I know I'm a donk, but I think Jussi Jääskeläinen is a top keeper.

Whoever had the keeper-bot idea, I totally disagree.

Bjorn made a post in another thread about how Petr Cech was sabotaging Chelsea's possession game by bombing the ball forward. Victor Valdes would probably be a starting striker for QPR with his footskills!

This got tough the further we moved down the order and then there is the middle where I don't really have that strong opinions on who is better than who. Not too mention keepers shortlisted or not shortlisted with decent arguments over probably many of the lowliest placed... but anyway here we go:

1. Manuel Neuer - Germany - Bayern München

I think I've said it before but it's worth repeating, the most complete goalkeeper I've ever seen. His size and imposing strength undeniably gives him some advantages that the great smaller keepers don't have, including his arguably closest rival Casillas, and he uses them to great effect commanding his area, yet he is somehow also a superb shot stopper with fantastic reactions, great hands and with his size/reflexes/fearlessnes a beast one-on-one then of course unlike legends like Schmeichel or Buffon or Kahn, very good with the ball at his feet. That's become really important for any team with ambitions of reaching the highest level of performance in current football. He even throws the ball longer than Schmeichel did and without it he has the aggression, perception and athleticism to act sweeper providing ideal support for an pro-active high-line playing team defense. It was a basketball-fan asking about this list and I'll go ahead and call Neuer the Lebron James of goalkeepers!

The only negative is playing for current supreme Bayern and that their usual Bundesliga match-picture makes looking awesome-impressive as a goalkeeper kind of tricky/non flattering hence Kicker (who we all know loves goalkeepers so much) only having him 9th right now among goalkeeper performances this season.


2. Iker Casillas - Spain - Real Madrid

For a long time the best goalkeeper in the world and it took a titan like Neuer putting all his supreme tools together to overtake him.

Casillas has probably slowed down a little when it comes to shot-stopping where I think most will agree he used to be in a league of his own. I don't think you can really say that he still makes the saves no one else can, but all in all he is still one of the very best shot stoppers.

The very subjective lack of serious mistakes eye-test, that unfortunately will be so crucial on this list, still makes him seem elite and mistakes are very rare. His command of the area is good especially playing the sweeper behind the defense making interceptions with his feet while when it comes to aerial challenges, his handling is good but he can never reach the level of a Neuer.

In general he is someone who still has a lot of speed which also makes him good one-on-one being very pro-active.

He is also comfortable with his feet taking good first touches and is a decent passer of the ball even if there are even better keepers at that from Spain and elsewhere on the list.

3. Samir Handanović - Slovenia - Inter

He has been closing in on the very best goalkeepers for a few years now, and on this list at least, has now also overtaken some of the bigger names.

It's very subjective and really nitpicking but amidst all the very praiseworthy goalkeeping talents of Handanovic I still think he makes more (which in this case is far from a lot) mistakes than Casillas ahead of him, so he will have to do with 3rd place.

He is an excellent shot-stopper who with his combination of length and reactions can make the kind of saves that very few others on the list are capable of. I think he even has an argument being the best of the lot. That weighs hugely here and that combined with improving to the point that he has no real weaknesses anymore (better hands now) and tremendous form the last couple of years earns him the ranking.

4. Hugo Lloris - France - Tottenham

I didn't really expect Lloris to go top 5 since I was even more high on him 2-3 years ago but here he is anyway.

Often compared to Casillas which makes sense, though Lloris is actually a little taller.

Another great shot-stopper which is a must to make it this high on the list and in general just very complete in all other areas. Reactions, positioning, very nice composure, technique, command of area. It's all good and text-book.

5. Maarten Stekelenburg - Netherlands - Roma

Maybe I'm overrating him but again I just don't see any weaknesses. Great physical tools all put into best possible use and some good technique makes him a very complete goalkeeper.

I've also always thought of him as a very good shot-stopper, even if not elite, but his save-percentages for Roma won't compare well too many.


6. Gianluigi Buffon - Italy - Juventus

Legendary goalkeeper who I think could both be moved up and down the list. Most would probably have him even higher still but I just can't get over how slow he is sometimes and how it's a very good thing that Juventus prevent shots on target so well.
I heard or read one stat that I can't find right now, that he was the keeper forced to make the least saves in the CL group stages and I believe it was a number less than five!

