The World's Top Goalkeepers (2019)

Everybody Soccer returns with the annual list of top goalkeepers in the world. This year features 50 of the current top goalkeepers as well as another 50 goalkeepers under the age of 24. While some goalkeepers are likely to be sent out on loan (Sergio Rico and Kevin Trapp for example), the parent club has been listed unless an official deal has been made. Check back next month for a similar list for the women’s game. Cover photo from DW.com.

:::::: Updated Rankings ::::::

- Men’s Top 50 (2020)
- Women’s Top 15 (2020)
- Men’s Top 24 Under 24 (2020)

:::::: Updated Rankings ::::::

1. Marc ter Stegen, Germany (Barcelona, SPA) - 27
2. Jan Oblak, Slovenia (Atlético Madrid, SPA) - 26
3. Keylor Navas, Costa Rica (Real Madrid, SPA) - 32
4. David de Gea, Spain (Manchester United, ENG) - 28
5. Ederson, Brazil (Manchester City, ENG) - 25
6. Alisson, Brazil (Liverpool, ENG) - 26
7. Yann Sommer, Switzerland (Mönchengladbach, GER) - 30
8. Rui Patrício, Portugal (Wolverhampton, ENG) - 31
9. Thibaut Courtois, Belgium (Real Madrid, SPA) - 27
10. Lukas Hradecky, Finland (Bayer Leverkusen, GER) - 29

One to Watch: Thibaut Courtois. Courtois’ vast, negative reception after receiving the 2018 World Cup Golden Glove has been strange, to say the least. Courtois is far from one of football’s villains, although he can be quite the prick at times, but there seem to be more rooting for him to fail than succeed at Real Madrid. Often described as one of the worst best goalkeepers in the world, Courtois should finally have Real Madrid to himself with the pending exit of Keylor Navas. Real Madrid isn’t known as a club with patience and if Courtois can’t prove to his critics he’s worthy of the starting spot, don’t expect him to stick around too long.

11. Bernd Leno, Germany (Arsenal, ENG) - 27
12. Hugo Lloris, France (Tottenham Hotspur, ENG) - 32
13. Jasper Cillessen, Netherlands (Barcelona, SPA) - 30
14. Salvatore Sirigu, Italy (Torino) - 32
15. Manuel Neuer, Germany (Bayern Munich) - 33
16. Lukasz Fabianski, Poland (West Ham United, ENG) - 34
17. Anthony Lopes, Portugal (Lyon, FRA) - 28
18. Kepa Arrizabalaga, Spain (Chelsea, ENG) - 24
19. Sven Ulreich, Germany (Bayern Munich) - 29
20. Roman Bürki, Switzerland (Dortmund, GER) - 28

One to Watch: Jasper Cillessen. The longtime backup for Barcelona is finally getting a fresh start and hopefully his own net. After being linked with a number of Premier League clubs, it seems Valencia will be the new home for the Dutch goalkeeper. Cillessen may be looking at less hardware with Valencia when compared to Barcelona, but he’ll still be seeing Champions League matches and be in the middle of a tightly contested La Liga table to return to the prestigious tournament next year. Cillessen has long awaited his breakout chance but now it’s up to him to prove he’s more than a great backup.

21. Alphonse Areola, France (PSG) - 26
22. Jordan Pickford, England (Everton) - 25
23. Kasper Schmeichel, Denmark (Leicester City, ENG) - 32
24. Martin Dubravka, Slovakia (Newcastle United, ENG) - 30
25. Etrit Berisha, Albania (Atalanta, Italy) - 30
26. Bono, Morocco (Girona, Spain) - 28
27. Pau López, Spain (Betis, Roma) - 24
28. Samir Handanovic, Slovenia (Inter, ITA) - 34
29. Adrián, Spain (Free Agent) - 32
30. Ralf Fährmann, Germany (FC Schalke 04) - 29

One to Watch: Alphonse Areola. Despite PSG bringing in Italian legend Gianluigi Buffon last year, Areola still started 21 of 38 matches and is set to take on an even larger role at the club. With Ligue 1 continually playing little brother to the top four leagues, Areola has the chance to showcase his talents in a way that could put him on a bigger stage and give PSG a nice reward on the way out. Areola’s ceiling is still up to much debate. He could be one of the best goalkeepers in Ligue 1 history or he might be contending for something more if 2019-20 falls in line.

