Where Does Kasey Keller Rank Among All Active Goalkeepers In The World?

[EvanJ]

I'm in interested in opinions and started a poll.

[sidefootsitter]

I'm in interested in opinions and started a poll. There are probably at least 15 GKs in Bundesliga, 15 in the EPL and a dozen in Serie A, who are better than him ...which is not to say there are that many better shot-stoppers when Kasey's on. At the same time, others make fewer mistakes, distribute better with their feet, etc.

[Heathens '87]

IFFHS at www.iffhs.de, which stands for International Federation of Football History and Statistics, actually ranks such things. Kasey didn't show up in the top 20, which I think is more than fair. He might be top-50. Here's the IFFHS top 20....


1. Gianluigi Buffon FC Juventus
2. Petr Cech Chelsea FC
3. Nélson de Jesús e Silva "Dida" Milan AC
4. Iker Casillas Real Madrid CF
5. Andonios Nikopolidis Olympiakos Pireas
6. Oliver Kahn FC Bayern München
7. Roberto Carlos Abbondanzieri CA Boca Juniors
8. Vítor Manuel Martins Baía FC do Porto
9. Juan Carlos Henao CD Once Caldas
10. José Santiago Cañizares Valencia CF
11. Edwin van der Sar Fulham FC
12. Jens Lehmann Arsenal FC
13. Andreas Isaksson Stade Rennais FC
14. Víctor Valdés Arribas FC Barcelona
15. Justo Wilmar Villar CA Newell´s Old Boys
16. Francesco Toldo FC Internazionale
17. Woon-Jae Lee Suwon Samsung Blue-Wings FC
18. Thomas Sørensen Aston Villa FC
19. Ricardo Alexandre Martins Soares Pereira Sporting Clube de Portugal
20. Fabien Barthez Olympique de Marseille

[chad]

Bottom 2. Right above Tim Howard.

But right below Zuniga at Chivas USA.

Statistics rule.

[Owen Gohl]

From the IFFHS website:

"Since 1987, IFFHS have honored the best world goalkeeper based upon yearly voting from a list of candidates. All specialized media (press, radio, television) plus a panel of experts conform the selection jury. They take into consideration the performances of goalkeepers with their clubs and national teams, in continental and intercontinental competitions including the most important leagues of the world, during the period of January to December. Modern communication techniques allow a clearer vision of such performances in the continental and intercontinental competitions of the national teams and club teams as well as the strongest leagues of the world. Each country has one vote, the most important soccer countries have two votes."

So it's based not on statisitics but on the opinions of "experts" - and the major Euros, Brazil, and Argentina have a disproportionate share of the votes. In other words, it's about as valid as a Bigsoccer poll (if only since everyone here is an expert ;) ).

I looked at all the top tens going back to the start of the poll. Friedel (6th in 2002) and Howard (8th in 2003) were the only US keepers to qualify.

Looking at some of the current poll:

12. Jens Lehmann - As an Arsenal supporter, I'd have taken Keller over Lehmann for most of the 2004-05 season.

20. Fabien Barthez - I can't believe France doesn't have a better keeper than Barthez but he was the only one IFFHS listed.

Keller may not be the ideal keeper. His footwork isn't the best and his distribution has always been criticized (though I think he's improved since the last WC cycle). But overall, if I had to chose a keeper for a big game I'd take Kasey over maybe half of those on the IFFHS list.

Off topic. I looked at the IFFHS rankings of national leagues. MLS was ranked 71st in the world behind countries such as El Salvador and Iceland. On second thought, maybe Bigsoccer polls are more credible than IFFHS'.

[Heathens '87]

I'm not claiming that the IFFHS is anything other than the opinion of a bunch of media writers who watch a lot of soccer. That said, given that Keller plays in Europe, I have a hard time believing that he's off their radar. Their top-20, I think, is a pretty realistic assessment of where most soccer fans, with an international perspective, would put the top keepers.

As for Lehmann, given that Keller was available to just about everyone, and was on the verge of signing with Salt Lake, Arsenal clearly took a pass. Keller played wondefully last night, and there's little doubt in my mind that he's our top choice heading toward Germany, but given the fact that he's 36 and with a lower-level Bundesliga team, it's hard to rate him higher than the top keepers in the EPL, Serie A, Spain, or even his own league.

