It is desperation and unhappiness that ruled the World in 2020. This year started with unusual happenings that completely dominated the Human population and questioning our future. The COVID-19 pandemic has halted all our daily activities and took away our beautiful memories and our loved ones, but it is not the only ending.
The Ruling Authorities all over the World have made enormous efforts to bring back our normal life, with lessons learned from our Nature and all started with a question but it had delivered happiness to people to some extent.
The pandemic has enforced a delay to the start of the 2020-21 Football activities with strict restrictions and inflexible protocols ensuring player welfare and safety. The condensed fixture scheduling also caused many controversies and confrontations between the Club managers and the Broadcasters.
Major European football leagues started in September and it has been as exciting as it was last season.
But this year it was different on football pitches, Liverpool won the Premier League trophy after 30 years, Leeds United promoted back to the top tier of English Football. Bayern Munich, Juventus, PSG, and Real Madrid continued their dominance in domestic football.
You can see big clubs like Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United struggling in domestic leagues, Lionel Messi almost left Barcelona in the summer, Chelsea spent more than £220 million in the transfer window, Jose Mourinho could lead Tottenham Hotspur to their first Premier League trophy, AC Milan can win Serie A title after almost a decade.
This dramatic year 2020 is about to end in a few weeks. Football Express is going to list and rank the top 10 players in all positions, who dominated the football pitch individually in the year 2020.
So let’s start with number 1 position: Goalkeepers
TOP 10 GOALKEEPERS OF 2020:
10. Thibaut Courtois- Real Madrid/Belgium
Real Madrid’s La Liga win for the 2019-20 season boasted a huge share of giant Courtois stopping style. But, this season has captured a vivid picture of Courtois making flaws now and again.
The Belgium goal stopper has made an uncharacteristic error in their Nations League Group B against Denmark, arousing an outrageous blooper on him. Courtois has went past against Nacer Chadii’s goal, but it was too late marking an exciting funny moment at the Den Dreef Stadium. Belgium, the top-ranked team would demand a fine focus from Courtois to make their way to winning this season’s title.
He has secured 20 goals in 34 league matches and has kept 18 clean sheets and contributed to the highest save percentage in La Liga. The Belgian is also highly marketed, with a current value of €75 million increasing his graph.
9. Gianluigi Donnarumma – AC Milan/Italy
The 21-year-old Italian began his career with Milan in 2015, becoming the second-youngest goalkeeper ever to debut in Serie A. The International earned a huge reputation as one of the most promising young goalkeepers in the World. Donnarumma is believed to have an exciting saving profile establishing as the legendary Gianluigi Buffon’s successor for Italy.
His highlighted key save this season was against Romelu Lukaku in Milan’s 2-1 derby victory over Inter. The Italian emerged as a first-choice goalkeeper, no sooner in the later as his term is near to expire for next summer, but known for long-term success.
He has played over 200 games right from his debut in 2015, keeping at least 10 clean sheets, 4 of which awarded for 2020 and admitted for 5 goals this season and zero penalty saves. He ranked No.1 among all the players from Italy as well as No.1 for AC Milan. Calm and compassion are always a true friend of the Italian, pricing him for a value of €60 million.
8. David De Gea – Manchester United/Spain
David De Gea has continued to support Manchester United through all their tough times. The 30-year-old Spanish international goal stopper has undergone a lot of criticisms over the past nine years. The player is recognized as the current world’s best keeper and is considered a highly promising goal saver.
De Gea, especially known because of the flexible reflexes, agility, and shot-stopping ability between the posts, enabling them to produce acrobatic dives and spectacular saves. De Gea possesses excellent ball control, vision, and distribution with either foot, which enables him to start attacking plays from the back.
Between February and July 2020, De Gea holded nine clean sheets and remains the most privileged keeper having an ultimate history of clean sheets (112). He conceded 16 goals but gave zero penalty saves. The player ranks in No.8 among all the goalkeepers with a marketed value of €35 million.
7. Ederson – Manchester City/Brazil
The Brazillian International goal stopper had joined Manchester City on 12 August 2017 and continues to be Pep Guardiola’s first choice because of his agitative zero-penalty play style. The perfect keeper oriented with outfield makes him a perfect keeper bounded with Pep Guardiola’s possession-based football.
The high stand out of this season was Raheem Sterling’s winning against the Arsenal in October in which, Ederson made spectacular saves to deny Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka to get City back on track.
Ederson got the 2019-20 Premier League Golden glove for holding 16 clean sheets. He also became the first Manchester City goalkeeper to provide a Premier League Assist. The 27-year old International ranked No.11 among all players from Brazil and currently, marketed for €56 million. The City will need him in both offense and defense to wrest the League Title back from Liverpool.
6. Samir Handanovic – Inter Milan/Slovenia
The Slovenian professional footballer aged 36, recognized for excellent record breakings of being named the Serie-A Goalkeeper of the year for three consecutive seasons. Handanovic’s rock-solid performances in the last season left uncredited, but many praises showered upon Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez.
His reflexes remain sharp, his presence imposing, and he’s super adept at the full-stretch highlight save. The massive save against Getafe’s Nemanja Maksimovic helped Inter pass through to the Europa League quarterfinal and, ultimately, the final.