31. Wojciech Szczesny, Poland (Juventus, ITA) - 29
32. Kevin Trapp, Germany (PSG, FRA) - 27
33. Fernando Muslera, Uruguay (Galatasaray, TUR) - 33
34. Asmir Begovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bournemouth, ENG) - 32
35. Igor Akinfeev, Russia (CSKA Moscow, RUS) - 33
36. Fernando Pacheco, Spain (Alavés) - 27
37. Gianluigi Buffon, Italy (PSG, FRA) - 41
38. David Ospina, Colombia (Napoli, ITA) - 30
39. Alexander Schwolow, Germany (Freiburg) - 27
40. Mattia Perin, Italy (Juventus) - 26

One to Watch: Mattia Perin. Things are far from settled but Perin seems more out than in at Juventus. Perin unsuccessfully attempted to dethrone Wojciech Szczesny, only starting nine league matches before needing surgery for a dislocated shoulder. Roma and Perin have been tied but the once future successor at Juventus is now scrambling to find a club that would invest in him between the posts.

41. Aitor Fernandez, Spain (Levante) - 28
42. Matheus, Brazil (SC Braga, POR) - 26
43. Mathew Ryan, Australia (Brighton, ENG) - 27
44. Jiri Pavlenka, Czech Republic (Werder Bremen, GER) - 27
45. Timo Horn, Germany (1. FC Köln) - 26
46. Sergio Rico, Spain (Sevilla) - 25
47. Jordi Masip, Spain (Real Valladolid) - 30
48. Iago Herrerín, Spain (Athletic Bilbao) - 31
49. Simon Sluga, Croatia (Rijeka) - 26
50. Alex McCarthy, England (Southampton) - 29

One to Watch: Sergio Rico. Sevilla is passing on Sergio Rico for Czech veteran Tomas Vaclik so Rico’s return back to Fulham, where he started the final 29 matches of the season, seems more than plausible. There weren’t too many 25-year-olds starting in the EPL last year and Fulham showed some true loyalty in Rico by sticking with him even in the midst of a 12 points over 18 match run to finish in the relegation zone. England’s second division is no cakewalk so if Rico does return, it may be an even tougher test than the Premier League.

Top 50 Goalkeepers Under 24

1. Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italy (AC Milan) - 20
2. Ionut Radu, Romania (Inter, ITA) - 22
3. Okan Kocuk, Turkey (Bursaspor) - 23
4. Michael Verrips, Netherlands (KV Mechelen, BEL) - 22
5. Felipe Lopez, Mexico (Leones Negros) - 23
6. Alex Meret, Italy (Napoli) - 22
7. Rubén Blanco, Spain (Celta de Vigo) - 23
8. Roberto Ramirez, Argentina (Godoy Cruz) - 22
9. Simone Scuffet, Italy (Udinese Calcio) - 23
10. Daniel Mesenhöler, Germany (MSV Duisburg) - 23

One to Watch: Ionut Radu. Italy has a pair of young, exciting goalkeepers at two of its more prominent clubs. Radu, who recently sent shockwaves throughout the soccer community for his heartfelt tribute to his sister, is in contention to put Romania into the 2020 Olympics with the U23 side. Arsenal reportedly has interest in the young goalkeeper but he’s also been public about returning to Genoa as a positive situation. If it’s not Arsenal, Radu will have his pick of the lot sooner than later.