He used to be supreme overall and I still suspect that his positioning at all times is textbook-perfect making up for having slow legs, bad back etc. His reflexes when it comes to his hands actually remains very good, so you'd still have to call him one of the better shot stoppers where it's also pretty much always has been my impression that he is someone consistently making the right kind of saves not allowing dangerous rebounds.

FWIW his 0.832 save pct was best in Serie A last season.

When it comes to command of the area even at his best he has been a polarizing figure. I personally think that he has always been good in the air and that it's his obsessive never-take-any kind of chance attitude that makes him box the ball (instead of catching it) so much. He is long and makes good decisions.

With his feet he has never had great technique but overall adapted well I think to Juventus now passing it out from the back. He does okay and has even mastered some range where he can pass it to the wing over opponents high up the pitch marking the Juve defenders.

7. Joe Hart - England - Manchester City

Gone from underrated to overrated?

Underrated back in the day when Capello made one of his worst mistakes as a coach and didn't make Hart his World Cup number one preferring others instead but no one really made a fuzz about it until the others flopped. Overrated now where it seems there is a substantial mass out there championing him even as the best goalkeeper in the world, or very close to that at least.

Personally I think there are still too many lapses compared to those I've put ahead of him. He just makes more big mistakes for whatever reason, even in areas where he is superb like shot stopping, his hands will sometimes let him down or he can just be mistiming his positioning (in general) or go wild on some interceptions in the area.

Then there is his work, technique and decisionmaking, with the ball at his feet, which I think is very inconsistent and even hurt his team with the particular make-up that it has.

However, there is no doubt that he is one of the very best shot-stoppers with what must be an insanely valuable rate of making the saves that turn into goals for other keepers.

8. Asmir Begović - Bosnia - Stoke
9. Igor Akinfeev - Russia - CSKA
10. David de Gea - Spain - Manchester United
11. Victor Valdes - Spain - Barcelona

These four were difficult and I've changed my mind a lot.

I was tempted to be very brave and actually put de Gea above Hart and I even think that he has a case over Buffon. He is an incredible shot-stopper with his combination of length and reactions. With Neuer less active being at Bayern and all, I really don't know if there is a keeper better at preventing more certain goals. Rightly or wrongly I think that makes up for perceived (very likely overblown) weaknesses in a way that might not even be close. Sure he is not the strongest or biggest which meant some rough moments in England (and someone like Begovic ahead of him for now) but man I don't want him to lose ANY of that panther-like quickness that he has right now. It's so valuable.

Then there is his technique which is his other great asset. He definitely has a top 3 passing repertoire on this list. The kind that can be a positive and help a team perfect itself (so to speak) to a very high level in current football, but unfortunately for him it's not really being utilized so far at Manchester United where the make-up around him is for something else.

Maybe Valdes should still be ahead of de Gea. He has become a lot stronger in recent years. Being goalkeeper for Barcelona is definitely something unique and when it comes to the sweeper-stuff and on the ball phases that I talked about with other keepers, he does very well which is a must and helps him to this ranking in the first place.

Let's just say that if I was convinced he was a great shot-stopper he would be higher. I certainly don't think he is bad, I'm just not sure. His save percentage the last two season go from close(ish) to league worst 0.678 to league best 0.826 in 10/11. When it comes aerial play I don't think he is bad either but I'm not convinced he wouldn't look worse than de Gea did under similar conditions.

Akinfeev is tough to rank these days. He seemed amazing (and another one drawing comparisons to Casillas) a few years ago, then apparently has struggled more recently and even flirting with getting replaced on the national team by someone like Malafeev (who I can't stand) is a disaster. All in all though I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.

How good is Begovic with his feet? Apart from kicking it really long and high in the direction of Crouch. Now that is a good question that will likely never be answered while he is at Stoke but apart from that I think he is very complete. Very strong and also a good shot-stopper.

12. Julio Cesar - Brazil - QPR

It's only a few years ago he was regularly talked about as a top 3 goalkeeper in the world but for whatever reason his final years at Inter were plagued by more and more mistakes.

I think he is someone juuuuuuuust holding on to his ranking here because I'm lacking clear candidates to conclusively go past him.

He is still a good shot-stopper, whether it's more positioning or reaction these days and for his new team QPR I haven't really seen any, let's call them perceived de-Gea-like struggles adapting when it comes to interventions in the air where he generally seems to time it well, make good decisions and still look strong when handling himself and the ball.

