string of fabulous performances on the pitch this year, his aim for next year will be to force his way back into Stephen Constantine’s plans as the national team head into a massive year for them.

#6 Sandip Nandy (Readers’ Ranking – 4^th)

Average Score – 5.5

There just seems to be no stopping this 41-year-old enigma. He didn’t play at all in the I-League this season but has had a pretty amazing ISL. He has played 10 out of the 16 games that the Kerala Blasters have played this year, and he has done himself no harm.

Nandy has kept the overseas goalkeeper, Graham Stack out of the starting lineup and it has been solely based on the sheer weight of his performances. He has been one of the lynchpins of Kerala’s run to the ISL final. Of course, having experienced defenders like Aaron Hughes and Cedric Hengbart in front of him has helped but that has in no way beenthe sole reason for his success.

His best moment of 2016 will probably be his saves in the penalty shootout against Delhi.

#5 TP Rehenesh (Readers’ Ranking – 6^th)

Average Score – 5.5

Rehenesh moved to East Bengal at the beginning of the year, but he couldn’t nail down a spot in the side. But in the eight games that he did play for the Kolkata side, he conceded only one goal per game. But the biggest personal disappointment for him would have probably been in the ISL.

Subrata Paul started 13 of the 14 games that NorthEast played, going off at half-time in the 13^th. That meant Rehenesh played only 135 minutes of football through the season. But the experience that he would have gained would have been invaluable.

He is only 23 years old, and to be under the wings of someone as experienced as Subrata Paul would have only done him a lot of good.

There is a lot more to come from Rehenesh and there is no doubt that the man from Kerala is extremely talented. But 2017 has got to be a huge year on all fronts for Rehenesh – the year when he makes the step up from a promising youngster to a reliable goalkeeper.

#4 Debjit Majumder (Readers’ Ranking – 5^th)

Average Score – 6.5

Like Nandy, Debjit has had his best performances in the ISL, but that in no way undermines what he did for Mohun Bagan over the course of the season in both the I-League and the AFC Cup.

Bagan finished second in the I-League, and they lost in the Round of 16 of the AFC Cup. Debjit was the first choice for both the Mariners and Atletico de Kolkata throughout the year and he repaid the faith that both Sanjoy Sen and Jose Molina kept in him.

Debjit has not yet made the India squad but if he keeps the run of 2016 going, he will be there very soon.

#3 Subrata Paul (Readers’ Ranking – 2^nd)

Average Score – 8.5

The veteran refound his mojo in the ISL for NorthEast United. Although the statistics may not say so, Subrata was the best goalkeeper in the ISL. It was largely on the back of his saves and his performances that NorthEast were in with a chance of qualifying for the semi-final even on the last day of the league stage.

He did not play a game for India this year, but was always on the bench as a valuable member of the squad. Subrata’s experience will be crucial in the next couple of years for Stephen Constantine as he looks to build a squad for the future.

Rehenesh, Amrinder Singh and Gurpreet Sandhu are still young and they will all look up to Subrata as a role model both on and off the pitch.

#2 Amrinder Singh (Readers’ Ranking – 3^rd)

Average Score – 8.5

As they say at the West Block stand at the Kanteerava Stadium, “No Paaji, No Party”. Amrinder has had a stunning 2016. His impact can best be understood by what he did in the ISL. He came in for the last four league games for Mumbai City FC and the two legs of their semi-final. He kept five clean sheets and looked an assured presence in goal.

Amrinder was among the pillars of Bengaluru FC’s run into the AFC Cup final. In the first leg of the semi-final, he made some superb saves against Johor Darul Ta’zim, which ensured that the tie was level going into the second leg at the Kanteerava.

The Blues hugely missed their star ‘keeper in the final, for which he was suspended after picking up yellow cards in both the legs of the semi-final.

He got his first national call-up as well, for the friendly against Puerto Rico.

#1 Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Readers’ Ranking – 1^st)

Average Score – 10

This was expected, wasn’t it? Gurpreet is the only Indian playing in a first division league in Europe and he is carrying the Indian flag high. Gurpreet hasn’t featured regularly for Stabaek in Norway, but the experience that it has given him is visible whenever he plays for the national team.

He even took the captain’s armband from Sunil Chhetri for the friendly against Puerto Rico.

The SAFF Cup final was Gurpreet’s best performance for the country in 2016. He made some terrific saves to deny the Afghan attackers when they were rampant in the game. That helped India stay in the contest until Chhetri and Jeje ensured that the trophy would remain in India for a little while longer.

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