I’ve always said that it’s hard to pick out who the best goalkeeper in the world is because there is no real way to show stat wise who is good and who is bad. I know what you’re thinking, you can measure clean sheets and the amount of saves. Right, when you look into those two stats alone about 100% of the time the guy leading the saves category won’t be leading the clean sheets column. It’s simple if you’re asked to constantly make saves your defense is probably not all that good. On the flip sides a good defense can help you get a ton of clean sheets. If you want proof of that look into the Zamora trophies that Victor Valdes has at home. He would have never made one of my Top 5 goalkeepers in the world list!
Another thing that I am very cognizant of when evaluating goalkeepers is the style of play. I can have a preferred style of play and one that I try to emulate when I play. That doesn’t mean that the style of play that I like or you like is necessarily the best. Although, arguments can be made with stats for example to favor a highly effective sweeper keeper. Who maybe won’t have a ton of saves to his credit, but will have stopped plenty of chances. All I’m saying is that there are a lot of ways to look at it. I’m sure that not everyone is going to agree with the list.
Just know that this is a list that I’ve made doing my very best to be unbiased. Still, one thing remains true about the evaluation of talent. Sometimes certain things good and bad can stick with a talent evaluator for a long time. So, if you’ve had a high profile mistake in a big game like David De Gea that could cost you big time in the end. If you’ve read through some of the articles on the site you’ll probably see some familiar faces. There are going to be a few guys that could surprise you. Here is the first name on the list!
Top 5 Goalkeepers In The World : #5 Kasper Schmeichel
Those of you who have read my Premier League article are going to know that I’m a fan of the great Dane. In my opinion he gets a bad rap within the UK because there is a narrative that he was not good enough to come through the ranks at a top flight club. That’s a fair argument. As a young goalkeeper for whatever reason he just didn’t seem to be able to be consistent enough to be able to gain the starting spot at his dad’s old club Man United or at Chelsea. He was given a chance to start for Leicester City and the rest as they say is history.
What do I think that Schmeichel brings to the table? For me he’s a between the sticks keeper with impressive hand security. You’re going to see him be able to catch a lot of balls that other keepers would not be content to push away. In my eyes he is also one of the few current Premier League goalkeepers that has that mental advantage over strikers. Where the opposing players can think twice about their shot just because they know that he is in goal. He’s not the tallest goalkeeper, he is not the best with his feet, but I do think that he has that “it” factor.
Does the inclusion of Kasper Schmeichel mean that there are not going to be any more Premier League goalkeepers on the list? You’ll have to keep reading to find out. What I will say though is that even though Premier League clubs have certainly seen a resurgence in European competition it’s not necessarily due to their goalkeepers standing out. Alisson Becker for example, could be at his best a top 5 goalkeeper in the world. It’s just that he hasn’t been available consistently.
Top 5 Goalkeepers In The World : #4 Gianluigi Donnarumma
These days the talk about whether or not Gianluigi Donnarumma will resign with AC Milan made me realize a couple of things. This would be Donnarumma’s third contract with Milan at the first team. He’s still only 22 years old. A lot of times he gets left out of these lists because we haven’t seen him drastically develop. It’s not his fault though he was a top tier goalkeeper in his teens. In the last few years the tall Donnarumma who’d you would probably expect to be much more of a between the sticks keeper has become a full blown sweeper keeper. To me this has been a very interesting development.
In many ways it can be said that when keepers find their primary style of play they tend to disregard other aspects of their game. For example, with Manuel Nuerer you know that you’re getting a sweeper keeper that has excellent 1v1 skills. Yet, it seems highly unlikely that we’ll see too many acrobatic saves from him between the sticks. Donnarumma has the chance to be able to incorporate all sorts of elements into his game. As I mentioned, I’m excited to see that he is doing just that.
What maybe has allowed him to still fly under a lot of people’s radar is the fact that AC Milan has not been as relevant in European competitions in the last couple of years. Yet, for years he has been the bright spot on teams that have literally dragged the club’s prestige through the mud. Even though they bowed out to Manchester United in the Europa League a bit early this year there’s still hope that the Rossoneri will be able to climb back up to relevance again. Giving Donnarumma a bigger platform to shine on.
Top 5 Goalkeepers In The World : #3 Marc Andre Ter Stegen
This could cause some debate. I would say that there are very few goalkeepers that can play like Ter Stegen between the sticks. He definitely has that big save ability. You look at a lot of his saves, and they are just spectacular. That’s in my view due to the great athleticism that he brings to the table. He is the antithesis of the stiff, tall, Premier League goalkeeper that it seems that everyone is looking for. He is not Manuel Neuer with his feet, but when you look at him you can see that he is comfortable with the ball in his feet.
