The GOAT amongst Goalkeepers: Who is the best?

The greatest goalkeeper in history has been a debate for ages. There are so many world-class shot-stoppers that it makes it even more difficult to choose amongst them. We have seen how the influence of the goalkeeper has increased in the gameplay. This makes it all the more difficult to compare goalkeepers from different generations.

This of course didn’t stop the fans from ranking their favorites. Ranker saw thousands of fans voting for the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the sport according to their opinion. When we checked the list (25^th July) 236.4k votes had been placed. Here are the top 25 as of now!

The Rankings

• 25^th – Tim Howard (United States of America)
• 24^th – Dida (Brazil)
• 23^rd – Hugo Lloris (France)
• 22^nd – Jens Lehmann (Germany)
• 21^st – Thibaut Courtois (Belgium)
• 20^th – Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Germany)
• 19^th – Sepp Maier (Germany)
• 18^th – Guillermo Ochoa (Mexico)

While we don’t think some names belong to the list, we’ll settle for the rest. Atletico Madrid’s Oblak is currently the best in the business. Even Lloris and ter Stegen justify their ranks. In the years to come, we could even see Oblak move up the list.

• 17^th – Fabien Barthez (France)
• 16^th – Jan Oblak (Slovenia)
• 15^th – Gordon Banks (England)
• 14^th – Keylor Navas (Costa Rica)
• 13^th – David De Gea (Spain)
• 12^th – Jose Luis Chilavert (Paraguay)
• 11^th – Dino Zoff (Italy)

Banks deserves to be in the top 10. The England legend should be far higher up in the list. He is almost equal to the likes of Schmeichel, Cech, and Van der Sar.

• 10^th – Igor Akinfeev (Russia)
• 9^th – Oliver Kahn (Germany)
• 8^th – Peter Schmeichel (Denmark)
• 7^th – Petr Cech (Czech Republic)
• 6^th – Edwin van der Sar (Holland)

While it is tough to digest that Oliver Kahn isn’t in the top 5, we agree with most of the other rankings. We still can’t forget Van der Saar’s 2007-08 season. He literally won Manchester United their Premier League title and the Champions League. Saving the final penalty of the penalty shoot-out to win the Champions League isn’t child’s play. Even Schmeichel’s position seemed slightly off. The Danish international is often regarded as the greatest goalkeeper in Premier League history.

… and the top 5

• 5^th – Manuel Neuer (Germany)
• 4^th – Iker Casillas (Spain)
• 3^rd – Rinat Dasayev (Soviet Union)
• 2^nd – Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)
• 1^st – Lev Yashin (Soviet Union)

We weren’t here to see him play, but the greats of modern-day football tell his tales. No one can argue with Yashin taking the top spot. To date, “The Spider” remains the only goalkeeper to win the Ballon d’Or. This is a feat we don’t see anyone achieve soon. A true legend in all senses!