As the last line of defense, goalkeepers have a crucial role in defending the net from the attacking team. They are highly scrutinized, and their mistakes are much costlier than any other committed by their teammates. Iker Casillas once famously remarked “You may save ten shots in a match, but people will remember the one mistake you make.” But, today, we will re-live some of the most glorious and legendary goalkeeping heroics from the European Championship, to give our fellow shot stoppers some love and respect they so dearly deserve.
Euro 2024: Giorgi Mamardashvili
The Georgian side made history by defeating Portugal 2-0 on the final day of the group stage, and Mamardashvili is the key person behind that. The unrelentless bombardment of the Portuguese team produced 23 attempts, five of which were on target. Mamardashvili managed to fend off all of that and kept an unexpected clean sheet against Ronaldo and co, his first and only non-conceding performance in the tournament.
Moreover, the Georgian made a total of 29 saves; for context, both finalists goalkeepers, England’s Jordan Pickford and Spain’s Unai Simon, made a combined 26 saves. His heroic performance in the group stage earned Georgia’s first-ever participation in the Euro knockouts in their first attempt, and he might be looking for a big move this summer transfer window.
Euro 2020: Jordan Pickford
The English keeper is certainly playing in his second European Championship final this Sunday, but his performance leading up to his first final in 2021 was nothing short of marvelous. Before the final, Pickford conceded only one goal in the tournament: Mikkel Damsgaard’s strike in the semi-finals. While England failed to convert the penalties in the final, Pickford did the best he could and saved Jorginho’s and Italy’s final penalty to at least give them some hope.
Overall, Pickford made a total of 16 saves, the tournament’s third-best tally. By conceding only twice, he is comfortably ranked first in this metric. He also kept a campaign-best five clean sheets. This Sunday, he hopes to become the first-ever England goalkeeper to take the Henri Delauney trophy back home.
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Euro 2016: Rui Patricio
Portugal’s first title-winning campaign was nothing short of unbelievable, and the outfielders received all the credit. Eder scored the winning goal in the 109th minute; Pepe was credited for having a solid defense display; and Cristiano Ronaldo was hailed as a national hero for his leadership and dedication. However, Rui Patricio quietly had an all-timer performance; he made a joint-second best tally of 20 saves in 7 matches, conceding only five goals and kept four clean sheets, a joint-best amount.
In the final, France bombarded Patricio with a total of eighteen attempts, seven of which were on target. Patricio managed to defend his goal and team fearlessly, making seven saves. Portugal went on to win their first European Championship trophy.
Euro 2012: Iker Casillas
If Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest outfielder to play in this illustrious tournament, then Iker Casillas is surely the greatest goalkeeper to stand between the goalposts. The Spaniard is one of thirteen footballers to have won the Championship more than once, but his goalkeeping records elevated him from the rest. Casillas earned nine clean sheets, tied with Edwin van der Sar, five of which in 2012.
In fact, Casillas conceded only once in six matches, the all-time greatest ratio in the tournament’s history. After Italian Antonio di Natale’s scored against Spain in the opening match, Iker Casillas did not let anyone else score past him in the next 519 minutes all the way to the final. This figure remains the all-time record and looks to be undefeated for the rest of time.
The Best Goalkeeper from Every European Championship
(Players indicated with a * did not win that year’s championship)
2024: TBC, likely Giorgi Mamardashvili (Georgia)*
2020: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy)
2016: Rui Patricio (Portugal)
2012: Iker Casillas (Spain) / Gianluigi Buffon* (Italy) / Manuel Neuer* (Germany)
2008: Iker Casillas (Spain) / Gianluigi Buffon* (Italy) / Edwin van der Sar* (The Netherlands)
2004: Antonio’s Nikopolidis (Greece) / Petr Cech* (Czech Republic)
2000: Fabian Barthez (France) / Francesco Toldo* (Italy)
1996: Andreas Koepke (Germany) / David Seaman* (England)
1992: Peter Schmeichel (Denmark)
1988: Hans van Breukelen (The Netherlands)
1984: Harald Schumacher (West Germany)
1980: Dino Zoff* (Italy)
1976: Ivo Viktor (Czechoslovakia)
1972: Yevhen Rudakov* (Soviet Republic)
1968: Dino Zoff (Italy)
1964: Lev Yashin* (Soviet Republic)
1960: Lev Yashin (Soviet Republic)