I love the guy, but realize my glasses make the world a bit red, white, and blue.......



P.S. Watch the Columbus Crew this year. You'll be begging for an Icelandic match in no time........

[socks]

There are probably at least 15 GKs in Bundesliga, 15 in the EPL and a dozen in Serie A, who are better than him ...which is not to say there are that many better shot-stoppers when Kasey's on. At the same time, others make fewer mistakes, distribute better with their feet, etc.


there are probably 5 goalkeepers in the world better than kasey right now.

[PSsoccer123]

IFFHS also said MLS is the 71st best league in the world...fuhgeddaboutit!

[emprof]

Keller played a stellar game against Costa Rica. His saves were second to none.

[astabooty]

whoops. i voted not in top 50, but i read the question as ever, not active. my b!

[Heathens '87]

there are probably 5 goalkeepers in the world better than kasey right now.


Take the top 20 list.....you'd seriously take Keller over a van der Sar, Toldo, or Sorenson?! Keller is playing well, and in terms of CONCACAF, it's fair to say he's the best. But evaluating him based on national team performances after a home shut-out of Costa Rica is a bit unrealistic. He gave up 2 goals to England, 2 to Mexico, etc...

Let's give the guy some love, as he deserves it. But putting him in the top-ten of keepers world-wide is laughable......

[sregis]

i doubt there are few national team coaches who'd hesitate starting keller in goal...and it's been that way for atleast 10 years.

[Heathens '87]

IFFHS also said MLS is the 71st best league in the world...fuhgeddaboutit!


Well, how exactly does the MLS perform in the CONCACAF club championships?! MLS clubs play each other, and rarely play teams from other leagues. When they do, the results aren't exactly compelling.

If MLS cares at all about an international reputation, it needs to focus on winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup. A Costa Rican team won it this year, so what does that say about MLS?! From the outside looking in, it's hard to argue that MLS is even the best league in the region.....

[nicodemus]

I love the guy, and I'm happy to have him on my team, but if he was one of the best five or ten in the world, I'm sure the monster clubs of the world would be throwing insane money at him. He's certainly good enough to play in the best leagues in the world, but that doesn't make him the best in the world.

His ability with his feet leaves quite a bit to be desired (that left footed clunker into the stands yesterday isn't a rarity.)

[Heathens '87]

i doubt there are few national team coaches who'd hesitate starting keller in goal...and it's been that way for atleast 10 years.


Odd how his own national team coach hesitated to start him during the last World Cup then..........

[sregis]

Odd how his own national team coach hesitated to start him during the last World Cup then..........

tough call, too. and you can add friedel in '02 to that exclusive list.

[Heathens '87]

tough call, too. and you can add friedel in '02 to that exclusive list.

Brad did get the nod, and despite Keller's being part of the player pool since 1990, he's not started a WC game. Why do you think he's pushing so hard now?! This is his shot......

There are probably ten teams with realistic hopes of making the WC semi-finals, and just about every one of them has a keeper that they'd prefer to Keller. He's comparable to keepers for our international peers. That's good enough for me....

He's a wonderful keeper, he's motivated to be part of the national team, and he's playing well. Why can't we just leave it at that, instead of trying to place him amongst the elite keepers in the world when that isn't true by any objective standard?!

This reminds me of that SNL skit with Will Ferrell in the House of Parliament asking everyone to agree that Oasis is the greatest band ever! It reeks of a deperate need for validation........

[superdave]

I wish this was a public poll so I could see who all voted him in the top 10.

Brad did get the nod, and despite Keller's being part of the player pool since 1990, he's not started a WC game.
He started the first two in '98.

[Heathens '87]

I wish this was a public poll so I could see who all voted him in the top 10.


He started the first two in '98.


Right...sorry, I meant won. He's not won a WC game....

[dirtynine]

Bruce Arena #14 in the world!!!!11

http://www.iffhs.de/main/ranking/weltnattrainerakt/?sprache=englisch