The Path to Professional Goalkeeping: Stories of Successful Goalkeepers
Discover the lives of three professional goalkeepers and one female goalkeeper who reached the top thanks to their performances. However, their journeys to the limelight were accompanied by challenges and tougher situations that they had to overcome, often seeking new determination.
In this article, we will explore what Buffon, Casillas, Solo, and De Gea had to endure in their goalkeeping careers and how their football lives were shaped.
Gianluigi Buffon: The Italian Record Holder from Carrara
Former Italian footballer Gianluigi Buffon, also known as Gigi Buffon, was born on January 28, 1978, in the Tuscan city of Carrara. He was one of the best goalkeepers of all time, having played over 1100 matches in his professional career.
He started his career at the age of seventeen in Serie A with Parma and helped them win the Coppa Italia, UEFA Cup, and Supercoppa Italiana in 1999.
In 2001, he transferred to Juventus for a record fee of 52.9 million euros, where he stayed for a full seventeen years and won a record nine Serie A titles, four Coppa Italias, and five Supercoppa Italianas.
In the following years, he received many awards and nominations in Serie A.
In 2015 and 2017, Buffon was named to the Champions League squad after reaching the UEFA Champions League final, and in 2017 he received the inaugural FIFA Best Goalkeeper award.
In 2018, at the age of forty, he signed a contract with the French club Paris Saint-Germain, where he won the Trophée des Champions and the Ligue 1 title in his only season before returning to Juventus. After winning a record tenth title in the top league with the club and a sixth Coppa Italia title, he returned to his youth club Parma in 2021, where he ended his career in 2023 at the age of 45.
Record Holder
With 176 appearances, Buffon is the most capped goalkeeper of all time, the most capped player in the history of the Italian national team, and the third most capped European player in history. He has also played the most matches as captain for Italy since 2010.
He holds the record for the most nominations for five FIFA World Cup tournaments (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014). After his performances during the 2006 World Cup, where he kept a record five clean sheets, he won the Yashin Award and was selected for the Team of the Tournament.
He was the first goalkeeper to win the Serie A Player of the Year award and was named Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year a record twelve times.
Playing Style: Acrobat with Excellent Reflexes
From a young age, Buffon displayed his player talent, which was evident in his solid performances throughout his career. Coaches and players praised his concentration under pressure, work ethic, and for many other players, he was cited as a role model and archetype of the modern goalkeeper.
Buffon was preceded by athletic talent, agility, strength, and the ability to impose order on the field, especially stopping shots with his acrobatic leaps and quick reflexes. He also had the ability to make crucial saves.
Between 2008 and 2010, the goalkeeper suffered a series of injuries that, along with signs of aging, forced him to adapt his style of play. He adjusted his training diet and regimen, and despite a decline in physical strength, explosiveness, and speed, he continued to excel in tactical intelligence, decision-making, the ability to read the game, and organizing the defense.
As he got older, he preferred a deeper position closer to the goal to increase the distance from the opponent and have more time to assess situations and cover the ball.
Promoting Neonazi slogans and other controversies
Although Buffon was counted among the best footballers in the world and history, his name is also associated with a number of controversies.
In Parma, Buffon decided to wear the jersey with the number 88 instead of his original number 1, which caused disagreements in Italy. The letter in the 8th position is "H," and thus the number 88 was historically used by the Nazis as "Heil Hitler." Italy, in a statement to stop antisemitism, banned players from wearing jerseys with this number. However, Buffon stated that he was unaware of the neo-Nazi significance and that 88 represents a symbol of a person's character and qualities. He resolved the controversy by changing his number to 77.
His ignorance of the neo-Nazi connotation of the slogan was further demonstrated when he wore a shirt under his jersey with the phrase Boia chi molla (a loose translation: Who gives up is a scoundrel), which was associated with the fascist regime. The player mentioned that he first encountered the slogan at school and was unaware of its connection to the right-wing movement. Buffon's intention was to encourage his teammates due to disappointment from previous failures.
In 2000, Buffon faced possible punishment for falsifying a university diploma he needed to enroll in law studies at the University of Parma. He ultimately paid a fine of 6,350,000 lira and referred to his actions as a life mistake.
Iker Casillas: The Spanish Icon from Madrid
Iker Casillas Fernández, a former Spanish professional goalkeeper, was born on May 20, 1981, in Móstoles, a province of Madrid.
Casillas began his club career at the youth club Real Madrid. Thanks to his qualities, he moved up to the main team in 1999, becoming the youngest goalkeeper to play in a Champions League final. At the same time, at the age of 19, he was one of the youngest winners of the title.
In his first three seasons, Casillas established himself among the best goalkeepers in the world, thanks to two Champions League victories and three La Liga titles.
In the following years in Madrid, Casillas managed to win all major club titles, including five La Liga titles, four Supercopa de España, two Copa del Rey, three UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups, and the FIFA Club World Cup.
After 25 years, the goalkeeper transferred to FC Porto in 2015, where he continued to win the Primeira Liga and Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.
He ended his professional career in 2020 following a heart attack in 2019.
Regarding his international career, Casillas holds second place with 167 international caps for the Spanish national team.