11. Toma Niga, Romania (FCSB) - 21
12. André Onana, Cameroon (Ajax, NET) - 23
13. Adrian Semper, Croatia (Dinamo Zagreb) - 21
14. Luca Zidane, France (Real Madrid, SPA) - 21
15. Tiepo, Brazil (Chapecoense) - 21
16. Denis Scherbitski, Belarus (BATE Borisov) - 23
17. Dragan Rosic, Serbia (Mladost) - 22
18. Arijanet Muric, Kosovo (Manchester City, ENG) - 20
19. Boris Radunović, Serbia (Atalanta, ITA) - 23
20. Emil Audero, Italy (Sampdoria) - 22

One to Watch: Arijanet Muric. American fans might be familiar with Zack Steffen’s move to Manchester City but it’s Muric’s rise to power that viewers should watch closely. At 20 years young, Muric has already been capped five times by Kosovo, proving how goalkeepers can come from even the 121st ranked nations. A shocking 4-0-2 run by Kosovo, paired with a +29 jump in Elo rankings, promoted them to League C in the UEFA Nations League and could be a sign of more things to come.

21. Alexander Nübel, Germany (FC Schalke 04) - 22
22. Ugurcan Caki, Turkey (Trabzonspor) - 23
23. Joe Wildsmith, England (Sheffield Wednesday) - 23
24. Mike Maignan, France (Lille) - 23
25. Angus Gunn, England (Southampton) - 23
26. Andrea Zaccagno, Italy (Torino) - 22
27. Alban Lafont, France (Fiorentina, ITA) - 20
28. Álex Dos Santos, Brazil (Atlético Madrid, SPA) - 20
29. Andriy Lunin, Ukraine (Real Madrid, SPA) - 20
30. Gregor Kobel, Switzerland (Hoffenheim, GER) - 21

One to Watch: Andriy Lunin. Lunin managed to earn five starts for CD Leganés last season (where he was loaned from Real Madrid) but his biggest achievement came this summer, where he led Ukraine in goal during their championship run in the U20 World Cup. Lunin was given the Golden Glove in the U20 tournament after conceding just four goals in seven games. After originally being slated to go back out on loan to Leganés, Goal.com says Lunin is a likely candidate for the number two with Real Madrid. Fans may not get to watch much of Lunin during league play yet again but he’ll surely get his chance to prove his merit in various cup matches throughout the season.

31. Per Kristian Bratveit, Norway (Djurgarden, SWE) - 23
32. Nordin Jackers, Belgium (Genk) - 21
33. David Raya, Spain (Blackburn Rovers, ENG) - 23
34. Josip Posavec, Croatia (Hajduk Split) - 23
35. José Aurelio Suárez, Spain (Girona) - 23
36. Phillip Menzel, Germany (Wolfsburg) - 20
37. Anton Mitryushkin, Russia (Sion, SWI) - 23
38. Alexander Schlager, Austria (LASK) - 23
39. Sondre Rossbach, Norway (Odds) - 23
40. Mile Svilar, Belgium (Benfica, POR) - 19

One to Watch: Phillip Menzel. Wolfsburg’s reserve team just missed promotion with a tightly contested battle with Bayern Munich’s second team. Menzel’s tenure in the fourth division was still largely successful, compiling a 24-4-2 record throughout the season. Wolfsburg may look to send him back with the reserve side or, as Sportbuzzer reports, a loan to a third division side could be a natural progression for the German U20 goalkeeper. For those unfamiliar with Menzel’s game, think Lukasz Fabianski. It can be a little clunky at times, but the U20 German goalkeeper has an uncanny nose for the ball and a Michael Jordan hangtime-esque extension save. While first-team chances are close to zero for the time being, it’s more of a “not if but when” situation with Menzel.

41. Altay Bayindir, Turkey (Ankaragücü) - 21
42. Sebastian Jurado, Mexico (Tiburones Rojos) - 21
43. Justin Bijlow, Netherlands (Feyenoord) - 21
44. Antonio Sivera, Spain (Alavés) - 22
45. Nils Körber, Germany (Osnabruck) - 22
46. Rok Vodisek, Slovenia (Genoa, ITA) - 20
47. Pontus Dahlberg, Sweden (Watford, ENG) - 20
48. Javier Belman, Spain (Real Madrid) - 20
49. Dominik Kotarski, Croatia (Ajax, Netherlands) - 19
50. Michele Di Gregorio, Italy (Inter) - 21

One to Watch: Pontus Dahlberg. For Watford fans, Dahlberg has been a non-factor since joining the club 18 months ago and has probably been forgotten by some of the supporters. However Dahlberg picked up his first cap with the Swedish national team in January and followed up the 1-1 tie to Estonia by just barely missing the cutoff for the European Under-21 Championship. Dahlberg, who has been sitting for some time with Watford, seems prime to be loaned out and begin being groomed for the starting position for the Hornets.

