There may never have been a time in world football with as many contenders for the title of best goalkeeper as there is right now. To prove the point, David Raya - who has now gone 12 hours of football without conceding between the sticks for Arsenal - didn’t even come to mind when Jamie Carragher and Peter Schmeichel tackled that very topic with CBS Sports Golazo on Wednesday night.
Among the other safe pairs of hands worthy of a mention, at least in the top 20, are Robin Roefs, who’s been playing out of his skin for Sunderland this season; two-time Yashin Trophy winner Emiliano Martinez; and the iconic duo of Manuel Neuer and Jan Oblak. Yet, the three names that usually make the podium are Alisson, Thibaut Courtois, and Gianluigi Donnarumma - though the order seems to change as often as the wind.
On reporting duties as Manchester City cruised to a 4-1 home win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, this week’s action showcased the very best of what was once known as the loneliest position on the pitch. But while Schmeichel couldn’t settle on a single answer to the age-old debate of who the world’s best number one is, Carragher knew his pick without batting an eye.
Carragher and Schmeichel Debate World's Best Goalkeeper
It can prove to be one of the trickiest jobs in football to determine which goalkeeper deserves the title of the best when all three main contenders excel in different areas of their game. While Donnarumma - fresh off the back of a Champions League-winning campaign with Paris Saint-Germain - commands his area better than anyone, Alisson is a master of the one-v-one, often bailing out his Liverpool teammates. Meanwhile, Courtois’ mentality and big-game know-how are second to none, regardless of position.
Carragher had no doubt when naming the latter as the world’s best goalkeeper. His eight saves against Carragher’s beloved Reds on Tuesday night likely brought back some unwanted memories for Liverpool fans of the 2018 and 2022 Champions League finals - nights when the Belgian might as well have turned into an octopus. Schmeichel, however, a former shot-stopper himself, was far more wishy-washy on the topic, choosing instead to sit on the fence (watch the full segment below):
"There is not one [best goalkeeper in the world], they are all absolutely outstanding, fantastic. When you judge goalkeepers, it's not so much about what they do in split-seconds, it's about their contribution to the team. Donnarumma has been brought in [by Manchester City] for his size and to come for crosses. Today, he came for all of them - no goalkeeper is doing that right now anywhere in the world.
"Courtois, yesterday, eight saves in a Champions League game against Liverpool, that's far too many. But that's the level he's at helping his team. And Alisson of course, at the moment, he's out. But, for me, it's really difficult to say who is the best, because I don't think there's one person who will just fit into every team."
Courtois, as things stand, seems the most sensible pick for the most reliable pair of hands in world football. Recency bias aside, the 6ft 7in, 33-year-old Belgian has been at the heart of some of the most eye-catching individual performances the beautiful game has ever seen. In 303 appearances for Real Madrid, he’s kept an incredible 120 clean sheets, redefining the goalkeeper’s role from the loneliest on the pitch to one every bit as electrifying as any other.
With two Premier League titles, two Champions League titles, four La Liga crowns, a World Cup Golden Glove, and a Yashin Trophy to his name, perhaps the craziest part is that he’s not done yet. And if there’s anywhere to add a few more shiny pieces of silverware to his cabinet, it’s under Xabi Alonso in the Spanish capital, as Los Blancos have won 13 of their 15 games so far this season.