Soccer goalkeepers very seldom get the love they deserve. While goalscoring stars like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo grab the spotlight, the men between the sticks are often left forgotten on the sidelines, save for the occasional penalty shootout. But goalies are great in their own right, with the very best capable of changing the game as much as Messi or Ronaldo. But which one deserves the honor of being named “the best?”
Let’s turn the spotlight on three of the top contenders for the title – Manchester United’s David de Gea, Juventus’s Gianluigi Buffon and Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer – and lay out their respective credentials, statistical and otherwise.
Speaking of the best, get ready for the match that will name the best team in Europe with our preview of the 2015 Champions League final.
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Who is the Best Goalkeeper in Soccer?
The Case for David de Gea
Don’t Believe the Stats
[sc:Soccer240banner ]There’s something about David de Gea’s goalkeeping game that doesn’t translate well with stats. Squawka’s performance score, which is their catchall stat similar to the NBA’s PER or MLB’s WAR which looks to measure each player’s overall impact on a match, ranks de Gea as only the seventh best goalkeeper in the Premier League in 2014-2015. In the stat’s three-year history, that’s actually de Gea’s best ever placing.
The Eye Test
But when you watch the spry 24-year old make flying saves, he passes the eye test with flying colors. He’s arguably the best pure shot-stopping goalkeeper today, and has built up an impressive resume of unbelievable, world class saves during his time with Manchester United. There have been countless times these past couple of seasons wherein he singlehandedly saved United from the jaws of defeat.
The EA Sports Player Performance Index, which is located in the Premier League’s official website, has a much more favorable rating of de Gea. It ranks him as the league’s best goalkeeper in 2015. That’s certainly more in keeping with the eye test, as well as the opinions of just about anyone who knows anything about soccer.
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The Case for Gianluigi Buffon
The Reputation
Gianluigi Buffon’s reputation precedes him. The world’s most expensive goalie has been considered one of, if not the best goalies for close to two decades now. He was a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, and Serie A winner with Juventus multiple times. His status is such that he was runner-up for the Ballon d’Or in 2006, a rare feat for a goalkeeper.
The Stats
But Buffon is not in this list based on reputation alone. Even in his later years, Buffon has continued to be one of the elite goalies in the world, and the stats back that up.
According to Squawka’s performance score, Buffon has been the best goalkeeper in Italy for three years running, and by a significant margin. He hasn’t given up over 20 goals in the past three seasons, in large part due to his dominating presence in his own penalty area. He managed 2.8 catches per game in the league this season. Buffon has also been crucial in kick-starting his team’s offense from the back. His distribution accuracy has hovered well above 80 percent for the past three seasons.
In short, the 37-year old Buffon may be an oldie, but he’s still definitely a goodie.
The Case for Manuel Neuer
The Pedigree
Manuel Neuer is the consensus best goalkeeper alive today. A World Cup winner with Germany in 2014, Neuer has also won just about everything there is to win at club level with Bayern Munich. The sheer dominance of the team in front of him has sometimes been used against Neuer’s abilities, but when he’s been called upon, he’s shown his worth time and again.
The Complete Package
Neuer’s just about everything you’d imagine a German-engineered goalkeeper to be. He’s conceded less than 20 goals in each of the past three seasons, with 53 total clean sheets. His distribution accuracy consistently hovers in the 90s. He reads the game extraordinarily well, which has earned him the nickname “sweeper-keeper.” And the command he exudes in his penalty area is second to none, with an average claim success of over 90 percent over the last three years.
All of those stats equate to a Squawka performance score that is in the 1000s in those three years, which is really, really good. And that’s what Neuer is: really, really good. Perhaps even the best.
Conclusion
While de Gea has all the physical tools to be the best in the world, he’s not quite there yet. Meanwhile, the great Buffon has all the experience in the world, but he has lost some of the physical ability that made him the very best. Which is why Neuer is the pick as the best in the world today. He is at his physical prime and has consistently performed in big-game situations that warrant such a title.
