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Football is not only about scoring goals, but also about defending between the sticks, which plays a pivotal role in demotivating oppositions and deciding the outcome of key encounters. Therefore, a team that boasts world-class goalkeepers always intimidates oppositions even if they have a superhuman goalscorer like Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.
In Russia 2018, we witnessed some fine goalkeeping performances from lesser-known goalkeepers.
We saw how Messi was thwarted by Iceland's Hannes Halldorsson, an obscure name in the football world. In the end, the Icelander's saves proved too costly for Argentina as they faced chances of elimination early on in the tournament.
Iranian goalkeeper, Alireza Beiranvand, denied Cristiano Ronaldo his penalty goal in a crucial Group B clash. The significance of the stop was enormous because it prevented Portugal from topping their group and thus pitted them against a sturdy Uruguayan team in the round of 16, which turned out to be the match where the Portuguese would get eliminated.
A goalkeeper can have different qualities, based on which he could be adjudged the best. Some of the goalkeepers are good at saving the spot kicks, some boast of quick reflexes while some have supreme positional sense.
A handful of goalkeepers, who are currently plying their trade in Europe, are excellent in all the above attributes. In this list, we look at this special breed of goalies.
#5 Alisson Becker (Liverpool)
Alisson began his footballing career at the tender age of 10 when he joined the Brazilian club Internacional's Academy in 2002. He made his senior debut in 2013 against Cruzeiro-RS in the Campeonato Gaúcho championship in a 1-1 draw, and went on to win the title for the next four years.
The Brazilian international moved to Italian club AS Roma in 2016 and played second fiddle to Polish shot-stopper Wojciech Szczęsny initially. After the departure of Szczęsny in 2017, Alisson finally got the platform to showcase his talent regularly. He grabbed this opportunity with firm hands and his performances attracted the attention of a host of major clubs in Europe.
Alisson's top-notch performance at Stadio Olimpico, in the quarter-final clash against Barcelona, was a sight to behold. The heroics of Alisson paved the way for Roma to the semifinals in terms of away goals. He kept 22 clean sheets in 49 appearances in that campaign.
This summer, Liverpool secured his signature for a record-breaking transfer fee of £66.9 million, making him the most expensive goalkeeper of all time, albeit temporarily as Kepa Arrizabalaga's transfer to Chelsea broke the record only three weeks later.
Alisson is used to playing with a team having an offensive mindset and, luckily, Liverpool has one of the most threatening attacks in Europe. The Brazilian goalie knows how to deal with situations where he might be left exposed as his team attacks, and this adaptive nature of the shot-stopper along with his quick reflexes make the Reds a strong title contender this season.
#4 Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)
Ter Stegen started his senior football career in the 2010-11 season, with his hometown club Borussia Mönchengladbach, in the Bundesliga. He made 108 league appearances in four seasons for the club.
In 2014, he joined La Liga giants, Barcelona, at a bargain fee of €12 million (£9.7 million) with the buy-out clause set to €80 million (£63.6 million). It easily stands out as a remarkable buy judging from his swashbuckling performances for the Blaugrana over the years.
In his first season with Barca, he served as the deputy to Claudio Bravo. Yet, he managed to win the Best Save Award for his breathtaking goal-line save versus Bayern Munich in the UCL.
The German's best performance came in the successive season in 2016-17 as he made a staggering 12 saves in a single game in the second El Clasico against arch-rivals Real Madrid. His heroics kept the Blaugrana in the title race, although they finished 3 points adrift of Real Madrid in the end.
Ter Stegen is one of the versatile goalkeepers who have quick reflexes and anticipation. He is good in the air and can take on one-on-one situations with calm confidence. He is sharp with his ball distributions and possesses an excellent vision to handle situations where the offside trap is breached.
Barcelona is a dominating force today in World football where we attribute its success mostly to Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Neymar, and Suarez. But, a micro unbiased analysis would tell us, that Andre ter Stegen has remained their watchful protector at the back since he joined Barca.