World Cup Goalkeepers Asking For Goals to Be Bigger

Everybody Soccer is a site that mostly covers non-fiction goalkeeping events. Occasionally we’ll see a satirical piece to offer some more variety, like this article here as well as some interviews with MLS goalkeepers from the past couple years. All quotes here are fictitious. Cover photo from Slate.com.

After a stunning display against defending champions the United States, Chilean goalkeeper Christiane Endler sparked some controversy with her post-game remarks.

“It was a good game. I felt really confident with how I played. But to be honest I would have liked to see what I can do with a bigger goal.”

The US jumped out to an early lead, scoring three goals just 35 minutes into the game. On the heels of a new World Cup scoring record of 13 in the previous game against Thailand, it looked like the US was pushing for another double-digit scoreline. However Endler had other plans, repeatedly turning down scoring chance after scoring chance.

“There was one save I had in the second half, against Christen Press, where I had the shot covered so well I started thinking, ‘You know, the Texas state flag does look a lot like ours. I wonder if that was on accident or if they’re just big fans.’ And then I made the save.”

Chile isn’t the only country who has displayed great goalkeeping this world cup; Jamaica boasted newcomer Sydney Schneider, who quickly made her name known after her performance against Brazil. The nineteen-year-old’s showing went viral after the collegiate-athlete shut down a number of dangerous opportunities for the Brazilians, despite the loss.

Jamaican goalkeeper Sydney Schneider will return to UNC Wilmington this fall, where much controversy surrounds the height and width of the Seahawks’ goal frames.

“In college, we play with the same size goals,” Schneider said. “They’re 8 feet high. I thought at the World Cup we’d be playing on bigger goals. I was actually a little disappointed to see they were the same size.”

Not to be outdone, veteran goalkeeper Vanina Correa has made Argentina proud after allowing only one goal against Japan and England, two teams who finished second and third in the 2015 edition of the World Cup.

Correa shares what has made her so successful this summer, “I can save most high shots by sticking my hands up. And for the ones I can’t quite get by standing, I just jump. The goals could be bigger. Japan and England could certainly use the help.”

But not everyone is in favor of the new change. Italian goalkeeper Laura Giuliani has spoken out that there would be some unintended consequences if the goal dimensions were adjusted.

“If we make the goal bigger, the nets won’t fit. And then we’ll have some really big problems on our hands,” Giuliani said.

2019 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Race

cover photo from US Sports Guru

This season Everybody Soccer will be tracking the top MLS goalkeepers with Goals Saved Above Replacement. Check out last year’s ratings with an explanation at how we arrived at a single, compact number. For more detail statistics on each goalkeeper, click here to view the web page which breaks down each goalkeeper’s contributions into seven categories, week-by-week performances, and how much they deserve to be paid.

