Top 10 goalkeepers of all time

Top 10 goalkeepers of all time

Our list of the ten greatest and most successful goalies ever

10. Sepp Maier

Country: Germany
Years active: 1962 - 1979

Maier who played for Bayern Munich has won a World Cup, a European Championship, three European Cups and three Bundesliga titles. Maier has also been crowned German Footballer of the Year, on three separate occasions and has played for West Germany in not one but four consecutive World Cups.

9. Edwin Van Der Sar

Country: Netherlands
Years active: 1990 - 2008

During his career Van Der Sar was signed to four prestigious teams, Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. One of Van Der Sar's most significant career accomplishments was managing to win the Champions League, with two different teams, Ajax in 1995 and Manchester United in 2008. Van Der Sar also holds the record for the most minutes played without letting in a goal, 1,311 minutes and has made 130 appearances for his national team, the Netherlands. 

8. Pat Jennings

Country: Northern Ireland
Years active: 1963 - 1986

In 1983 Jennings became the first player to make over 1000 appearances as a professional senior player. In total Jennings played 237 matches for Arsenal and 472 matches for Tottenham Hotspur and was part of multiple FA Cup winning teams. Jennings also played 119 matches for Northern Ireland and holds the record for being the oldest player to play in a World Cup. Jennings was 41 at the time.

7. Fabian Barthez

Country: France
Years active: 1990 - 2007

Barthez played for a variety of top level French teams such as Toulouse, Marseilles, and Nantes and was contracted for a four year stint at Manchester United. However, it was his appearances for the French national side which he is best known for. During his career Barthez won the 1998 World Cup as well as the Euro 2000 tournament. In total Barthez made a whopping 87 appearences for France.

6. Gylmar Dos Santos Neves

Country: Brazil
Years active: 1951 - 1969

The man who was known as Gilmar played for Santos, alongside fellow legends Pele, Pepe and Zito. Whilst playing for Santos, Gilmar won five national championships as well as two Intercontinental Cups. The latter of which were earned for beating Benfica and Milan. Gilmar also represented Brazil in three consecutive World Cups. Amazingly, Gilmar was part of two World Cup winning teams, the first of which was the 1958 squad and the second of which was the 1962 squad. To this day Gilmar is the only goal keeper in history to have won two consecutive world cups, in a starting position. 

5. Bert Trautmann

Country: Germany
Years active: 1948 - 1964

Trautmann, who fought for Germany during WW2, was signed to Manchester City in 1949. Although there was opposition to his signing, Trautmann went on to make 545 appearances for Manchester City. His most notable being in the 1956 FA Cup Final where he continued to play, after breaking his neck. In fact if it weren't for the saves which Trautmann made, Manchester City wouldn't have gone on to win the match 3-1. 

4. Hans Van Breukelen

Country: Netherlands
Years active: 1975 - 1994

Van Breukelen made 73 appearances for the Netherlands as well as playing for Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven. During his 16 year career, Van Breukelen won six national titles, playing for PSV Eindhoven. Although the highlight of his career may be winning the 1988 European Championship final, after winning a penalty shootout in PSV Eidhoven's final clash against Benfica.

3. Gianluigi Buffon

Country: Italy
Years active: 1995 - present

Gianluigi Buffon is the captain of both Juventus and the Italian national team. He holds the record for playing the most matches for Italy and currently holds the records for the most clean sheets in the Serie A. Arguably one of the highlight's of Buffon's career was leading the Italian national team to their 2006 World Cup victory. During which he kept five clean sheets and an impressive 453 minute scoreless streak.

2. Lev Yashin

Country: Soviet Union
Years active: 1950 - 1970

Lev Yashin made 326 appearances for Dynamo Moscow and 78 appearances for his national team, the Soviet Union. Many consider Yashin, who is also known as the black spider and the black panther as the greatest goaltender of all time as he kept over 270 clean sheets and saved 151 penalty kicks. As testaments to his incredible career, Yashin was awarded the Order of Lenin and had a bronze statue erected at the Dynamo Stadium.

1. Iker Casillas

Country: Spain
Years active: 1998 - present

Not only is Iker Casillas the captain of Real Madrid but he is also the current captain of the Spanish national team. In 2008 Real Madrid won the UEFA Championship under Casillas leadership. Two years later, Casillas led Spain to a World Cup victory in 2010 by saving two of Dutch player Arjen Robben's shots from hitting the back of the net. Also in 2012 he was voted into the UEFA Team of the Year for a record sixth consecutive time. Casillas has also been awarded the IFFHS World's Best Goal Keeper Award five times in a row, these accomplishments made him one of the best goalkeepers of all time.