He emerged as a prominent player in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Handanovic ended his 11-year international career with 81 caps for Slovenia, being the most capped goalkeeper and one of the most capped players of all time. He holds 13 clean sheets but having a 50% penalty saving record. Because of his 300+ appearances, he ranks No.6 among the players from Slovenia, and currently marketed for €40 million.
5. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen – Barcelona/Germany
Ter Stegen is a confident sweeper-keeper because of the comfort holding for the ball at his feet that effortlessly gets converted into saves with counterattacking flashes.
The German International goal stopper is lacking attention in a team full of attacking superstars but plays a pivotal role in Ronald Koeman’s plans as he looks to take Barcelona back to the top of La Liga. The highlighting incident of 2020 was his claim for the second career assist when Antoine Griezmann ran onto his goal kick to score against Mallorca.
On 15 May 2018, Ter Stegen was included in Germany’s 27-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He conceded 5 goals in this season with zero penalty saves. The 28-year old ranks No.3 among all the goalkeepers and is on a market value of €75 million.
4. Jan Oblak – Atletico Madrid/Slovenia
The Ricardo Zamora Trophy best goalkeeper Jan Oblak has made over 250 appearances for Atletico Madrid, winning three trophies including the 2018 UEFA Super Cup, defeating city rivals Real Madrid. The efficient, reserved Slovenian is the perfect keeper for Diego Simeone’s hardworking, disciplined side.
Oblak has tended the Atletico goal, conceding fewer than 30 goals each campaign. Liverpool had 72% possession and 34 shots at the Wanda Metropolitano in March, but they couldn’t surpass Oblak, which is the high point of 2020.
Several pundits considered him as one of the best goalkeepers, mainly known for his speed, agility and in particular his excellent handling and ability to come off his line and collect crosses, which enables him to excel in the air and command his area effectively.
The Slovenian goal stopper remains the person-on-demand by media for outstanding positioning footwork. The 27-year old ranks No.1 among all the players from Slovenia and among the goalkeepers, currently marketing for €90 million.
3. Keylor Navas – PSG/Costa Rica
The LFP Awardee for the best goalkeeper Keylor Navas doesn’t get as much attention in his team, but this doesn’t prove him less deserving. He won six Liga FPD titles and the CONCACAF Champions League, known for his excellent shot-stopping abilities, enabling him to compensate for his lack of height.
Navas made repeated goal saves against Atlanta in the Champions League Quarterfinals to restore PSG’s hopes serving as the key driving point of the 2020 season.
The Costa Rican, nicknamed at Real Madrid as “Keylor Paras”-Keylor stops, because of showing a high consistency to keep up the name. In his first season at PSG, he kept six clean sheets — trailing Bayern’s Manuel Neuer to guide his team to the Champions League final. Ranking No.1 among the players from Costa Rica, the professional goal stopper is marketed for a value of €10 million.
2. Manuel Neuer – Bayern Munich/Germany
The German Professional footballer, the only player widely regarded as one of the greatest experienced goalkeepers ever in the history of the sport because of his unique playing style and speed when rushing off his line to anticipate opponents, going out of the goalkeeper box.
Seven years since he most recently won a treble with Bayern Munich, Neuer lifted the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League trophies in 2020 as club captain.
The 34-year-old German is imperious, making crucial stops in the Champions League Finals to deny PSG, including a throbbing save against Neymar. Winning his second Champions League Title, though an eighth consecutive Bundesliga serves as the key highpoint for Neuer in 2020.
In the mid-early 30s, Neuer kept his 200 clean sheets for Bayern accounting for an unforgettable club record. He made several appearances in the World Cup, ranking 3rd after Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo. Considered by some in the media to be the current best goalkeeper in the world, and one of the greatest goalkeepers both of his generation and of all time, Neuer is widely regarded as a “complete” and modern goalkeeper. The current stats priced him with €18 million.
1. Alisson Becker – Liverpool/Brazil
The 2019 Best FIFA Goalkeeper Alisson Ramses Becker is considered to be one of the world’s best Goalsavers. Equally, calm on the ball with his hands and his feet, he was instrumental in Liverpool‘s charge to their first Premier League trophy in three decades.
In January, he even notched an assist when he played a long upfield pass to Mohamed Salah, who made it 2-0 against Manchester United. Alisson is recognized a supreme modern goalkeeper, turning defense into offense in the blink of an eye. The Brazillian International is a crucial hope for restoring Liverpool’s title breaking the wait for 30 years.
The style he implements includes crucial saves, positioning, distribution, and consistency, and is regarded as the best shot-stopper in the Premier League and by some as the best goalkeepers of the world. He is the owner of 35 clean sheets and conceded 35 goals with clear penalty saves. The 28-year old ranks No.2 among all the goalkeepers as well as among the players from Brazil. He holds the highest money ratings, currently accounting for €80 million.
The 2020-21 top-goalkeepers list also should consider prime performances of other notable stoppers like Alex McCarthy (Southampton), Édouard Mendy (Chelsea), Bernd Leno (Arsenal), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) and Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester City). The show smashing goalkeepers like Nick Pope (Burnley), Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea) etc, are highly not appreciated to be in the list as a reason for their poor saving percentages.
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