GOAL counts down the finest shot-stoppers of the past 25 years, including Gigi Buffon, Manuel Neuer and Iker Casillas
Goalkeeper – it's the position that supposedly nobody really wants to play. Certainly, most kids grow up dreaming of becoming great goal-scorers, wing wizards or dominant defenders. However, over the past few decades, the role of the goalkeeper has evolved, and thus arguably become more important than ever before.
These days, 'sweeper-keepers' are all the rage, with the likes of Pep Guardiola requiring their No.1s to be far more than mere shot-stoppers. As well as keeping clean sheets with acrobatic saves, modern goalkeepers also have to be excellent with their feet in order to help their teams build play from the back.
So, as we approach 2025, GOAL has decided to look back on the 21st century so far and count down the game's greatest goalkeepers. As always, there are going to be some contentious calls, so feel free to let us know your thoughts in the comments section!
Getty25Dida
Dida had his critics during his career – particularly during the tail end of his spell at AC Milan – but he was a tremendous shot-stopper who worked wonders in terms of changing the negative perception of goalkeepers of colour in his native Brazil. Because of his height, he was usually a dominant force in the air, but he was also blessed with fantastic reflexes, as he so thrillingly undermined in the 2003 Champions League final, when he saved three Juventus penalties to help Milan triumph in the shootout.
Dida twice made the podium in the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper vote, in 2004 and 2005, while he also produced several important saves as Milan conquered Europe again in 2007 with a revenge win over Liverpool.
Advertisement(C)Getty Images24Yann Sommer
Yann Sommer is finally getting the credit he deserves having been one of the game's more reliable goalkeepers for the past decade. The Swiss shot-stopper was superb at Euro 2020, with a penalty save from Kylian Mbappe in the last-16 shootout win over France the undoubted highlight of his tournament – though he was also exceptional in the quarter-final loss to Spain.
Sommer also surprised everyone in Serie A by proving an upgrade on Andre Onana when he joined Inter from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023, with the veteran named in the Italian top-flight's Team of the Season after keeping more clean sheets than anyone else across Europe's 'Big Five' leagues.
AFP23Jens Lehmann
A man who appeared to support the stereotype that one has to be 'crazy' to be a goalkeeper, Jens Lehman generated plenty of headlines because of his on-field clashes with opponents and public criticism of team-mates. But while the former Arsenal ace is probably best remembered for his historic red card in the 2006 Champions League final loss to Barcelona, it's worth remembering that the Gunners wouldn't have made it to Paris without Lehmann's penalty save against Villarreal in the last four. He was also an ever-present for the 'Invincibles' during their undefeated 2003-04 Premier League campaign.
Lehmann, who started for Germany in the Euro 2008 final loss to Spain, may have been a bit mad, but he was also a top-class goalkeeper at his peak.
Getty22Hugo Lloris
Hugo Lloris has come in for his fair share of criticism over the years – primarily due to his sometimes poor distribution of the ball – but former Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho was always adamant that there was no better goalkeeper in the Premier League. Lloris was certainly capable of some stunning stops, while he was nearly always outstanding for France, whom he led to victory at the 2018 World Cup, as well as a runners-up finish in Qatar four years later.
"It was a joy and an honour to be his coach," Didier Deschamps said Lloris announced his retirement from international football. "I would wish for every manager to have a player like him in their squad."