13. René Adler -Germany - Hamburg

A few years ago Adler was frequently mentioned in the same sentences as Neuer. That's how good and promising he was. Then their careers and form took completely opposite directions, but apparently this season gone from Leverkusen, Adler is looking very good again. and hey he is actually Kicker's number one player so far in the Bundesliga, so I'm taking kind of a wild shot ranking Adler, who has proved earlier that he has all the tools, despite not having seen Hamburg much.

14. Tim Krul - Netherlands - Newcastle

Another goalkeeper with seemingly every tool needed and if his current season was as good as the last one, he would be higher. But he has been kind of in a slump.

15. Michel Vorm - Netherlands - Swansea

Great technique. Passing and touches the obvious strength thus ideally suited for Swansea. I also think that at the very least he holds his own in all other categories with some things being very good.

16. Pepe Reina - Spain - Liverpool

Not long ago arguably the best goalkeeper in England but at some point his form started getting gradually worse and currently he has been in serious a slump for a while.

At his best had pretty much everything including those excellent feet!

17. Thibaut Courtois - Belgium - Atletico Madrid

He looks to have everything and has become better and better in a hurry. There will be the odd mistake, and maybe this is too high, but the future is his and I guess with this ranking I'm making my suspicion that he is already better than Chelsea first keeper (and legend) Cech, clear for all to see.

18. Marc-André ter Stegen - Germany - Gladbach

His slump that seemed to start immediately the moment Löw started playing him for the national team might just be bad enough not be included, but last season isn't that far away after all and by all accounts Ter Stegen was unreal throughout helping his club to a great season.

0.811 save percentage was best in the league. Huge talent who did enough to keep this year's best performers behind him for now.

19. Salvatore Sirigu - Italy - PSG

I was surprised when PSG made him their choice in their giant project but I've been pretty impressed with him. He is a very good shot-stopper and in all others areas looks a lot more solid than I thought he was originally.

It's very possible that he is still not seen as better than the other very good keepers in Ligue 1. but all in all I'm naming him the best.

20. Petr Cech - Czech Republic - Chelsea

Maybe too low. He still makes very difficult saves and is strong in the air but definitely slipping with more mistakes compared to when he consistently was a top 3 or 5 keeper in the world. Maybe he even had periods where he was the best.

21. Anders Lindegaard - Denmark - Manchester United

Tricky to rank but while he is still new at this level I just don't see any real weaknesses. He seems to do everything very well which is really impressive.

It's a little crazy, but not even outright wrong or inexplicable, that he isn't Denmark's number one yet.

22. Diego Benaglio - Switzerland - Wolfsburg

I haven't been paying very close attention to Benaglio in recent times but I suspect at least that he is not quite as good as a few years ago where he was consistently excellent.

Maybe other Bundesliga keepers have a good case over him currently but for now I'm still a lot more familiar with Benaglio's qualities and that plays its part making him stay ahead.

23. Roman Weidenfeller - Germany - Dortmund

Similar reasons for Weidenfeller being ahead of some of the up and comers. He has had some really nice save percentages too and even if a little wild sometimes play the sweeper-role well for Dortmund. Very good goalkeeper but all in all I think a step below the best when it comes to talent.

24. Brad Friedel - USA - Tottenham

Still the number one American goalkeeper in my book! I wanted to hate him when he delayed Lloris entry at White Hart Lane, but instead was left impressed with how good Friedel just continues to be. Very strong in all his actions in the area. From the air to one-on-one. Also somehow remains a really good shot-stopper and I think that he has some of the safest hands you'll ever see.


25. Steve Mandanda - France - Marseille

Seems to always have rave reviews following him around and there is no doubt that he is very good with fantastic overall goalkeeping talent, but as very subjective as it unfortunately happens to be, just seems to underwhelm whenever I see him. It's very possible he should be higher though.

26. Cédric Carrasso - France - Bordeaux

Solid.

27. Roberto Jimenez Gago - Spain - Zaragoza

I don't really have that much of an impression and there might very well be better performers in Spain right now, but he did make a lot of teams of the year and award-shortlists in Spain behind Casillas last season, so that puts him ahead in my guessing-game.

