Five best goalkeepers in world football
Goalkeepers are undoubtedly the heart of the team. The role of the goalkeeper is key to the success or failure of the team. Quite often, they are the team's last resort when defenders fall short. Yet, they somehow always go unnoticed or unrecognized. With that in mind, here are the top five goalkeepers in world football at the moment.
Honourable Mentions:
Selecting the five best goalkeepers is a hard task. Over the past couple of years, we've seen the emergence of several fine shot stoppers. These may not make the top 5, but are worthy of an honourable mention, as they missed the cut by the finest of margins.
Thibaut Courtois - Chelsea
The young Belgian shot stopper may not have hit the heights he did for Atletico Madrid over at Stamford Bridge, but he's still one of the best. Regarded as the best Belgian keeper since Jean-Marie Pfaff in the 1970s, Courtois has cemented his place as Chelsea's number 1. Blessed with an incredibly long frame, Courtois is able to stop corner-bound shots few others can, and command his box by claiming high crosses most can't reach.
Gianluigi Donnarumma - AC Milan
A sublime shot-stopper, Donnarumma commands his area brilliantly and has the strength of a full-fledged senior pro. Finding young goalkeepers is tough as it's a position that demands levels of maturity and experience well beyond an 18-year-old. Goalkeepers tend to peak much later on in their careers, however, at 18, he's better than most. Touted as the next Gianluigi Buffon, it's only a matter of time till he's considered the very best.
#5 Samir Handanovic - Inter Milan
Probably the most underrated goalkeeper on our list. The 6ft 4in stopper possesses fantastic reactions, and uses these to great effect. In 2016-17, Handanovic single-handedly frustrated teams and scraped Inter points. At times, in games they lost, Handanovic was the sole reason things didn't get embarrassing.
One such instance was his save against Edin Dzeko in a 2-1 defeat to Roma. The save shocked the world and was named "Save of the Year" by the media.