Ranking the 5 Best FIFA Men's goalkeeper 2021 nominees
The Best FIFA Football Award is presented every year by the game's governing body FIFA for both male and female players, and coaches. It's a fairly recent award, introduced only in 2017.
The Best FIFA men's goalkeeper award, as the name suggests, goes to the standout keeper in a calendar year for club and country. Italy legend Gianluigi Buffon was the inaugural winner of the FIFA Best Goalkeeper award.
In subsequent years, the award has been won by Thibaut Courtois (2018), Alisson (2019) and Manuel Neuer (2020).
The nominees for this year's award comprise five goalkeepers plying their trade in three different top five leagues in Europe.
🏆 Nominees: #TheBest FIFA Men's Goalkeeper
Alisson Becker
Gianluigi Donnarumma
Édouard Mendy
Manuel Neuer
Kasper Schmeichel
🧤 VOTE NOW 👉 fifa.com/the-best-fifa-… https://t.co/g9PkeZ4xlW
On that note, here's a look at how each nominee has fared during the year:
#5 Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester City/Denmark)
Kasper Schmeichel has been one of the standout performers for Leicester City since their improbable Premier League triumph in 2016.
The 35-year-old has continued his impressive performances for The Foxes, not missing a league game since the 2017-18 campaign.
In this period, Schmeichel has helped Leicester City grab consecutive top-five finishes, missing out narrowly on a top-four slot on the last day of the season.
Last season, the Denmark international added another feather to his cap. He became the first goalkeeper in nearly two decades to captain his team to an FA Cup triumph.
Schmeichel kept three clean sheets in four games, including one in the final against Chelsea. In the process, Leicester City became the latest winners of the competition.
1 - Kasper Schmeichel is the first goalkeeper to captain the winning side in an FA Cup final since David Seaman for Arsenal in 2003. Leader. #FACupFinal https://t.co/HcJv49bvQv
Schmeichel also starred in Denmark's thrilling run to the Euro 2020 semi-finals. He is closing in on 450 appearances across competitions for Leicester City, having kept 139 clean sheets.
However, only two of them have come in 17 games this season. That makes him an unlikely winner of the Best FIFA men's goalkeeper award this year, despite his FA Cup and Euro exploits.
#4 Alisson Becker (Liverpool/Brazil)
Alisson Becker has been a key player for Liverpool since his arrival at the club in the summer of 2017.
The 2019 Best FIFA Men's goalkeeper winner has been colossal in the Reds' Champions League and Premier League triumphs in successive seasons. The former AS Roma custodian endured a dismal 2020-21 campaign, much like his club.
Congratulations, @Alissonbecker 👐
Winner of #TheBest FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper 2019 🏆
#TheBest | #FIFAFootballAwards https://t.co/f163LZbOfx
However, the Brazil international has recovered his mojo this campaign, powering Liverpool's march to their second Premier League title in three years.
Nevertheless, considering his lack of silverware for club and country in 2021, Alisson is unlikely to win his second Best FIFA men's goalkeeper award this year.