The goalkeeper position is probably the least-contested starting spot in Europe. Not that the #2 and #3 keepers aren’t pushing the first-choice guy as hard as they can, it’s just clubs usually know exactly who their best keeper is, thus allowing leeway for the occasional abysmal error. Iker Casillas, albeit his form was far from convincing in the World Cup, proved why he is one of the best keepers of all time. He has made 156 appearances for Spain in goal since 2000, and in almost every case has been the man for the job for Spain, even with the likes of Victor Valdes, Pepe Reina, and more recently David De Gea nipping at his heels.
David De Gea didn’t start his Manchester United career well, seeing his spot given by Alex Ferguson to Anders Lindegaard after only a few weeks. Two years later, De Gea has joined the ranks of Courtois as one of the premier keepers in the world. Much of this can be attributed to the pressure Lindegaard put on De Gea in his first two seasons with United. De Gea was probably the best keeper in the premier league last season, and United’s record could have been much worse without him.
This past season leaves us with several examples as to why the backup goalkeeper position is one of the more undervalued roster spots in football. Wojciech Szczesny was an example of a player having a Casillas-like grip on the #1 keeper role. Lukasz Fabianski was designated by Arsene Wenger as the FA Cup keeper from day 1, and in those limited appearances Fabianski more than made a case for his inclusion in the first team. His heroics in the FA Cup semifinal will not be forgotten by Arsenal fans and viewers alike, and it was a touch of class for Wenger to stick with him in the final. However, Szczesny was excellent for the entirety of the season, and never gave Wenger a real reason to replace him.
Now that Fabianski’s contract has expired and he moved onto Swansea (a fantastic pickup that allowed the sale of Michel Vorm), Arsenal have replaced him with a more than capable World Cup performer in David Ospina. Ospina made several saves for Columbia in their impressive campaign, has been a consistent presence in goal for Nice in Ligue 1 for several years, and will surely heap pressure on Szczesny to have an even better season this year.
Pepe Reina spent the entirety of last season serving as the first choice goalkeeper for Napoli, and according to his agent is returning to spend the season with Liverpool. This is a smart, discrete bit of business from Brendan Rodgers not to sell him while he can. Having Reina challenging Simon Mignolet will boost the quality at the position regardless, and selling Reina at this point wouldn’t be worth it to lose a more than capable deputy if the #1 at Anfield slips up or loses fitness.
Similarly, Chelsea are welcoming back a goalkeeper from loan. Thibault Courtois returns to Stamford Bridge as arguably the best keeper in the world over the last two years. Courtois anchored an Athletico Madrid team that won La Liga last year, and featured for Belgium in the World Cup. Petr Cech has been Chelsea’s most loyal foreign servant for the last decade, but will be pushed to the max by Courtois, who is determined to prove himself. It’s my belief that Cech will have the starting role by default, but he of all people will realize Courtois is waiting in the wings for any major slip up. Jose Mourinho will make it clear to both his keepers that if they are on the field and endure a catastrophic run of form, they will be swiftly replaced.
Since Fabianski signed for Swansea, Michel Vorm was included in a deal with Tottenham that brought Gylfi Sigurdsson to Wales. Vorm, the third and least talked-about keeper for the Netherlands, was brought on as a substitute in the third-place match against Brazil. Although he was only on for a few moments, Louis Van Gaal made sure he saw the field. Van Gaal, not known as the most sentimental guy, surely used one of just three substitutions on Vorm as a tribute to the hard work and effort this lad put in to make the team as the third keeper. Vorm joins 43 year old Brad Friedel as backup to Hugo Lloris who, like the others I’ve talked about, will be under more pressure to perform at a world-class level in order to stay on the pitch.
Finally, Manuel Pellegrini atoned for his failure to field a decent backup keeper last season by signing Willy Caballero for 6 million pounds from Malaga. Besides the fact that Pellegrini managed Caballero at Malaga, he is a great signing for City. Last term, when Joe Hart went through a Rob Green circa 6/12/10 run of form, Costel Pantilimon was employed in his place. Pantilimon was far from convincing in his midseason cameo for the blues, and probably made Joe Hart look himself in the mirror and say “you lost your spot to this guy.” By signing Caballero, Hart’s leash is much shorter than last season while he faces genuine competition for the starting role.
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