The heroes of the last line of defence in the game are just as important as those who score goals against their opponents…
It just so happens that in football, fans remember the attacking players best – those who dribble effectively, quickly escape their opponents, make accurate passes and, of course, score goals.
However, the ability to play well in defence is also a kind of art, without which it is hardly possible to win top trophies and become part of key historical events.
That is why the role of the goalkeeper in a football team is no less important than that of the centre forward.
In addition, there have been so many truly outstanding goalkeepers in the history of the game that it is simply impossible to fit them all into the top ten, although we would have liked to. For this reason alone, you will not find many familiar names of goalkeepers who have won the hearts of many long-time fans. By the way, if you’re taking a break between matches or just relaxing, there’s something else worth checking out — the Stay Casino 20 free spins offer. It’s a great way to unwind with a bit of extra fun while thinking over which legends truly deserve a spot among the best keepers of all time.
Instead, you will find the following heroes…
10. Edwin van der Sar
- Nationality: Netherlands
- Years active: 1990-2011
Edwin van der Sar’s professional career includes only four clubs: Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. And everywhere, the Dutch goalkeeper is remembered with warmth and gratitude, because Edwin truly distinguished himself not only on the football field, but also off it. He is an exemplary professional who never gave the media any reason to stir up any significant scandal around his person.
During his career, van der Sar won 27 different trophies, and Edwin set an English Premier League record as the oldest player to win the tournament – he was already 40 at the time of his triumph. In addition, the goalkeeper still holds the world record for the longest unbeaten streak in a championship – in the 2008/09 season, the Dutchman did not concede a goal for 1,311 minutes. This definitely makes him worthy of a place in the top 10 best goalkeepers in the history of world football.
9. Oliver Kahn
- Nationality: Germany
- Years active: 1987-2008
It was said that many forwards from rival teams were very nervous, or even afraid, when they found themselves facing Oliver Kahn. The German goalkeeper had phenomenal charisma, looked like a true leader on the football field, and constantly commanded his teammates on the defensive line with a loud voice, practically bringing the process to automatism.
At club level, Kahn played for only two teams – Karlsruhe and Bayern Munich. He became a legend for both of them, but it was with the Munich team that he won a huge number of titles and honours – 23 trophies in total. However, Oliver also achieved success with the German national team. The goalkeeper played 86 matches for the Bundesliga, won Euro 1996, and also became a silver medallist at the 2002 World Cup and a bronze medallist at the 2006 World Cup. Interestingly, at the World Cup in Japan and South Korea, despite Germany’s defeat in the final against Brazil (0-2), Oliver Kahn was still recognised not only as the best goalkeeper but also as the best player of the tournament!
8. Gordon Banks
- Nationality: England
- Years active: 1958-1978
Englishman Gordon Banks, who won the World Cup in 1966 with the ‘Three Lions’, is widely regarded as the author of the best save in football history. His goalkeeper made it during the 1970 World Cup when the islanders played against Brazil. Pelé’s header, which was heading into the goal after hitting the ground, was impossible to save, but Banks somehow managed to pull it out and deflect it for a corner.
Gordon himself later described that remarkable episode: “Jairzinho crosses into the centre of the penalty area, I rush from the near post to the centre of the goal. Never, ever, did I stand on the line in a game; I always stood two or three yards in front of it for one reason: if I had to reach back for the ball, it would have crossed the line. First of all, I had to wait for him [Pelé] to head the ball. Now that he’s kicked it, I know it’s going to go right under the right post. That’s where the hardest part of the save was. If I had dived straight, I wouldn’t have been able to get it because the ball bounced about a yard just before my jump. So now I know I have to get over there quickly and at the same time anticipate how the ball will bounce off the hard surface, then reach back and get my hand up — which is what I did. But the ball hit the top of my hand and flew upwards, and, honestly, I thought it was a goal… then I saw the ball bounce away from the goal. And I said to myself, ‘Banksy, you’re lucky.’
7. Manuel Neuer
- Nationality: Germany
- Years active: 2006-present
Manuel Neuer is the only goalkeeper representing the present day on our list. The German goalkeeper’s career has so far been limited to just two teams, Schalke and Bayern Munich. Manuel made a name for himself with the ‘cobalt’ team and earned the status of one of the greatest goalkeepers not only in German history but also in world football with the Munich team.
Neuer is a 2014 World Cup winner with Germany, as well as an 11-time German champion, two-time Champions League winner and winner of many other trophies. However, what is important is that Manuel is not just a goalkeeper. He feels so comfortable and at ease with the ball that when Josep Guardiola was working with Bayern, he even had to discourage Neuer from moving into the middle of the pitch as often as possible to link up with the midfielders. Taking unnecessary risks sometimes ended in failure for Manuel, but overall he is a model goalkeeper of a new era, and it would not be surprising if Neuer were soon ranked much higher than seventh in similar ratings.
6. Iker Casillas
- Nationality: Spain
- Years active: 1998-2020
Iker Casillas was lucky to make a name for himself in professional football at a very early age. What’s more, he did so immediately at a Spanish football giant, Real Madrid, when the Blancos were hit by a veritable epidemic of goalkeeper injuries. As a result, Casillas played 725 matches and won 18 trophies for one of La Liga’s best clubs.
