Since it’s inception in 1992, the Premier League has been home to some of the finest goalkeepers on planet earth. As you might have guessed, whittling the cream of the glove-wearing crop down to a ‘best seven’ is easier said than done.
But, when separating the great from the very, very good, there are a few who stand out head and shoulders above the rest…
7th – Brad Friedel
There was, at one point, a genuine debate about whether Tottenham Hotspur were right to drop Brad Friedel for Hugo Lloris. Friedel, by the way, was 41 at the time, and had featured in over 300 consecutive top-flight games going back eight years.
In terms of pure longevity and consistency, Friedel sits right at the top of the pile, outstanding for Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and then Tottenham and an ever-present during much of the Premier League era.
6th – David de Gea
If it wasn’t for a difficult final few seasons at Old Trafford – David de Gea frequently making the sort of mistake Massimo Taibi was hounded out for – then the Spaniard would be higher on this list.
At his very best, De Gea made gravity-defying, ‘how on earth has he done that’ sort of saves looks almost routine. There is a very real argument to be made that, while De Gea is not the most consistent goalkeeper in Premier League history, then he was perhaps the most spectacular.
5th – David Seaman
Another who, like Friedel, appeared to laugh heartily in the face of Father Time, David Seaman defined a generation at Arsenal, the bridge between the George Graham years and the Arsene Wenger revolution. Despite a rather questionable approach when it came to his male grooming techniques – that ponytail is best left forgotten – Seaman’s giant, bear-like mitts had kept a centre-forward up at night.
4th – Petr Cech
It’s just a shame that Petr Cech’s otherwise terrific Premier League career will be marked by that season alongside Unai Emery. A victim of the modern-day transformation of the goalkeeper into an eleventh outfield player, Cech’s feet – as it turned out – were not quite as reliable as his hands.
Chelsea supporters, however, remember their 6ft 5ins colossus as the man who conceded only 15 goals en route to the title under Jose Mourinho. A record which is yet to be – and very unlikely to be – beaten.
3rd – Alisson Becker
Liverpool can consider themselves mightily unfortunate to only have the one Premier League title to their name – especially after posting points tallies which would have been enough to secure the crown in almost every other season – but Alisson Becker’s rather paltry tally of a single winners’ medal should not be held against him.
Arguably no goalkeeper in the modern era possesses the Brazilian’s stature, frightening the life out of onrushing strikers with his sheer size and presence.
2nd – Edwin Van der Sar
Sir Alex Ferguson once claimed that Van der Sar was the best goalkeeper to represent Manchester United since another Old Trafford legend – one we will come to in a second (spoilers everybody) – and it’s hard to disagree.
Van der Sar almost immediately solved what had become a problem position for the Red Devils. The towering Dutchman was one of the first names on the team sheet during a run of three successive Premier League titles in the late 2000s and even set a world record after 1,311 minutes without conceding a single goal.
1st – Peter Schmeichel
Could there really be any other winner? A five-time league champion under Ferguson, Peter Schmeichel defined an era of unprecedented Manchester United dominance with his famous ‘starfish save’ one of the competition’s most famous finisher moves.
What’s more, has any goalkeeper produced a more iconic performance than Schmeichel’s virtuoso display away to Newcastle in 1996?
“Peter was unbelievable,” Ferguson would write three years later in his autobiography. “He thwarted Newcastle time and again.”
Every other team who went eyeball to eyeball with Schmeichel in the ‘90s probably knew how Newcastle felt on that iconic St James’ night.
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