5 Best Goalkeepers in World Football
Like any player in football, there are good goalkeepers and elite goalkeepers.
What we've done here is pick the five most "elite" goalkeepers and then try to rank them—a seemingly impossible task and one that will no doubt divide plenty of people.
We've thrown a handful of the goalkeepers knocking on the door of these elite five in the honorable mentions list; some of them might be in this top five in the next few years. Others are heading in the opposite direction as their careers, and form, are taking a dive.
Read on and see the best five goalkeepers in world football. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it all, so make sure you leave your top five in the comment below!
Honorable Mentions List
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Thibaut Courtois, 21, Atletico Madrid
Courtois has the skills and experience needed to become a seriously good goalkeeper at some point in his career. But right now, he's not quite there. The vast majority of his clean sheets are down to the brilliance of Miranda and Diego Godin in defense rather than any individual showing.
David De Gea, 23, Manchester United
Talk of De Gea being susceptible to aerial balls still exists, but it must be noted that the Manchester United shot-stopper has dramatically improved in this department and is no longer making the "silly" errors that hall-marked his career up until this point. If he continues to improve, there's no reason he can't break into the top five at some point in his career.
Iker Casillas, 32, Real Madrid
Hard to leave him out of the top five, but Casillas is largely an unknown entity at this point. Not wanting to bark up the same tree that everyone else does, but until he gets regular playing time at Los Blancos (which simply isn't happening), it's hard to take him over any of the current five—as brilliant as his career has been with the Spanish heavyweights.
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, 21, Borussia Monchengladbach
Definitely one to watch in the future, especially if he makes a move in the next few years to a bigger club. He has tremendous reflexes and commands the penalty area.
Diego Lopez, 32, Real Madrid
Casillas might have been getting the attention for being dropped, but it's important to note that he was dropped for a reason: the brilliance of Lopez. He's been excellent since taking the starting spot from "Saint Iker" and will certainly be key for Los Blancos throughout this year once more.
Hugo Lloris, 26, Tottenham Hotspur
Certainly one on the rise. His muffed clearance against Manchester City might not have shown it, but Lloris is a tremendous goalkeeper. He seemingly always gets something on goals and manages to keep out a number of shots every single match that other keepers might let through.
Tottenham's defense (up until the City game) has been one of the best in the league, and unlike Courtois, his defenders weren't necessarily covering for him—Lloris simply is one of the best in the Premier League.
Asmir Begovic, 26, Stoke City
Begovic will move on from Stoke. It's inevitable. When he does, look for the 26-year-old to make a big impact at a high-profile club. He's got tremendous reflexes and reads the game better than most.
5. Willy Caballero, 32, Malaga
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Malaga might quite not be the dominant force that they were in years gone by (when they had Santi Cazorla and Isco running the show), but the Spanish club still manages to hang in there against some of the best in La Liga—and the biggest reason for that is their shot-stopper.
Willy simply has a knack for getting something—a foot, a hand, a chest—on shots that come his way, and he is excellent at shutting down the angle when attackers are played through on goal.
His 52 total saves in 14 league games this year is the second-most saves by any La Liga goalkeeper, with his 2.48 average saves per goal also a very strong average.
4. Gianluigi Buffon, 35, Juventus
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A Juventus legend and Italian hero, Buffon has long been one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and he continues to justify his selection with continued success at the back.
In 12 league appearances this season, the 35-year-old has racked up seven clean sheets and continues to keep Juventus in the hunt for the Serie A title as a result. The seven saves he registered against Lazio in the club's second game of the year (where they won 4-1) were simply another reminder of the timeless talent that Buffon possesses and the excellent form that he's in.
3. Petr Cech, 31, Chelsea
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Courtois is largely viewed as the goalkeeper to "replace" Petr Cech.
But the question is, when is Cech going to need replacing? He's in great form and continues to make brilliant save after brilliant save. Given that he's only 31—which is by no means old in terms of goalkeepers—it might be another five or six years before Cech loses the starting job at Stamford Bridge.
And given his continued success, it's hard to argue against that.
Cech again finished the year with a save success rate of above 90 percent. While that number has slightly dropped this year (making just 1.8 saves per goal), the 31-year-old still continues to justify his selection every week with composure and consistency in goals.
He's not only a great goalkeeper, but also one of the club's best leaders.
2. Manuel Neuer, 27, Bayern Munich
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Bayern Munich's dominance over the past few seasons certainly hasn't gone unnoticed—particularly in terms of their defense, which has been one of the stingiest in world football.
Much of this is down to the likes of Dante and David Alaba at the back, but it's also largely down to their German shot-stopper in Neuer, who continues to make a case for being the best goalkeeper in the world (which there's certainly a very strong argument for).
Almost incredibly, Neuer is ranked as Bayern's best player in the Bundesliga this season by Squawka, with a Total Performance Score of 522. He has kept seven clean sheets from 13 appearances, with the German international averaging an incredible 3.83 saves per goal.
It's also important to note that Neuer plays a really important part as a sweeper-keeper in Bayern's possession system. Often the goalkeeper is called into action—he could be called a fifth defender since he touches the ball that often. His passing and ability to keep the European champions in control of the match is a truly underrated side of his game.
Oh, and he's only 27.
1. Salvatore Sirigu, 26, Paris Saint-Germain
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As good as Neuer (and the other goalkeepers mentioned) might be, Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu is the best shot-stopper in the world at the moment.
The 26-year-old has risen to notoriety over the past few years and has become a huge part of the capital club's dominance this season in particular. His saves-per-goal ratio in the UEFA Champions League is currently up at a whopping five saves, while in Ligue 1 it's still a very commendable 3.14 saves.
The heir to Buffon in the Italian team could well be looking at a starting spot come the 2014 World Cup.
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All statistics provided via Squawka unless noted otherwise.