But Iker’s successes are not limited to club level, as the goalkeeper has also achieved remarkable results for the Spanish national team, which are the envy of many. Casillas won two European Championships with the ‘Red Fury’ (in 2008 and 2012) and, in between continental championships, also won the 2010 World Cup. There is also a legend on the internet that once, during a match, fans of the opposing team decided to throw a water bottle at Casillas. However, the goalkeeper saw the bottle coming and, with excellent reflexes, caught it, preventing it from causing any harm. Reflexes are what made people believe in Casillas from a young age…
5. Sepp Maier
- Nationality: Germany
- Years active: 1962-1979
Sepp Maier is undoubtedly one of the best, if not the best, goalkeepers in the history of German football. He spent his entire professional career at Bayern Munich, winning the German championship four times, lifting the European Cup three times and winning the Cup Winners’ Cup once.
Jupp Maier still holds the record for the number of games played for Bayern (709), although Munich legend Thomas Müller is now close behind. He also proved himself in the German national team.
He played 95 matches for the West German national team, conceding 73 goals. With Sepp’s active participation, the Germans won the World Cup on home soil in 1974 and, two years earlier, became European champions at the tournament held in Belgium. In 1976, in Yugoslavia, the West German team was again close to victory in the continental championship, but in the final, they unexpectedly lost to Czechoslovakia in a penalty shootout (2-2, 3-5 on penalties). Interestingly, the winning goal in the series was scored by Antonín Panenka, whose shot later became iconic and was named after him.
4. Peter Schmeichel
- Nationality: Denmark
- Years active: 1981-2003
Danish goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel was at the peak of his fame and popularity in the 1990s when he played for Manchester United. Alex Ferguson’s team, which had virtually no equal in its homeland, became a true hegemony in Foggy Albion, largely thanks to Schmeichel’s confident play in goal. With his excellent physique and reflexes, Peter would sometimes pull off seemingly impossible saves, and, like Oliver Kahn, he struck fear into the hearts of everyone in his penalty area, whether they were his teammates or, even more so, his opponents.
A distinctive feature of Schmeichel was that when he came out one-on-one with an opponent, he often spread his legs wide, seemingly giving his opponent an opportunity, but in many cases he quickly closed them, leaving the forwards looking foolish. With him in goal, Manchester United completed the legendary treble in 1999, defeating Bayern Munich 2-1 in the Champions League final, while the Danish national team sensationally became European champions at the 1992 tournament hosted by Sweden. The Schmeichel goalkeeping dynasty was continued by Peter’s son Kasper, who won the Premier League title with Leicester and now plays for Belgian club Anderlecht.
3. Dino Zoff
- Nationality: Italy
- Years active: 1961-1983
Dino Zoff is still the oldest footballer in history to have won the World Cup. In 1982, when Italy triumphed at the World Cup in Spain, Dino was already 40 years old, but despite this, he not only led the Azzurri to their third championship in history and their first since World War II, but was also named the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
For Dzoff, victory at the 1982 World Cup was the crowning glory of his career, although Dino had previously been European champion in 1968 and won six Serie A titles with Juventus. Zoff played 112 official matches for Italy, a fantastic achievement for a time when football was not yet so commercialised and matches were not played with such intensity and frequency as they are today. It is also important that for long-time fans of the Italian national team, Dzoff will forever be remembered as a goalkeeper with incredible composure in stressful situations, as well as a very modest person in everyday life. This was directly stated by former Azzurri coach Enzo Bearzot: ‘Zoff was a balanced goalkeeper, able to remain calm in the most difficult and tense moments. But he always held back, both out of modesty and out of respect for his opponents.’
2. Lev Yashin
- Nationality: USSR
- Years active: 1950-1970
Soviet footballer Lev Yashin remains the only goalkeeper to have won the prestigious individual Golden Ball award from France Football. He is well known in Europe thanks to his participation in the 1960 and 1964 European Championships, in the first of which the Soviet team became champions and in the second, silver medallists.
Lev Yashin was often referred to in the European media as the ‘Black Panther’ because of his usually black goalkeeper jersey and remarkable acrobatic saves. In addition, it is known that during his professional career, Yashin saved about 150 penalty kicks and played about 270 ‘clean’ matches, for which he was recognised by FIFA, which named Lev the best goalkeeper of the 20th century. However, he did not make it to the top of our list, because later, in the 21st century, Italy produced a goalkeeper who managed to become the best of the best…
1. Gianluigi Buffon
- Nationality: Italy
- Years active: 1995-2023
Italian Gianluigi Buffon began his professional career in the mid-1990s, but became a true icon of football in the Apennines in the early and first two decades of the 21st century.
From his famous Serie A debut against Milan as a teenager to helping Juventus win eight consecutive Scudetti, Gianluigi Buffon has achieved a level of consistency that is simply unmatched. As his illustrious rival Casillas said: ‘It’s impossible to find any weaknesses in his game.’
In addition to being a national icon thanks to his role in Italy’s triumph at the 2006 World Cup, Gianluigi is also a Juventus legend for staying at the club despite its relegation following a corruption scandal. What’s more, at the end of his career, Buffon once again did not shy away from playing in Serie B, where he finished his career in the jersey of his beloved Parma.
During his career, Buffon won almost every major title, with the only exceptions being the European Championship (in the Euro 2012 final, Italy was beaten by a Spanish team that was absolutely outstanding at the time) and the “big-eared trophy” awarded for victory in the Champions League, although Gianluigi played in the finals of this tournament three times with Juventus.
So there it is! The best goalkeepers of all time in the history of football. Who do you think deserves to make the cut? Let us know in the comments below!
