The 10 Most Painful Goalkeeper Saves Ever
Being a goalkeeper isn't easy. Not only are their mistakes more costly than any other player on the field, but their job is essentially to stand in the way of an unpredictable flying object travelling at up to 100mph.
Inevitably, this can lead to some painful saves, as Hamburg's Jaroslav Drobny discovered in Wednesday evening's DFB-Pokal game with Bayern Munich.
The Czech goalkeeper's block with a tender area of his body leads our list of the most painful attempts at stopping the ball.
Jaroslav Drobny (Hambuger SV) vs. Bayern Munich
1 of 10Drobny made some superb saves during Hamburg's German Cup loss to Bayern Munich, including a close-range toe poke from Philipp Lahm that struck him right in the "gentleman's area."
It's almost impossible not to wince watching it.
Boubacar Barry (Lokeren) vs. Club Brugge
2 of 10When Lokeren shot stopper Boubacar "Copa" Barry attempted to stop a long-range shot from Club Brugge's Carlos Bacca in May 2013, he ended up diving head first into the post.
The Ivorian managed to knock himself out cold and spent two days in hospital recuperating.
Alan Martin (Crewe Alexandra) vs. Northwich Victoria
3 of 10In January, League One side Crewe Alexandra were dumped out of the Cheshire Senior Cup by eighth-tier minnows Northwich Victoria.
Crewe keeper Alan Martin didn't have a great night, and it looked like it would get worse when one of his attempted clearances hit the back of an opponent and deflected back towards his own net.
He rushed back and prevented an embarrassing goal, but at the cost of smashing his back on the post so hard that it shook the goal frame.
Fernando Muslera (Uruguay) vs. Argentina
4 of 10Uruguay keeper Fernando Muslera provided some late drama in his nation's 2011 Copa America clash with Argentina when he made two brilliant extra time saves.
He saved the first shot with his legs and then kept a point-blank effort from Gonzalo Higuain with his face. Ouch.
Jenny Bindon (New Zealand) vs. Alex Morgan
5 of 10At the 2012 Olympics, USA's Alex Morgan found herself in a one-on-one situation with New Zealand keeper Jenny Bindon. The Kiwi shot stopper managed to prevent Morgan from scoring, but received a face full of knee in the process.
Heurelho Gomes (PSV) vs. Ajax
6 of 10Heurelho Gomes had a bad day at the office when his PSV Eindhoven side faced Ajax in March 2007.
Before he conceded a long-range effort from Wesley Sneijder, the Brazilian watched an incredible Edgar Davids volley hit the woodwork and then bounce straight into his face, temporarily stunning him.
Mitchell Langerak (Borussia Dortmund) vs. Napoli
7 of 10When Roman Weidenfeller was dismissed in Borussia Dortmund's Champions League clash with Napoli last season, Mitchell Langerak was brought in to deputise.
In the 67th minute, the Australian was unable to keep a brilliant Lorenzo Insigne free-kick out of his net, but in the process of trying to save it he hit his face on the post and chipped his two front teeth.
Langerak showed off his new Dumb and Dumber look on Instagram after the game.
Emanuel Tripodi (Quilmes) vs. Newell's Old Boys
8 of 10Argentinian keeper Emanuel Tripodi managed to keep a clean sheet for Quilmes against Newell's Old Boys in November 2012 thanks to a brilliant save—with his face.
It's not clear why Tripodi didn't use his hands to block this powerful long-range effort, but he doesn't seem too fazed by the ball smashing his visage.
Paulo Victor (Flamengo) vs. Fluminense
9 of 10The most recent Fla-Flu derby at the Maracana was a 1-1 draw in which Flamengo keeper Paulo Victor suffered a similarly painful sensation to Jaroslav Drobny.
As he punched away a Fluminense attack, Victor received a swift kick to the groin, leaving him writhing in agony afterwards.
Phil Babb (Liverpool) vs. Chelsea
10 of 10Phil Babb isn't a goalkeeper, but it would be remiss not to include his classic save attempt on this list.
Not only did the Liverpool defender manage to painfully scissor the post, but he was unable to stop Chelsea's Pierluigi Casiraghi scoring.