#3 David de Gea (Manchester United)
Next in the list is the Spain national team goalkeeper, David de Gea, who plays for Manchester United in the Premier League. De Gea is known for his quick reflexes and outstanding shot-stopping ability in the goal. He has evolved himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world despite his slender frame.
David has shown a remarkable improvement as a shot-stopper with experience. In his early career, he was unable to maintain clean sheets. However, recently he has managed to win the Golden Glove award.
Born in Madrid, De Gea started his senior career at Atletico Madrid in the 2009-10 season. He managed to become the starting goalkeeper for Atletico, due to an injury to Roberto and some costly mistakes committed by Asenjo, then first choice goalkeeper of the club. He grabbed the opportunity and thrived under pressure in the season. His outstanding performance helped Rojiblancos to win the UEFA Super Cup in 2010-11.
With Edwin van der Sar retiring, Manchester United was looking for an apt replacement. The performances of De Gea could not have been missed by the United management. They pursued his signature; successfully offered a contract and brought him down at Old Trafford.
In his first season in charge, De Gea had a topsy-turvy ride in the campaign. He started the season brilliantly. But mid-way through the first half of the season, destiny betrayed. He had a horrible performance against city rivals Manchester City, with the scoreline reading 6-1 in the favor of the Citizens. It was the worst defeat for Manchester United since 1930. The subsequent poor form had cost him dearly. He lost his place in the side to his deputy Anders Lindegaard. However, somewhere in the sky, God was writing a different script for him.
He returned against Chelsea at the beginning of the second half of the season, after an injury to Lindegaard. Thereafter, De Gea showcased some extraordinary shot-stopping talent, keeping 8 clean sheets in the rest of the matches of the season.
In the 2012-13 campaign, De Gea managed 11 clean sheets in 28 appearances to help United win the Premier League. He went on to win the Manchester United's Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons starting from the 2013-14 season.
De Gea kept 18 clean sheets in the 2017-18 campaign to win the Premier League Gloden Glove award for the first time.
However, for David de Gea, the World Cup in Russia didn't go as planned. His mistakes cost Spain an exit in the round of 16 of the tournament. He let a Cristiano Ronaldo strike pass through his grasp, in the first match against Portugal, which he should have stopped even in his sleep.
Manchester United is in the quest for their glory days since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. David de Gea will have to shoulder the responsibility of taking the team forward. Though not the captain of his team, yet with leadership qualities in his armour, could he become the source of inspiration United are looking for? Old Trafford will have to wait for the answer.
#2 Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
The dream of a centre back, Thibaut Courtois, is an exceptional talent who possesses a rock solid composure between the sticks. He has a phenomenal ability to read the offside trap. The subsequent positional sense confuses strikers. Courtois can read the ball in the air very well and has always showcased his sharpness while taking crosses. He could be described as a complete goalkeeper.
Thibaut started his senior goalkeeping career with the Racing Genk, in the Belgian Pro League in the 2009-10 session. He became the first choice goalkeeper in the next season for the club. Courtois showcased spectacular performances to win the "Goalkeeper of the Year" award in the Belgian Pro League. He also won the Genk's "Player of the Year" award.
In the 2011-12 season, he moved to Chelsea for a transfer fee of €9 million. However, with Petr Čech already present in their squad, Chelsea sent Courtois on loan to Atletico Madrid in La Liga, weeks after getting his signature.
In his first season on loan in the 2012-13 campaign, Courtois quickly established himself as a first choice goalkeeper. A string of clean sheets, including the one in the final by the Belgian shot-stopper, aided Rojiblancos to the Europa League glory in that campaign. After the extension of the loan for one more season, Courtois went on a clean sheet spree without conceding for a club record of 820 minutes in the 2013-14 season. He also won the Copa del Rey that season.