Would it be fair to hold it against him that he is not the sweeper keeper that some of the other guys on the list might be? I don’t really think so. On many occasions I’ve talked about the fact that there are different goalkeeping styles. As with anything in life it’s usually going to be a good idea to find what you do well and try to exploit that. When you’re as good between the sticks as Ter Stegen happens to be you’re probably going to want to exploit that as best as you can.
One of the things that for me gets lost on people is the fact that even though he plays with Barcelona he’s playing behind a very weak defensive line. Leglet and Pique or even Araujo are not the fastest players on the pitch. There are plenty of times when these guys are caught out of position and Ter Stegen just has to find a way to save the day. For me in a lot of ways he is the opposite of Victor Valdes. In that, Barcelona keeps thinking that they have a decent defense because of Ter Stegen. He’s letting pretty average players pick up paychecks that they really wouldn’t get anywhere else.
Top 5 Goalkeepers In The World : #2 Manuel Neuer
I know that this pick is going to cause some controversy. For some people Neuer is without a doubt the world’s number one. I actually feel that he’s got a more solid spot than a couple of years ago. You have to remember he had been hurt for quite a while right around the time of the World Cup back in 2018. There was a lot of speculation that Ter Stegen would be featured in goal for Germany. The decision to continue keeping Neuer as the number one probably came down to two factors. One is certainly seniority. He was still arguably the biggest presence in the locker room. The second instance was probably style of play.
There is no question that when you have a sweeper keeper you’re able to have your defense lineup quite a few more yards up field. It allows the team to constantly keep high pressure on the opponent. With the success that Neuer has been able to have over the last decade or so a lot of people wonder why we don’t see many more keepers trying to mimic his style. The answer is very simple, in the history of the game there probably hasn’t been anybody as effective at the sweeper keeper role as Neuer. Historically sweeper keepers racked up a ton of bonehead mistakes throughout their careers that saw them relegated to the bench.
It’s hard to really come out and say for example, Neuer is a better goalkeeper than Ter Stegen. Again, we are talking about different styles, and there is no question that both of them are effective in different styles. On the list I edged Neuer past his countryman maybe because of some of the same things that saw Neuer continue as Germany’s number one. At 34 though, it’s going to be interesting to see if he can maintain his effectiveness. As players get older timing tends to be a big issue because they’ll naturally become slower. Since Neuer’s game depends so much on proper timing it can essentially start fading rather quickly.
Top 5 Goalkeepers In The World : # 1 Jan Oblak
As with the last 2 entries there is a chance that some of you won’t agree. Let me give you my reasons though as to why I’m putting Oblak at the top. Oblak is very much a between the sticks keeper you are not going to see him leave the box often. Out of all of the goalkeepers on the list he and Kasper Schimchel are usually the most called upon to act. With Oblak the reflex saves to close shots are something that you can see on a weekly basis. Is that not the same that you’ll get from Ter Stegen? I would argue no, Marc Andre has way more picknick days than Oblak. Also, Ter Stegen gets whacked with 5 or 4 goals conceded a game at least once a semester.
When it comes to Oblak there is no question that in his first few years at Atletico he played behind a great defense. Diego Godin in my opinion has been one of the most underrated players in the world in the last decade. Yet, in the last few years Atletico’s defense has not been as solid and the workload for Oblak has increased. There is no question that Oblak has been up to the challenge. As I mentioned reflex saves to close shots and headers is certainly one of the specialties that you’re going to be getting with the Slovenian. He’s a great fit for Atletico Madrid without a doubt.
Could you take this to mean that I feel Jan Oblak is better than Manuel Neuer and all of the other names on the list? Without a doubt any of the names on the list, as well as some others that didn’t make the cut can have one great day. What stands out to me about Oblak has been his consistency and even his growth as a player over the last few years. At his age there is a chance we are still not seeing his best version. There are aspects of his game that he can certainly improve. That consistency propels him to the top spot for this year.
Other Top Goalkeepers In The World
I know that some people could be surprised by the fact that certain names were snubbed from the Top 5 goalkeepers in the world list. I’m sure that Thibaut Courtois is one of the names that people expected to see on the list. I don’t love his consistency even though he certainly has some great games. I could say the same thing about David De Gea. Many of the other Premier League goalkeepers in my view don’t have the athleticism to maybe even translate their style of play to other leagues. On a personal note, the snub that was more difficult for me to make was that of Keylor Navas.
When talking about athleticism and big save ability I do believe that there are very few goalkeepers in the world that are better in those departments than Keylor. His age and the fact that his domestic league play in France is not eye opening on a weekly basis hurt him a bit. I still believe though that if PSG want to contend again for the Champions League title Keylor is going to have to be his best self. At 34 he certainly has at least this last run in him for sure.
