Top 50 Greatest Footballers by Position

[Glavisted]

A few months ago a publication in which I wrote occasionally commissioned me to make some historical rankings by position for footballers because next year marks 50 years of existence. As they gave me freedom to do it, I started doing the first of goalkeepers and I want to know your opinions, criticism and suggestions, maybe your own rankings.


Top 50 Greatest Goalkeepers

This is the summary list, I posted the complete in my blog in Spanish with their respective descriptions (http://glavisted.blogspot.com/2010/10/top-50-de-arqueros.html):

50 Aleksei Khomich (Soviet Union)

49 Júlio César (Brazil)

48 Petr Cech (Czech Republic)

47 Gianluca Pagliuca (Italy)

46 Harry Gregg (Northern Ireland)

45 Viliam Schrojf (Czechoslovakia)

44 Hans van Breukelen (Netherlands)

43 Michel Preud'homme (Belgium)

42 Ronnie Hellström (Sweden)

41 Andoni Zubizarreta (Spain)

40 Émerson Leao (Brazil)

39 Sam Hardy (England)

38 Walter Zeman (Austria)

37 José Ángel Iribar (Spain)

36 Luis Arconada (Spain)

35 Ray Clemence (England)

34 Jürgen Croy (East Germany)

33 Ivo Viktor (Czechoslovakia)

32 Enrico Albertosi (Italy)

31 Frank Swift (England)

30 Neville Southall (Wales)

29 Bert Trautmann (Germany)

28 Antonio Ramallets (Spain)

27 Roque Máspoli (Uruguay)

26 José Luis Chilavert (Paraguay)

25 Walter Zenga (Italy)

24 Toni Schumacher (Germany)

23 Jean-Marie Pfaff (Belgium)

22 Gianpiero Combi (Italy)

21 Edwin van der Sar (Netherlands)

20 Gilmar (Brazil)

19 Íker Casillas (Spain)

18 Rudi Hiden (Austria)

17 Vladimir Beara (Yugoslavia)

16 Ladislao Mazurkiewicz (Uruguay)

15 Gyula Grosics (Hungary)

14 Ubaldo Fillol (Argentina)

13 Pat Jennings (Northern Ireland)

12 Rinat Dasayev (Soviet Union)

11 Peter Shilton (England)

10 Frantisek Plánicka (Czechoslovakia)

9 Oliver Kahn (Germany)

8 Amadeo Carrizo (Argentina)

7 Ricardo Zamora (Spain)

6 Sepp Maier (Germany)

5 Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)

4 Gordon Banks (England)

3 Peter Schmeichel (Denmark)

2 Dino Zoff (Italy)

1 Lev Yashin (Soviet Union)

 

[Lizarazu77]

Great but Jean Marie Pfaff should be in that list too

 

[Glavisted]

Great but Jean Marie Pfaff should be in that list too

He's 23rd.

 

[Lizarazu77]

i think i am blind,thanks

 

[Jumbo_]

No Shay Given. Very good.

 

[ThomasGOAL]

Barthez ? Champions League 93, World Cup 98 and Euro 2000, don't deserve a little place ?
Ok the defense are a wall, but it's a very good GK, make some mistake too

 

[gerd]

Barthez, i like youThomas, but seriously, not Barthez...he doens't even deserve to be in the top 200...apart from Coupet not a single French goalkeeper.

This is all very subjective of course, but why is Luis Arconada up there? Another walking disaster like Barthez (well not as bad as Barthez).

To me the top 5:
Schmeichel - Southall- Banks- Piot-Dassaev

There is something strange with the Belgian GK's, the all time top three:

1 Christian Piot
2 Michel Preudhomme
3 Jean Nicolay

You have the nr. 2 and Pfaff (before Preudhomme).
Believe me, every Belgian footbal expert will place those 3 (and others) before Pfaff.

 

[brunnoce]

No Shay Given. Very good.

hahaha, i could see taht coming..