Last Updated October 11, 2019

Rank	GSAR	Keeper	Team	Mins	GSAR/90
1	8.45	Steve Clark	POR	2160	0.35
2	6.82	Matt Turner	NE	1766	0.35
3	6.27	Maxime Crepeau	VAN	2340	0.24
4	5.55	David Bingham	LAG	2970	0.17
5	4.36	Luis Robles	RBNY	2970	0.13
6	3.44	Sean Johnson	NYC	2520	0.12
7	3.13	Tim Howard	CLR	2205	0.13
8	2.83	Tyler Miller	LAFC	2520	0.10
9	2.70	Tim Melia	SKC	2880	0.08
10	1.99	Evan Bush	MON	2880	0.06
11	1.86	Brian Rowe	OCSC	2880	0.06
12	1.36	Bill Hamid	DC	2970	0.04
13	1.15	Vito Mannone	MIN	3060	0.03
14	0.59	Brad Guzan	ATL	3060	0.02
15	0.02	Quentin Westberg	TOR	2520	0.00
16	-0.26	Kenneth Kronholm	CHC	1800	-0.01
17	-0.74	Stefan Frei	SEA	3060	-0.02
18	-0.99	Daniel Vega	SJ	3060	-0.03
19	-1.29	Jose Luis Gonzalez	FCD	2880	-0.04
20	-1.43	Spencer Richey	CIN	1710	-0.08
21	-1.91	Nick Rimando	RSL	2610	-0.07
22	-2.86	Andre Blake	PHI	2286	-0.11
23	-3.95	Joe Willis	HOU	2430	-0.15
-	2.77	Zac MacMath	VAN	720	0.35
-	2.08	Clint Irwin	CLR	945	0.20
-	1.35	David Ousted	CHC	1260	0.10
-	1.34	Carlos	PHI	319	0.38
-	1.04	Brad Stuver	NYC	450	0.21
-	0.77	Eloy Room	CLB	1080	0.06
-	0.32	Andrew Putna	RSL	450	0.06
-	0.22	Adrian Zendejas	SKC	90	0.22
-	0.19	Jimmy Maurer	FCD	180	0.10
-	0.10	Jeff Attinella	POR	900	0.01
-	-0.06	Pablo Sisniega	LAFC	540	-0.01
-	-0.14	Chris Seitz	DCU	90	-0.14
-	-0.15	Matt Lampson	LAG	90	-0.15
-	-0.22	Greg Ranjitsingh	OCSC	180	-0.11
-	-0.38	Eric Dick	SKC	90	-0.38
-	-0.44	Clement Diop	MON	180	-0.22
-	-0.43	Jon Kempin	CLB	270	-0.14
-	-0.48	Ryan Meara	RBNY	90	-0.48
-	-0.58	Matt Freese	PHI	455	-0.11
-	-1.16	Zack Steffen	CLB	1170	-0.09
-	-1.16	Brad Knighton	NE	664	-0.16
-	-1.38	Alex Bono	TOR	630	-0.20
-	-1.72	Tyler Deric	HOU	630	-0.25
-	-1.88	Cody Cropper	NE	630	-0.27
-	-3.24	Joe Bendik	CLB	540	-0.54
-	-4.83	Przemyslaw Tyton	CIN	1350	-0.32

US Soccer Still Searching For Goalkeeper Identity

cover photo from FIFA.com

After another successful World Cup run for the US U20s, the US fell short in a tightly contested 2-1 loss to Ecuador. Despite this being the third consecutive U20 tournament where the US reached the quarterfinals, the goalkeeping situation left a familiar, unsatisfactory taste for most viewers. Since the turn of the century, American goalkeepers have largely struggled at the youth tournament, if not the professional scene as well. Jonathan Klinsmann and Cody Cropper performed well under par in 2017 and 2013, respectively. Zac MacMath (2011), Sean Johnson (2009), Chris Seitz (2007), Quentin Westberg (2005), Steve Cronin (2003), and DJ Countess (2001) would receive many accolades in their youth but all would go on to have polarizing professional careers. With more goalkeepers sinking than swimming during and after the U20 tournament - 2015 standout Zack Steffen being the rare exception - the problem can be linked to a lack of a consistent identity within the position.

Throughout the history of American goalkeepers, it’s hard to pin down just exactly what makes up an American style. At best, they can be best described as converted basketball players. As many former American goalkeepers pointed out in a previous interview, many looked forward to summer camps as their main chance to hear new information on the position. In spite of no consistent, high-end training environments, the typically multi-sport American goalkeeper would have exemplary hands and possessed a physically dominating athleticism. But the similarities ended there. Looking across the modern era, it’s easy to see that American goalkeepers come in all sorts of molds. Some are short, some are aggressive, some are good with their feet, and some are none of the above. From Steve Clark to Ashlyn Harris to Nick Rimando to Katelyn Rowland, there are a wide variety of styles within the professional goalkeeping scene.