28. Fabian Giefer/Kevin Trapp/Ron-Robert Ziele/Leno - Germany

All very likely very talented up and coming German goalkeepers. Maybe not all of them will be stars. Who is the more likely or the best right now I'm not sure but here they are ahead of various goalkeepers I'm less confident in.

29. Stéphane Ruffier - France - St. Etienne

I have no idea how he is doing right now but I was becoming a fan while he was at Monaco where I thought he had period where he was very impressive. More than good enough for this list with tons of talent. Since then it's been quiet. Possible some injuries and he is not really getting selected for the national team which is a worry. I'm interested in how he is doing.

30. Fernando Muslera - Uruguay and Galatasaray

He has some holes in his game compared to many others on the list but when he is on he someone who is better than most and can really keep his teams alive in a game with excellent saves. If he has found more consistency I think he is a good choice for a top 30.

La fin.

Hmm when I do look at it (look at them all!) I do kind of think, are these really the best goalkeepers in the world?? I mean it's not that I don't think they're all very good and all in their own right, of course not, but maybe there is a reason that I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone list more than a top 5 maybe just maybe all of 10 best goalkeepers in the world.

edit:

There are probably at least 10 keepers on there that a lot of people would be fully convinced actually sucked, but yeah find some better ones then.

been following this for so long

Pepe Reina is not good whenever I watch Pool. Tim Howard really should be on there, as should Wojciech Chesney IMO.

Some nice write ups. Casillas seems way too high at number 2, but then I can't justifiably put someone else there. Stekelenburg in the top 5 doesn't seem right for me too. But it's pretty tough ranking keepers in the first place especially when certain statistics can be misleading.

Re: Courtois

Chelsea are likely not be loaning him out next season, so it will be interesting what they do with him next year and if he forces his way as the number 1. The other option is loaning him out to a PL club but this seems like an unnecessary step imo.

WOOOO

And they laughed when I said Neuer > Cech

Did not expect us to have two keepers on the list tbh!

Also, Howard > Friedell.

And I can't believe Cesar is top X goal keeper.

He's better than Paddy Kenny...


....


but that's it

Cech obviously way way to low. DDG at United cant even hold down his place and if Cech was there he would be starting every game.

Chesney definitely has a good case to be included somewhere and I'm sure it's only a matter of time before he passes several people on that list. He has all the talent but falls to the very subjective I've seen him make a little bit too many (youthful) mistakes costing his team goals. If some of the talented German goalkeepers included on the shared ranking has done the same recently, then sure, his case is even better.

That compared to his impressive beginnings, I haven't been quite as impressed with his shot-stopping as I thought I would be, also plays in. Maybe poor positioning and/or misguided anticipation at times?

Howard I just knew I wouldn't put ahead of Friedel. He is a good keeper but I just think Friedel and others are on a higher level with less mistakes and ability to make the more difficult saves.

De Gea ranked where he is, is of course controversial.

Cech could have been closer to the top 10 still. It's close but despite still having some great strengths remaining in place, he is another one falling partly to the very subjective too many serious mistakes impression and of course I don't like his slowness and the whole area of his on-the-ball phases.

About the selection and shortlist:

I did look at just about all the national teams (as well as all clubs in major leagues of course) to find candidates but it's still THE position where many good enough for a case in the lower parts of the list can definitely fly under the radar in a number of the "lesser" leagues or a lesser club and there be a solid local star for a long time even, until he is maybe sold or just simply got too old with a real possibility that he only became very good too close to 30 years of age, to be really worth investing in for bigger clubs (or in some case maybe considered a solution for a national team rightly or wrongly thinking longterm) which I think used to be very common for goalkeepers.

Cant remember the last time Cech made a serious mistake for Chelsea. He did go through a phase of being prone to error but that was some time ago now.

I think Cech is underrated and Lindegaard overrated. Szczesny seems like he should be on there as well, youthful mistakes aside. Nice list though, agree that an accurate ranking of the top 30 goalkeepers is a pretty formidable/impossible task. Agree with OAFK that it seems like Cech's recovered well from whenever that dip in form was.

re: American goalkeepers - think Howard's actually had a pretty serious dip in form over the last 9 months or so (the first stage of this season at the very least), though it's gone relatively under the radar. Guzan seems pretty solid, but I mostly avoid watching Aston Villa apart from MOTD highlights so I can hardly speak with authority there. Maybe worth noting that Aston Villa allowed Friedel to depart for Guzan to take over the #1 role though?