Anyway Southall at 30 is a disgrace imho. Top 3 for sure.

 

[ThomasGOAL]

Barthez, i like youThomas, but seriously, not Barthez...he doens't even deserve to be in the top 200...apart from Coupet not a single French goalkeeper.

This is all very subjective of course, but why is Luis Arconada up there? Another walking disaster like Barthez (well not as bad as Barthez).

To me the top 5:
Schmeichel - Southall- Banks- Piot-Dassaev

There is something strange with the Belgian GK's, the all time top three:

1 Christian Piot
2 Michel Preudhomme
3 Jean Nicolay

You have the nr. 2 and Pfaff (before Preudhomme).
Believe me, every Belgian footbal expert will place those 3 (and others) before Pfaff.

I know you don't like French goalkeepers, i think you are a bit hard with Barthez IMO.
You prefer Coupet than Frey ?

About Michel Preud'homme, deserve a much better place than 43 (Top 10)

 

[gerd]

I forgot Frey Thomas, he's very good.
France as always got loads of fantastic football players but very bad goalkeepers.
If Preudhomme would have been French, then France would certainly have won a WC before 1998 (to be honest, this is bullshit, but you get my drift i assume).

 

[Glavisted]

Barthez ? Champions League 93, World Cup 98 and Euro 2000, don't deserve a little place ?
Ok the defense are a wall, but it's a very good GK, make some mistake too

He's one of the most decorated goalkeepers but the awards didn't play an important role in my opinion, won more individual skills and regularity in the time. I think Barthez didn't reach the level of one of the first 50 (some inconsistency in his career), but was the closest French with Julien Darui.

 

[Glavisted]

There is something strange with the Belgian GK's, the all time top three:

1 Christian Piot
2 Michel Preudhomme
3 Jean Nicolay

You have the nr. 2 and Pfaff (before Preudhomme).
Believe me, every Belgian footbal expert will place those 3 (and others) before Pfaff.

Piot and Nicolay were in my short list, but I didn't feel they could exceed the peak of performance of Pfaff, also better known and with a very celebrated career. Despite that, I must say I didn't find enough material of them to refute that Top 3.

 

[PLF]

So is van der Sar widely recognized as the best goalkeeper the Dutch have ever had? Or is there some debate about that in Holland? and for that matter elsewhere in the world? I knew he's a living legend but while I suspected it, I didn't know he's definitely also the greatest keeper in their history.

He's certainly the most capped, that's for sure.

 

[El Pajaro]

Sergio Goycochea wasn't probably the best goalkeepers in the world... his full career was nothing spectacular, and he was probably "limited" in some ways... but who else has almost single-handedly taken his country to the World Cup final, like Goyco did in 1990? He would probably be a world champion too (without FIFA and Havelange fixing the outcome).

For his legendary performance in that tournament alone (and being among the first PK specialists) he should have been on this list. At least in the spots between 50 and 45.

Other than that, it was a good list.

 

[Rentalkid]

He would probably be a world champion too (without FIFA and Havelange fixing the outcome).

What the ...?

 

[gigimarulla]

Where is Angelo "Tyson" Peruzzi? best italian goalkeper of the last 20 years with buffon imho, far better than Van der Sar for example, just to compare him with one of your list...

 

[brunnoce]

Where is Angelo "Tyson" Peruzzi? best italian goalkeper of the last 20 years with buffon imho, far better than Van der Sar for example, just to compare him with one of your list...

Agreed!
Peruzzi was as solid as u could get, problaby the most realible/consistent GKs in his time.
He wasnt about show boat stuff, but his positioning and antecipation skill were superb.

 

[lo zio]

Where is Angelo "Tyson" Peruzzi? best italian goalkeper of the last 20 years with buffon imho

Agreed!
Peruzzi was as solid as u could get, problaby the most realible GKs in his time.
He wasnt about show boat stuff, but his positioning and antecipation skill were superb.