The lack of goalkeeping identity has plagued not only the men’s U20 teams but all aspects of goalkeeping in the country. National team coaches have long debated as to whose style would best complement the team. On the men’s side, Tim Howard would play deep into the 2018 World Cup cycle, long past his prime, simply because there wasn’t a clear successor. Brad Guzan is almost the exact opposite goalkeeper as Howard and wasn’t a natural fit. After the Hope Solo era with the USWNT, many were slow to draw any comparison from Alyssa Naeher to Solo, with Ashlynn Harris being another wildly different goalkeeper. In the college game, coaches’ desired qualities for their starting goalkeeper vary from school-to-school, largely due to most having little or no background with goalkeeping. Youth and club goalkeeper coaches are, for the most part, developing players on an island, without any input or gauge from a recognized authority on what is correct.

Confusion over goalkeeper development has rippled far off the field as well. USSF licensing has barely broached the issues and while the USC has done their best to offer an open, discussion-oriented setting, ultimately it leaves applicants to simply taking note of different approaches instead of getting coaches on the same page. The media cannot keep pace with understanding what a good American goalkeeper looks like as it’s been a moving target. For one cycle, the US will field a “calm, composed goalkeeper who is a strong shot-stopper”. The next cycle they’ll turn to a “brave, aggressive goalkeeper who’s not afraid to challenge a cross”. Vague anecdotes run rampant in post-game write-ups and in-game commentary, praising a goalkeeper for whatever the observer notices. With everyone pointing different directions, there are no wrong answers but there are no right answers either.

For most of soccer’s history in the US, the country was plagued with not having enough goalkeeper coaches to foster a positive training environment. Now the pendulum has swung the opposite direction as coaching education is so widely available that we have an abundance of differing philosophies when it comes to goalkeeper development. This excess in opinions and loss of leadership from the USSF has led the landscape to develop every type of goalkeeper, instead of repeating known successes. When looking at other nations with top goalkeeping cores, there is a general mold their goalkeepers are in line with but the US’s lack of a team identity has bled over to the goalkeeping position. The absence of such a goalkeeper mold begs the question, “Why aren’t we modeling goalkeepers after Howard? Or Friedel? Scurry? Solo?”

Photo from soccerwire.com

Rewinding back to the most recent U20 tournament, US head coach Tab Ramos struggled to sort out the number one position, which is odd given the team’s success in the tournament. Despite starting Brady Scott in the win over the expected winner (France), Ramos removed Scott for Real Salt Lake’s David Ochoa after many were underwhelmed with Scott’s performances in the tournament. The switch ultimately proved ineffective as Ochoa appeared awkward and uncomfortable when he was called upon during the game. Ochoa panicked multiple times when receiving a back-pass, displayed some dangerous hesitancy when coming off his line, and was severely out of position on the opening goal. Most of the problems Ochoa faced were not technical or mechanical issues, but tactical decisions, highlighting the point that he was unsure of how an American goalkeeper should play with this specific team. After two unsuccessful attempts to find a confident goalkeeper to lead the US, only Benfica’s CJ dos Santos was left minute-less by the end of the tournament, likely due to dos Santos’ aggressive, sweeper keeper tendencies being foreign to the coach who played alongside Tony Meola for most of his career. Out of three very different goalkeepers, none of them seemed to fit within the system.

For nearly every U20 goalkeeper, their development path will be littered with a dozen different goalkeeper coaches before they turn 25, each one emphasizing what they best see fit. While every goalkeeper coach would agree the main priority for an American goalkeeper is to keep the ball out of the net, the troubling dissonance is found in what constitutes as doing just that. Should American goalkeepers be aggressive on crosses? Are sweeper keepers a better fit? Do coaches want to see more catches or parries? What is the US’s stance on implementing foot saves as a major factor for low saves? How should goalkeepers approach 1v1s? After not having a Director of Goalkeeping within USSF since 2005, should the federation look to fill the vacancy with one of the many qualified coaches throughout the country? Finding answers to these questions is not the problem, but the lack of the USSF’s direction with goalkeeper development is.