The Great Wall, where is he?

he has improved all around and found his voice, one for the top imo.

Cech is way over rated by Chelsea fans on here, they seem to think he's equal with Neuer.

He makes grown men squeal like little girls, and not in a good way. His kicking is as bad as I've seen since we had Cloth Foot in goal and his command of his area isn't what it should be. Five years ago or whatever he was excellent. I guess he is a "good shot stopper", but that's his job.

I don't think any Chelsea fans think this. Most acknowledge that Neuer is probably the most 'complete' keeper at the moment. But there is certainly not 18 keepers between Neuer and Cech. He is way too low and last two seasons he has been almost as good as he was the first 2 seasons.

I agree with Bjorn that he can be a bit slow in possession but for so many years at Chelsea he has been forced to distribute in one particular way, especially with Drogba leading the line.

alex, former fenerbahce legend, is in coritiba now.

ganso is playing in são paulo.

The differance between current Cech and peak Cech is waafer thin.

I wouldn't have Lindegaard on the list, for the following reasons:

1. I think he's a good shot-stopper, but I have seen nothing to suggest he is a great shot-stopper, and shot-stopping is by far the most important goalkeeping ability.

2. His kicking can be very erratic.

3. I think the reputation he has as being good in the air is entirely undeserved, and stems solely from the direct comparison with De Gea. There was a time, especially earlier this season, where Lindegaard seemed to get better and better at aerial duels with every match he sat on the bench.

4. I question his mentality. For a 28-year-old, he actually has very little top-level experience, and I think there have been signs, e.g. against Reading, that when things aren't going his way he can wilt under the pressure.

--

Other than that I like the list. I haven't watched nearly enough football this past year to comment on most of the rankings - other than to say that I think De Gea should be higher because (1) he's awesome and (2) I probably rate shot-stopping more highly than anyone I know - but it's nice reading your thoughts on the players.

Szczesny does everything well, his kicking isn't a disaster this year as it was in his first season. He hasn't made as many mistakes as Cech since he became a starter, but when one of them costs you a trophy, it will be remembered. I'm not sure if he does anything great yet. Like Neuer, he seems really good at saving penalties, but with sample size and whatnot it's really hard to tell just how good a keeper really is at this skill. I think it's fair to not have him in the top 30 yet and wait a year to see if he can make the jump with his age. As far as his shot stopping goes, this year he's been very good at reflex saves, but has allowed 2-3 goals from outside the box that he shouldn't have.


No way Cech is near his prime now. That CL victory is clouding so, so, SO much there.

Agree with Howard. He seems to have lost a lot of command in his area of late, but hey, he did score a goal last season!

Hart is probably slightly overrated now, Cech is underrated by most non-Chelsea fans it seems, pretty sure he's better than de Gea & Reina (who has been pretty mediocre for a year or two now), not sure how he stacks up against Begovic, Vorm, & Krul exactly. they've obv had good runs, but i'd like to see a larger sample from those guys. oh and Julio Cesar? yeah idk about that anymore...

I always take the easy way out when it comes to goalkeeper and just accept that I have no idea how good most of them are because it's too much about sample size, consistency and stuff like coaching the defense / positioning without the ball etc etc that I can't judge well at all watching a couple televised games of them... so I don't really have an opinion on most of this but:

Was excellent before he left Ajax (and showed so for Holland on a higher level too (really good during the WC 2010 imo) and I dunno, I guess that would earn him top 10 but I don't know if he deserves the #5 spot. Especially with how he's doing @ Roma (which isn't quite as good from what I hear?)

AFAIK he isn't even PSV's #1 anymore (despite being a better pure goalkeeper if that makes sense).
Boy Waterman is now in goal, and AFAIK it is because the overall defense was just complete chaos with Tyton behind them and it's somewhat better now.


Anyway, as always I like your effort but I'm not nearly as interested in the result of this as I am in your (and everyone else's) opinions on outfield players, which are much more valid imo.

Just here to call BS on De Gea being better than Valdes.

Pretty sure it was you that said you'd have cech over neuer as 'theyre close' when it's as clear as day that neuer is a far better keeper and would be an improvement to Chelsea or any other team not named Madrid.

So to me that is Chelsea fans over rating him. He's a top keeper don't get me wrong but he's not as good as neuer. Or anywhere near him, so they're should be a gap between them.

This as well:-


Is lol