The goalkeeping role is huge on the football field. These players have a strong responsibility to act as a final barrier, keeping the ball out of soccer goals. Many goalkeepers became famous worldwide for their excellent defense skills and impressive saves. Below is our list of the best goalkeepers of all time, including names of famous football legends, inspirers, and iconic sports figures.
The list contains current players and all-time legends that hit the hearts of millions of football fans. Some of them will be a part of our memory, while others will defend the gates of our favorite teams in the future. For us, 1XBET presents various football tournaments to help us make predictions.
Lev Yashin
Soviet football legend – Lev Yashin – is one of the greatest goalkeepers, getting to first place in the ratings of many reputable football magazines. His performance for Dynomo Moscow after World War II was awarded well, as he was also a deputy of the Football Federation of the Soviet Union.
| Career appearances | 812 |
| Number of penalty saves | 150 |
| Caps at the World Cup | 12 (4 clean sheets) |
| Clean sheets | 270 |
His professional football career started in 1950 after his debut at Dynamo Moscow. Before international fame, he played in local leagues until 1954, when he was invited to the Soviet National football team. Lev Yashin’s moment of fame began at the first World Cup in 1958 when he was nicknamed “Black Partner” and the “Black Spider” for wearing dark blue playing clothing. At that time, he had no idea that these nicknames would cultivate his legacy.
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon, an Italian football star and former professional goalkeeper, was the most prominent player with 1000+ career appearances in the pro leagues. He finished his career just recently, having played for high-league football clubs such as Parma, Juventus, and PSG for 28 years in total.
| Career appearances | 1100 |
| Number of penalty saves | 30 |
| Clean sheets | 501 |
Buffon has contributed significantly to football in Europe, specifically Italy. 2006 World Cup Italy’s triumph was achieved with his talents. Although he could not get the Championship League title, his consistent performance over the years made him reach enormous heights.
Iker Casillas
“San Iker” is a Casillas nickname fans give for his impressive ball-stopping abilities and miraculous saves. It stands for Saint Iker, representing one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. Casillas is a former Spanish goalkeeper who holds a record of having the cleanest sheets in the Spanish League. For most of his career, he played for Real Madrid, and only 5 years before footballer retirement, he played for Porto, a Portuguese football club.
| Career appearances | 1000+ |
| Number of penalty saves | 23 |
| Clean sheets | 177 |
Thanks to Caillias, Spain rarely concede goals, being one of the strongest national football teams in the world. His career picks stand out from 2008 to 2012, when he brought teams to win World Cup and two Euros. In August 2020, “San Iker” officially announced that he would quit his professional career and become an adviser at Real Madrid. Also, Iker currently sits on the football commentator chair, working at RTVE, Movistar Plus+, and Azteca Deportes.
Peter Schmeichel
Schmeichel is an iconic goalkeeper from Denmark, playing the biggest part of his career for Machester United. During his professional career, he received 15 trophies, winning the Premier League, FA Cups, and UEFA Champions League in 1992. His career in national sports counts 129 appearances for the Danmark National team.
| Career appearances | 748 |
| Number of penalty saves | 3 |
| Clean sheets | 128 |
Peter’s ambitions made him to Manchester United in 1991. He was signed for £505,000, which later Alex Ferguson called a “bargain of the century,” as his performance of Peter was phenomenal, having 22 clean sheets in the 1992-1993 season. In the last season (2002-2003), he played for Machester City, having participated 29 times.
Manuel Neuer
Bayern Munich’s current captain and goalkeeper, Manual Neuer, is one of the most successful football players. He’s known as a sweeper-keeper for his impressive defensive strategy of going out of a penalty area to anticipate opponents. His influence on all football enthusiasts and the performance for his club made him the best goalkeeper of a decade (2010-2020).
| Career appearances | 537 |
| Number of penalty saves | 17 |
| Clean sheets | 224 |
Neuer has won 28 trophies since he was signed with Bayern Munich. As he plays in the Bundesliga, 11 trophies are from there. However, the biggest and most prestigious awards are two UEFA European Championship titles in 2013 and 2020. In addition, he is the record owner of the most clean sheets in his league, reaching 183 after his first 100 appearances.
Dino Zoff
Back to the 20th-century football legends. Dino Zoff is a former football goalkeeper with an incredible career from 1961 to 1983. One of his major achievements is being the oldest goalkeeper to win the World Cup at the end of his playing career. Despite the great performance of the national team, Dino made a significant contribution to teams like Udinese, Mantova, Napoli, and Juventus.
| Career appearances | 570 |
| Number of penalty saves | 11 |
| Clean sheets | 276 |
At Juventus, he had 330 matches from 1972 to 1983. After his career as a goalkeeper, he started his managerial work, guiding Juventus, Lazio, and Fiorentina players and the Italian national team. His impact on the national team was great, making it to the Euro 2000 finals.
Oliver Kahn
His aggressive goalkeeping abilities made him one of the greatest players. Oliver Kahn is a German former professional football player of Karlsruher SC, Bayern Munich, and the national German team. The specific approach to his aggressive playing style was that he was nicknamed Der Titan and Volcano.
| Career appearances | 630 |
| Number of penalty saves | 13 |
| Clean sheets | 204 |
During his goalkeeping journey, he received UEFA Best European Goalkeeper awards, as well as three IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper awards. After he left Bayern Munich and retired in 2008, he worked as a club manager until he got invited to the operational department of Bayern Munich. As a result, he was the CEO of this team for three years till 2023.
Sepp Maier
Sepp Maier is a legendary goalkeeper from West Germany, Metten, with an all-time record of the most appearances for the Bavarian club. During his career, he acquired four titles from the Bundesliga, a trio of European Cups, and three DFB-Pokal crowns.
| Career appearances | 709 |
| Number of penalty saves | 9 |
| Clean sheets | 137 |
Maier spent most of his career playing for Bayern Munich (1962-1980), participating in 537 matches. His recognition came after excellent seasons in 1975, 1977, and 1978, as well as corresponding awards for German Footballer of the Year from all three seasons.
Gordon Banks
Banks’s sports achievements and career awards are part of the National Football Museum Hall of Fame. He was an England professional football goalkeeper who played between 1959 and 1977. His first senior career began at Chesterfield FC and went through Leicester City, Stoke City, Cleveland Stokers, Hellenic, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, and St Patrick’s Athletic.
| Career appearances | 679 |
| Number of penalty saves | 1 |
| Clean sheets | 35 |
His career pick matches went to Leicester City and Stoke City football clubs. Banks’s phenomenal performance at these two clubs qualified him to become FWA Footballer of the Year in 1972. In addition, he was named the second-best goalkeeper of the 20th century by the IFFHS organization after Lev Yashin.
Thibaut Courtois
Thibaut Nicolas Marc Courtois is Real Madrid’s current line-up goalkeeper who can be the greatest of the 2020s. He is a Belgian professional football player who began his goalkeeper journey playing on the Genk team in 2009. Then, he was transferred to Chelsea with a loan at Atletico Madrid, where he won the La Liga title, Europa League, and Copa del Ray and lost in the finals of the UEFA Champions League.
| Career appearances | 291 |
| Number of penalty saves | 12 |
| Clean sheets | 16 |
To date, Thibaut has had 180 matches for Real Madrid and 106 for the Belgium national team. Many of them were successful due to Courtois’s terrific reflexes, acrobatic saves, and confident defense skills in the penalty area.
Conclusion
Great football stars make us football fans love this sport, watch every single event, cheer for our favorite teams, and make tricky predictions on the match outcome. For others, such goalkeepers as Lev Yashin or Manuel Neuer become inspirers.
