The Reasons Why Football Goalkeepers Are Underrated

In football, you win by outscoring your opponents. But you also win or avoid losing, by stopping your opponents’ offense. When the defenders fail, goalkeepers remain the only ones with the power to decide their team’s fate. In this article, we’ll be talking about the reasons why football goalkeepers are underrated. This is an age-old topic and it’s time to address it.

The purpose of this article is to highlight the goalkeepers’ talents and why they are underrated. Despite being arguably one of the, if not the most important players on the pitch, goalkeepers are overlooked too often. We previously published an article about the best goalkeepers in 2022. This was based on predictions and stats after the January transfer window.

Different Team Sports, Same Reasons as Why Goalkeepers are Underrated

In most sports, the defense doesn’t get as much credit as the offense. This is partly because offensive assets and stats attract more people and generate higher viewership numbers as well. In American football, for example, quarterbacks take the biggest bite out of the publicity cake, followed by wide receivers, and so on. Comparatively, in the modern basketball era, points and offensive players are more appreciated than the defensive powers of the more classic times. This goes on and on, in every team sport.

The Place of Football Goalkeepers in Ballon d’Or History

This is the highest individual award a player can receive in football. The best and most complete player in the sport receives the Ballon d’Or each year. Many other awards represent specific positions, but we’ll mention the Yashin award only later on. 

Between 1956 and 2022, only one goalkeeper won the award. Lev Yashin, regarded as the best keeper of all time, won the Ballon d’Or by a landslide in 1963. In a sport dominated by forwards, he remains the only goalkeeper to win the greatest individual award in football.

Additionally, only four goalkeepers have reached the Ballon d’Or podium since Yashin’s victory. Dino Zoff is the only goalkeeper to come second in the voting, which was in 1973. Ivo Viktor, Oliver Kahn, and Manuel Neuer are the remaining three keepers to reach the top three. Kahn came 3rd in 2001 and 2002. As one can see, goalkeepers have been underrated by online sportsbook news in Spain especially since Neuer’s podium finish in 2014.

2022 Ceremony and Thibaut Courtois’ Speech

The Lev Yashin trophy was officially established in 2019. The best performing goalkeeper receives it each season, which most recently was undeniable Real Madrid’s own, Thibaut Courtois. But his Ballon d’Or finish was what caused an uproar. The 30-year-old finished only 7th overall for the award. Widely regarded as the best goalkeeper of the 2021/2022 season, Courtois openly criticized the award, saying that “I see the Ballon d’Or as impossible to win”.

Club legend, Iker Casillas supported Courtois after his Ballon d’Or snub. Many people believe that the Belgian should’ve finished at least 3rd. Last season, Real won LaLiga, the Champions League, the Spanish Super Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup. Courtois was one of the most important players in Madrid’s squad. With 9 direct saves and a clean sheet, he won Man of the Match for the UCL Final.

Will Football Goalkeepers Remain Underrated? – The Aftermath

After the 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony, things might be different for football goalkeepers. One speech will not change FIFA’s voting system, but it will have an effect. The market value of keepers is also significantly lower than those of the forwards. We might be seeing a slight change in this matter as well. It’s baffling to see how players like Casillas, Buffon, Zoff, Neuer, Cech, Kahn, or Schmeichel never won the award, or barely even reached the podium.

But until the next award ceremony, keep an eye on Courtois and Real Madrid with 20Bet Sportsbook. They no doubt will try to make a statement with their performance this season. It’s also certain that we will be hearing from the likes of Allison, Ederson, and Donnarumma before the January transfer window as well.

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