+1
this sort of lists are obviously very subjective, but angelo certainly deserves a spot there.
btw congrats for your job glavisted! that's quite an impressive work u've done. and i didn't know u got some pieces published! that's impressive

 

[Glavisted]

Where is Angelo "Tyson" Peruzzi? best italian goalkeper of the last 20 years with buffon imho, far better than Van der Sar for example, just to compare him with one of your list...

I don't think he was as high as van der Sar but was very close in my short list, between the position 51 to 55. At least once someone one told me he was higher to Pagliuca, one that makes me doubt.

 

[Glavisted]

btw congrats for your job glavisted! that's quite an impressive work u've done. and i didn't know u got some pieces published! that's impressive

Thanks mate.

 

[ThomasGOAL]

And what about Andreas Kopke ?

 

[The_Special_One]

There are a couple of Portuguese keepers who should be in there. Vitor Damas, Bento or Vitor Baía were magnificent.

 

[Rentalkid]

Yeah, kinda missed Koepke and Illgner. Kahn and/or Maier need to be ranked higher, too. But opinions are subjective, so ...

 

[gerd]

Vitor Baia was a joke of a goal keeper.
Furthermore the importance of WC in lists like this is exagerated.
A WC is about 7 matches (now, earlier even less). You can not judge a palyer in 7 matches.
About Pfaff: everybody makes him a hero because of that one WC in 1986. Do you people now which GK conceded most goals in that tournament?




Pfaff...

 

[El Pajaro]

What the ...?

If this is not a fixed game and ridiculously biased refereeing, then what is?

YouTube - World Cup Final 1990 Argentina-West Germany (English commentary)

http://tripatlas.com/Edgardo Codesal

"On October 1999, Jorge Humberto Rojano, former president of the Mexican Referees Association, alleged in an interview with Mexican newspaper La Jornada that FIFA, at that time managed by Brazilian João Havelange, would only allow Codesal to supervise the final match if he prevented Argentina from winning[4][5][6][7]."

 

[Glavisted]

And what about Andreas Kopke ?

Yeah, kinda missed Koepke and Illgner. Kahn and/or Maier need to be ranked higher, too. But opinions are subjective, so ...

Köpke was also in my short list, close but I couldn't put him.

I don't think Illgner reached that level in spite his great regularity, actually, I had placed before his fellow Hans Tilkowski.

 

[Glavisted]

There are a couple of Portuguese keepers who should be in there. Vitor Damas, Bento or Vitor Baía were magnificent.

Personally, the Portuguese I had better position and greater chances was Alberto Costa Pereira. Despite that I think they were very good goalkeepers, I don't think any of those 3 could enter in a Top 50.

 

[Glavisted]

Furthermore the importance of WC in lists like this is exagerated.
A WC is about 7 matches (now, earlier even less). You can not judge a palyer in 7 matches.
About Pfaff: everybody makes him a hero because of that one WC in 1986. Do you people now which GK conceded most goals in that tournament?
Pfaff...

Actually, I believe I don't attach an exaggerated importance to the performance in World Cups, that's the reason because some popular legends of this tournament like Jan Tomaszewski, Cláudio Taffarel, Sergio Goycochea or Thomas Ravelli didn't make the list.

I selected to Pfaff basically by his golden years at Bayern Münich and even a couple of great seasons with Beveren.

 

[The_Special_One]

Personally, the Portuguese I had better position and greater chances was Alberto Costa Pereira. Despite that I think they were very good goalkeepers, I don't think any of those 3 could enter in a Top 50.

Costa Pereira was really great at his time, during the Benfica's golden era. Damas and Bento are Sporting and Benfica legends, respectively, but European opinion didn't give the same credit as we gave in here.

I'm waiting the next list. Really great idea mate.

 

[Glavisted]

I'm waiting the next list. Really great idea mate.

Thanks mate, I'm making the ranking of central defenders right now: http://glavisted.blogspot.com/2010/11/top-50-de-defensas-centrales.html