The loan was further extended for 12 months and it paid out handsomely for Courtois and Atletico. His astonishing heroics between the sticks led Atletico to claim their first La Liga title since 1996. Atletico also reached the final of UEFA Champions League but lost to city rivals Real Madrid.
He won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy, which is awarded to the goalkeeper with the lowest goals-to-games ratio, in consecutive seasons in 2012-13 and 2013-14.
Chelsea could not resist the temptation to bring back their prized asset back to Stamford Bridge. Thibaut didn't disappoint anyone as Chelsea won the Premier League and the League Cup in 2014-15.
After suffering a leg injury on September 11, 2015, he was out of action for 3 months. This injury wrecked havoc on Chelsea as they finished 10th in the Premier League. The poor show signified the underlying importance of the world-class goalkeeper in the squad.
Courtois regained his momentum in the next season in 2016-17, as he won the Golden Glove award. It is awarded to the goalkeeper with most clean sheets in the Premier League.
In the summer of 2018, Thibaut has moved to Real Madrid, after winning the Golden Glove award for the best goalkeeper in the World Cup in Russia. Real Madrid is renowned as the host of the best talents in the world. Everyone is eagerly waiting to find out if he could fill the void created by the departure of Ronaldo and Zidane at Madrid. Messi has a competition in the El Classico at least.
#1 Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
Jan Oblak, the Slovenian shot-stopper, is defining a new era in the goalkeeping horizon.
"Robert Volk was a goalkeeper and a goalkeeper coach at the same time. He had young Jan Oblak and also Damir Botonjič, who wanted to return back to football after his brother's death. One day Volk noticed Oblak's immense talent had outgrown everybody. He said "this kid is better than me" and gave up his spot in the team to a 16-year-old. We were a bit stunned, not to mention Oblak's father, who could not believe we took his son to training camp with the main squad. We quickly realized Volk is not mistaken."
—Former Olimpija Ljubljana coach Janez Pate about Jan Oblak's beginnings
Oblak made his professional career debut with the Olimpija Ljubljana in the Slovenian PrvaLiga in the 2009-2010 season. He joined Benfica in the Portuguese League, Primeira Liga, in the subsequent season. But he was loaned for the first 2 seasons in the League; first to Beira-Mar and then to União de Leiria.
The first choice goalkeeper Artur was on an error spree between the sticks for Benfica, in the early half of the 2013-14 campaign. Oblak was called up and he responded with top-notch goalkeeping. He went on to win the Treble with the club, alongside winning the "Best Goalkeeper of the Year" award in the League.
Atletico Madrid could be, unarguably, considered as one of the best destinations for goalkeepers. When Courtois moved to Chelsea in the Premier League, Atletico roped in Oblak from Benfica in the 2014-15 season at a reported fee of €16 million making him the most expensive in La Liga history.
In the first season at Atletico, Oblak served as the deputy to Miguel Ángel Moyà. But his tryst with destiny came when the first choice goalkeeper, Moya, was injured in a UEFA Champions League second leg clash against Bayer Leverkusen. He grabbed the opportunity with both hands. He went on to win the match and the tie for the Rojiblancos that went down the wire to the penalty shootout.
Since then, he has showcased some world class goalkeeping for the consecutive seasons, owning the Ricardo Zamora Trophy thrice in a row. With quick reflexes and presence of mind, Oblak can subside any attack towards his den. His awesome statistics are the testament to his shot-stopping exhibitions. He has not conceded in 50 percent of the matches he has played in his entire career.
The presence of Oblak between the sticks behind their last line of defense and Antoine Griezmann leading the front line, Atletico Madrid is going to be an intimidating force in the 2018-19 campaign. And with Real Madrid in doldrums, after the departure of the one who must not be named for Barcelona fans, this could be the best season for Los Colchoneros in their history. Jan Oblak will have to play the decisive role. Arguably, he is the best in the business in front of the goal at the moment in Europe.
