Who are the best soccer goalkeepers? There have been numerous great goalkeepers in soccer history. These are a few goalies who had a significant impact in the game and were among the best goalkeepers of their respective eras.
Casillas is the best ever Spanish goalie. This goalkeeper was a key player of the 2010 Spanish World Cup-winning team. Overall, he conceded just two goals in several World Cup games, which is one of the best records of any goalkeeper to play in the FIFA World Cup. He made history by keeping four clean sheets in the knockout stages. Again, Casillas was the first goalkeeper to do this. Casillas was also the captain of the Spanish national team.
Other great World Cup goalkeepers include Zoff. The Italian goalkeeper played over 100 games for the Italian national team. In 1982, he was the captain of the Italian team that went on to win the World Cup. During this World Cup, Zoff was voted the best goalkeeper of the tournament. At 40, he was the oldest player to have won the World Cup.
At club level, Zoff played most of his football with Juventus during a time when the club was particularly dominant. Six Serie A titles were won with Zoff as the team’s goalkeeper, and then a UEFA Cup was also won.
Perhaps England’s finest goalkeeper, Banks, was England’s keeper in the 1966 World Cup. His form here was excellent, and it took until the semi-finals for Banks to concede a goal to Portugal. Banks remained England’s top goalie until the 1970 World Cup.
In 1970, he made some great saves, particularly against Brazil in the group stages. Pele’s header was going in, but for Bank’s great save. However, he missed the quarter-final game, in which England conceded three goals to the Germans. Today, Banks is regarded as perhaps the finest England goalkeeper, along with Shilton, who replaced him as England’s first-choice goalkeeper.
Lev Yashin was a Russian goalkeeper who played for the great Soviet Union teams of the 1960s. Yashin was a goalkeeper with great reflexes, a top penalty saver, and one who always assisted with organising defenders in and around the penalty box. Yashin won Olympic Gold with the USSR in 1956, and then played in the 1960 European Championship winning team.
In 1966, Yashin was a key player for the USSR team that reached the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup. Yashin remains the only goalkeeper to have received the European Player of the Year award in 1962. Today, Yashin is regarded as one of the great goalkeepers of the 20th century, and FIFA gave the Lev Yashin Award to the best goalkeepers of the FIFA World Cup up to 2010.
Peter Shilton played a record number of games (125) for England as first-choice goalkeeper across two decades. During that period, he played in all tournaments England qualified for in the 1980s and Italia ’90. Shilton kept a record number of clean sheets for the Three Lions and conceded less than a goal a game (80 in total).
Shilton also had a noteworthy and extensive club career. He played more than 1,000 games at clubs like Nottingham Forest, Stoke City, Leicester City, Derby County, West Ham, and Leyton Orient. His most notable performances were perhaps for Nottingham Forest, where he won the English league title, two European Cups, and the League Cup.
So, those are some of the best-ever soccer goalkeepers. They were goalkeepers who made a big impact in international soccer and set records for their national teams. When it comes to shot-stopping, they were five of the best players in soccer history.
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