Best goalkeepers in football: From Iker Casillas to Manuel Neuer

Goalkeeping is often considered the most thankless job in football.

Unlike outfield players, who are in the thick of the action, goalkeepers get limited opportunities to even touch the ball during a match. However, most of the touches a goalkeeper needs to make during the course of a contest are vital.

Even the slightest of missteps from a goalkeeper can spell disaster for the team and more often than not, goalies are held responsible for losses, irrespective of how good his performance has been for the remainder of the match. And when a team wins, the credit almost invariably goes to the goal scorers.

Hence, on a football pitch, a goalkeeper’s role is always a tightrope walk, where nothing but perfection is acceptable.

While it’s near-impossible to sustain that level of consistency throughout one’s career, typically spanning 10-20 years, a few have managed to set lofty standards to be called legendary goalkeepers.

Here are some of the best goalkeepers of all time who have graced football.

Best goalkeepers in the world

Iker Casillas (Spain)

Iker Casillas is a modern-day legend and the cornerstone of Spain’s golden generation, which dominated the international stage from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s.

Besides possessing all the traits of a great goalkeeper, Casillas was known for his ability to stay calm under pressure and pull off astonishing saves at clutch moments in games to save his team. This earned him the nickname ‘San Iker’ or 'Saint Iker’.

The trait also made him a natural captain, arguably one of the best in football. Besides leading Spain to the European Championship trophies in 2008 and 2012, Iker Casillas also spearheaded Spain’s maiden FIFA World Cup triumph in 2010.

Iker Casillas, with 102 clean sheets in 167 matches for Spain, holds the distinction of being the only goalkeeper to have kept more than 100 clean sheets in international football to date. He has shut out opponents in over 60 percent of the matches - an astonishing figure.

Casillas is also considered a Real Madrid legend, having won numerous trophies with the Los Blancos, including five La Ligas and three UEFA Champions League. He represented Portuguese outfit Porto during the latter part of his career.

Iker Casillas also holds the record for the most clean sheets in the UCL by any goalkeeper - 57 in 177 matches.

Heart complications, unfortunately, cut Iker Casillas’ career short and the Spaniard had to retire in 2020 at the age of 39 - relatively young, considering the longevity of top-class goalkeepers in modern football.

Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)

Speaking of longevity of modern-day goalies, Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon, perhaps, is the finest example of them all. In his mid-forties, the Italian legend is still playing football.

Perhaps Casillas’ biggest rival for the title of the best goalkeeper of the 21st century, Buffon has a trophy cabinet almost as impressive as his Spanish rival.

The former Juventus star was the main man behind Italy winning the FIFA World Cup 2006. Buffon conceded only two goals in seven matches at the tournament and none from open play. One was an own goal and the other came from a free-kick.

Having made his debut in 1997, Buffon was the Azzurri’s first-choice keeper for almost two decades before he retired from international football in 2018 after Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia. He still is Italy’s most-capped player of all time.

In his 176 appearances for Italy, Gianluigi Buffon has kept 77 clean sheets - the second-most in international football after Casillas.

The Italian, who continues to play club football for Parma in the Serie B - the second-tier of Italian football - also holds the distinction of being the only goalkeeper with over 500 clean sheets in recorded history.

Manuel Neuer (Germany)

Germany has a tradition of producing fine goalkeepers and the likes of Oliver Kahn, Bert Trautmann and Sepp Maier are all legends in their own right.

Manuel Neuer, the current Germany No. 1, however, deserves a special mention. The former Schalke and current Bayern Munich man seems to have perfected the style of modern goalkeeping.

Neuer’s natural pace, physicality and ball control, which can rival a lot of top-class outfield players, make him a unique type of goalkeeper. This allows him to come out of his area and participate in the build-up play as well as snuff out dangerous situations playing as a sweeper keeper, allowing his teams to play a really high-line to put the opposition under pressure.

While it seems a risky ploy, Neuer’s presence makes it a viable strategy for coaches. Neuer is also a great passer and can distribute the ball from the deep with ease, making him a perfect playmaker from the deep if his team needs him to be.

The towering German is a top-tier athlete and possesses great reflexes, allowing him to produce astonishing saves. Neuer boasts a whopping 10 Bundesliga titles and two UEFA Champions League trophies under his belt and also helped Germany win the FIFA World Cup in 2014, ending Die Mannschaft’s 24-year wait for a World Cup trophy.

In his mid-thirties, Neuer may still tumble a lot more records before finally calling it a day.

Nadine Angerer (Germany Women)

Over a storied career which spanned over two decades, Nadine Angerer was part of a Germany women’s football side which won two FIFA Women’s World Cups (2003 and 2007), five consecutive European Championships (1997 to 2003) and three Olympic bronze medals (2000, 2004 and 2008).

Interestingly, Nadine Angerer was not the first-choice keeper in the World Cup in 2003 but got a chance to play in the 2007 edition after an injury to Silke Rottenberg, for whom Angerer deputised in the national team for over a decade.

It turned out to be a landmark moment for both Angerer and world football as she went through the entire tournament without conceding a single goal in over 540 minutes played.

Nadine Angerer is also the first goalkeeper in history to win the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year award in 2013.

Apart from the above-mentioned players, the likes of Gordon Banks, the hero of England’s 1966 World Cup triumph, Manchester United legends Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar, USA women’s team icon Hope Solo, Italian World Cup winner Dino Zoff are some noteworthy goalkeeping greats.