Goalkeepers are the unsung heroes of modern day football. They can never win a match for your team but they can definitely save it. These days goalkeepers are not just mere shot-stoppers, but highly influential figures responsible for organizing their back line efficiently and distributing lobs and passes accurately. Just look at how Buffon is able to lead the team from the back against Spain at the UEFA Euro 2016 football game between the two great nations.
David De Gea, Manuel Neuer, Gianluigi Buffon, Petr Cech, Thibaut Courtois, and Iker Casillas (amongst many others) in recent years have helped in redefining the position. They are all; the epitome of how pivotal goalkeepers can be for their respective club and country.
But, what about the next generation? Let’s take a look at the younger generation of shot-stoppers, the precocious players who are deemed to be the “Next Big Thing”.
5. Simone Scuffet
Simone Scuffet is probably the least known player on this list. The 20-year-old has huge potential as he has all the necessities to be a top-class goalkeeper. A perfect physique due to his long reach, superb reflexes, and knowing when to speed off his line aided by the knowledge of when to come and when to stay. The only noticeable flaw that he has in his otherwise brilliant play is that he chooses to punch the ball instead of holding it.
Evolved from the youth academy of Udinese, the Italian is often compared to Gianluigi Buffon because of his first class reflexes, and confidence to organize the back line. He stepped into the limelight, when he was just 17 as he made a string of extraordinary saves, producing a heroic performance; helping Udinese beat Milan 1-0.
Currently, on loan at Serie B club Como, Scuffet has played a total of 34 games so far, amounting to more than 3000 minutes of first team action, which is prodigious for a teenager.
If given the right direction, substantial game time and exposure; he will surely live up to his potential and become a real star.
4. Mattia Perin
The second Italian on the list, Mattia Perin is one of the best young goalkeepers mainly because his tactical awareness and positioning is second to none.
He plays for the Seria A club Genoa and has caught the eye of many of the top European clubs during his time in Serie A. He has regularly displayed the strengths and qualities that are a prerequisite for a world class goalkeeper. He also boasts a 6ft 2in strong physical frame and impressive leaping ability that has seen him excel at claiming rather than punching crosses. His handling stands out too, making full use of his superb speed and reflexes to become a fine shot-stopper. He also notably worked on his footwork, resulting in producing less spectacular, but more efficient saves.
However, his distributions statistics cannot be boasted upon, as he only completed 45.7% of his total passes, though it must be noted that Genoa are hardly a proficient passing side as only three Italian clubs have had lesser attempts this season.
In the 2014-2015 season, he made the second most saves in Serie A, with an astounding average of around 4 saves per game and he followed that up in the 2015-2016 season, where he played a total of 25 games and kept 8 clean sheets.
He was the third choice goalkeeper for Italy in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In April 2016, Perin suffered an injury in the anterior cruciate ligament, which caused his absence in Italy’s Euro 2016 squad. Like Simone Scuffet, he is also regarded as a long time successor of Gianluigi Buffon.
3. Jack Butland
Jack Butland plays for the English club Stoke City, who signed him from Birmingham City in 2013. He has progressed steadily since his move to the Brittania gaining experience through various loan spells and working as Asmir Begovic’s understudy and was given the job of starting goalkeeper when Begovic made the move to Chelsea at the start of the 2015-2016 season.
He has truly excelled this season, producing a number of match-winning performances like the one against Chelsea, in the 4th round of the League Cup in which he stopped an Eden Hazard penalty. In March 2016 Butland signed a long-term contract with the Potters keeping him contracted until the summer of 2021. He went on to win Stoke’s player of the year award after keeping 10 clean sheets in 31 matches.
His dreams to represent his country in a major tournament were shattered when he suffered a fractured ankle while playing for the Three Lions in their victory against Germany in Berlin. Stoke City chairman Peter Coates backed the 23-year-old Bristol-born goalkeeper to come back both better and stronger for club and country.
There is no doubt that Jack Butland is one of the most exciting talents in world football, and in years to come, he will definitely play a huge role for his club and country.
2. Gianluigi Donnarumma
He is probably the most talked about young goalkeeper in the past 6 months due to his meteoric rise to the Milan first team. While most youngsters of his age are preparing for school examinations, Donnarumma was out there, competing against the very best; living his dreams.
He grew up in the youth academy of Napoli, and at the age of 14, he was signed by Milan. In just two short years, at the tender age of 16, he was promoted to the first team by AC Milan manager Sinisa Mihajlovic, replacing senior goalkeepers Diego Lopez and Christian Abbiati.
In Mihajlovic’s mind, there was no question. He had seen the saves that Donnarumma pulled off in weekly training sessions.
“I don’t look at age, I look at whether someone is good or not,” insisted the manager. “The lad trains well and right now he gives me more confidence.” With Diego López struggling between the sticks and his team shipping 14 goals in their first eight league games, Mihajlovic might also have felt that he did not have an awful lot to lose. He took a leap of faith and was duly rewarded as the youngster took to senior football like a fish to water, prompting the manager to call him “the future of Italian football”.
Standing 6ft.5inches tall, he is an asset to any team. Tall, strong and confident, Donnarumma is the perfect package, and though many elite European clubs are after him, AC Milan would be reluctant to sell him. His agent Mino Raiola called him “a work of art”, and insists the youngster is worth 170 million Euros.
The highly-rated youngster now has 10 clean sheets in his first season as a professional goalkeeper. The teenage sensation has set the bar extremely high for himself next season. Still just 17, he boasts the qualities to become one of the greatest of all time.
1. Jan Oblak
The Slovenian International enjoyed a great season with Atletico Madrid, conceding an all-time record low of 18 goals, as his efforts saw him win the Ricardo Zamora trophy for the best goalkeeper at the young age of 23.
He was also the part of the Benfica team that won the treble in the 2013-2014 season, before signing for Atletico Madrid for £12.6 million (€16 million), making him the eighth-most expensive goalkeeper in football history and the most expensive in La Liga’s history.
The towering goalkeeper has produced some incredible performances this season like the ones against Barcelona and Real Madrid, and thus he deservingly tops the list.
With time at his side and great skill and quality at his disposal, he will surely be amongst the very best in the years to come.
