Who is the world's best goalkeeper?

[-Fifth CharM-]

You said it yourself. You are blinded by your own bias.

A bit like how you are blinded by your bias when discussing Zidane or Figo vs Giggs(lol).

[brandza]

Now I think is Buffon, followed by Casillas, Julio Cesar and Frey. In the near future the best will be Benaglio, the goalkeeper of Wolfsburg, he's a fantastic player.

[Garci]

Now I think is Buffon, followed by Casillas, Julio Cesar and Frey. In the near future the best will be Benaglio, the goalkeeper of Wolfsburg, he's a fantastic player.

After watching the game Switzerland vs Italy, I definitely agree with you.... Benaglio should be in the top 3 in a near future.... for that he needs to impress during the champion's league and to participate to the next world cup....

[brandza]

I haven't watch the game with Italy, I've seen him in Bundesliga. He did a great jobs (http://www.keine-jobs.com) for Wolfsburg last year. He'll be soon on the Stellenmarkt (http://www.keine-jobs.com/stellenmarkt).

[TKORL]

buffon's penalties are relatively questionable compared to the best gks.

I'm personally going to side with Julio Cesar and then Cech. Casillas is great, but for some reason, that I admittedly cannot back up, he doesn't seem to inspire the same force-field like confidence of those two.l

[jpick]

cech even yesterday got caught in no man's land 2-3 times and his punching is still erratic. he is still not back to his pre-injury best

pks, all i can say is that buffon has had some big penalty saves in big situations, plus pk stopping is a small part of a keeper's responsibilities (and even the best pen stoppers stop less than 30% or so of pens so the margin between strong and weak is like 10% which if you assume big clubs surrender about 10-12 pens per season means a difference of 1 goal allowed per year on average i'd bet...big deal), give me a great shot-stopper who commands his area, is solid in distribution, judges crosses and free kicks superbly, and has good, strong hands and technique and tbh i could give a rat's ass if he is a little weaker at pens

[johno]

The judging of a keeper's pk stopping ability can almost never be sound. For starters, some keepers don't concede pks. Buffon is one of those guys who you are certain almost never concedes a pk because he rarely makes rash judgments. There are also keepers who make it harder for their defenders to concede pks because of their communication and command of the area.

The impact a keeper has on possession, defence and even in attack is really hard to judge.

[shalom82]

The judging of a keeper's pk stopping ability can almost never be sound. For starters, some keepers don't concede pks. Buffon is one of those guys who you are certain almost never concedes a pk because he rarely makes rash judgments. There are also keepers who make it harder for their defenders to concede pks because of their communication and command of the area.

The impact a keeper has on possession, defence and even in attack is really hard to judge.

Though it's not like it's always the GK who concedes a penalty, in fact it rarely is.

Anyway, I think right now the best is Julio Cesar, and I think it's hard to argue against that based on his current form.
Buffon, however, is the greatest GK in modern football history.
It's not even in the saves, it's about the awesome impact he had on the game until his recent injury. The man is a living legend.

[TKORL]

The judging of a keeper's pk stopping ability can almost never be sound. For starters, some keepers don't concede pks. Buffon is one of those guys who you are certain almost never concedes a pk because he rarely makes rash judgments. There are also keepers who make it harder for their defenders to concede pks because of their communication and command of the area.

The impact a keeper has on possession, defence and even in attack is really hard to judge.
keepers don't usually concede penalties...

[Sinestro]

I would say Frey and Julio Cesar. It took a while for JC to get accepted.

[Mengão86]

Julio Cesar. I've been saying it for years now and people kept doubting. Now it's almost unquestionable to not include him.

[Pyros]

Buffon, Julio Cesar and Casillas IMO.

[Bolivianfuego]

IMO if tim howard wasnt american, and say.... played for england or some other bigger NT, he'd be ranked right up there with the greats.

[jpick]

Buffon, Julio Cesar and Casillas IMO.

my top 3 as well, at the moment probably cesar my number one on form, though buffon performed some miracles against georgia as well and always looks solid. casillas is always top-notch as well.

[TKORL]

IMO if tim howard wasnt american, and say.... played for england or some other bigger NT, he'd be ranked right up there with the greats.
If Howard played for England then he'd have pages and pages of people drooling over his ability.

[Revolution610]

IMO if tim howard wasnt american, and say.... played for england or some other bigger NT, he'd be ranked right up there with the greats.

He is one of the greats. Being American has nothing to do with it. If you're good, then you're good. I'll admit America doesn't have much interest in Football, be it that baseball American football and Hockey are the top sports in the nation. But Howard being an American should have nothing to do with it. He's my favorite player and I think he is phenominal. I watched him in the Confederations cup in South Africa, and he played like a truely amazing GK. GOOOOOOOOOOO USA!!!!

-REV610

[Bolivianfuego]

My point is, how under-rated he is, and how if USA was in south america, or playing in europe i can almost garuntee his efforts would be looked at in a brighter light based on the competition.

[Sinestro]

Howard is not underrated he beat out Cesar in the ConFed Cup for best gk of the tournement. He beat out the worlds top gk. Howard became more recognized after that achievement. Now put him in a bigger club he will get more press.

[Berean Todd]

My point is, how under-rated he is, and how if USA was in south america, or playing in europe i can almost garuntee his efforts would be looked at in a brighter light based on the competition.

He is NOT underated. Everyone recognizes that he is an outstanding keeper. However he is NOT (at least yet) in the same class as Buffon, Julio Caesar and Casillas. Can he get there? Sure. He does need to move to a club where he is actually playing CL footy to prove it at the highest levels. Everton are never going to get him there. I think the WC this coming summer will also give a showcase to maybe push him to the next level somewhat.

But just saying that he is not one of the best 3 or 5 keepers in the world is not a slight to him, and is not saying that he is sh*t. It just means that he isn't one of the 5 best keepers in the world (or even 5 best in the EPL just yet).

[Bolivianfuego]

^^Thats my point, i think he IS at their level already. His lack of playing in CL, playing in a harder WC qualifying stage, etc. is why they dont consider him on THAT level.

I think he is on their level, but will forever be looked over until he maybe does move to a big team, but i mean he started off at MAN U.