In 2008, he was appointed team captain and led them to victory in the European Championship. In 2010, he helped Spain achieve its first victory in the World Cup. In 2012, Spain became the first nation to defend the European Championship title. Additionally, Casillas set a record for the most minutes without conceding a goal.
Playing Style: Consistent Player San Iker
Iker Casillas, nicknamed "San Iker," is considered one of the best goalkeepers of all time. He was one of the versatile athletic goalkeepers, known for his extraordinary agility, consistency, and ability to stop shots.
Casillas boasted excellent footwork, concentration, quick exits from the goal during one-on-one situations, and he also excelled at saving penalties.
Despite his reserved nature, he was known for his strong personality, calmness, reliability, excellent defensive organization, leadership on the field, and outstanding game reading skills.
His teammates referred to Casillas as a strong goalkeeper with great jumps, flexible reactions, and literally claimed he moved like a cat.
Throughout his career, Casillas was able to distribute the ball deep into the field with his long throws and left-footed kicks.
Heart Attack During Training
On May 1, 2019, during a morning training session with Porto, Iker Casillas suffered a heart attack. The player was immediately taken to the hospital, where his condition stabilized. That evening, the club announced on their website that the player was fine and his heart issue was resolved. Iker himself confirmed this on social media.
Although the goalkeeper mentioned a return to the field and even tried to train during his recovery, he never stepped back between the posts. However, he did not give up football, as he returned to Real Madrid as an advisor to president Florentino Pérez.
He ended his football career in 2020 when he decided to run for president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
Hope Solo: The American Star from Washington
Hope Amelia Stevens, a former American football goalkeeper, was born on July 30, 1981, in Richland, Washington.
She started playing football at a junior age as a forward. She initially played for the Washington team Three-Rivers Soccer Club and then for the university club Richland High School, where she scored a total of 109 goals. Solo was subsequently offered by several universities, but she enrolled at the University of Washington, where she studied and played from 1999 to 2002. In the Huskies team, she permanently switched to the goalkeeper position.
Solo finished her college career as Washington's all-time best player in terms of clean sheets (18), saves (325), and a goals-against average of 1.02. As the first female goalkeeper, she received the Pac-10 award.
In 2003, she became a member of the American women's professional team Philadelphia Charge (WPS). A few years later, she played in Sweden for Göteborg and then for the women's team of Olympique Lyonnais. In 2008, she transferred to the American team Saint Louis Athletica. She then switched between several American teams before signing a contract with Seattle Sounders Women in 2012. In the same year, national teammates Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and Sydney Leroux joined the team.
Hope was named the best player in women's football today.
Playing Style: Aggressive and Confident Hope
Solo is considered one of the best female goalkeepers of all time. Her playing style has been characterized as aggressive, confident, and self-assured. Throughout her career, she has received many awards, including two gold medals at the Olympic Games in 2008 and 2012 and the World Cup title in 2015.
She describes her transition to goalkeeping and playing style in her book Solo: Memoir of Hope. She claims that the switch to goalkeeping was a huge mental shift, as she had to adapt to the new role of saving games. Previously, she waited by the goal for the ball and used her athletic ability to make saves.
In the goalkeeper position, she learned to read the game and the runs of her opponents toward the goal, how to position defenders, and how to see angles. The intellectual aspect, according to her, made goalkeeping much more interesting. It wasn't just about ninety minutes of waiting for a mistake from her defense, but about tactics and strategy.
Solo was resilient, tough, and ready to fight.
Accused of Assaulting Family
In 2014, Hope Solo was arrested and charged with assaulting her sister and nephew. She denied the charges and was released the next day. The entire process was then postponed until January 6, 2015, when a decision was to be made regarding the withdrawal of the charges.
On January 13, 2015, the judge dismissed the charges due to insufficient cooperation from the alleged victims. However, the prosecution appealed, the appellate court sided with her, and the case was reopened. In June 2016, the appellate court denied Solo's petition for a review of the case.
On May 24, 2018, the city of Kirkland dropped all domestic violence charges against the player.
On March 31, 2022, Solo was arrested for driving under the influence, resisting arrest, and child abuse, as her two-year-old twins were in the car at the time of the incident. Solo pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated, which led to the charges of resisting arrest and child abuse being dropped.
David de Gea: The Spanish Goalkeeper from Madrid
Spanish professional goalkeeper David de Gea Quintana was born on November 7, 1990, in Madrid.
He began his football career with Atlético Madrid and made his senior team debut at the age of 18 in 2009. In 2010, he led the team to victory in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup.
Due to his skills, he caught the attention of Manchester United, and in 2011, he transferred to the club for a record fee of £18.9 million.
He played over 500 matches with Manchester United. He won the Premier League, FA Cup, two League Cups, three Community Shields, and the UEFA Europa League.
He has won the United Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award four times.
By the age of 21, he was the captain of the Spanish national football team, which won the European Championship in 2011 and 2013.
During his time at Manchester United, De Gea surpassed his predecessor Peter Schmeichel with 113 clean sheets in the English league.
Playing Style: From Futsal Forward to Goalkeeper
David de Gea played futsal as a field player until he was 14, incorporating various futsal techniques into his playing style. Especially the ability to make athletic saves with his feet. His shot-stopping ability with his feet led him to the goalkeeper position.
De Gea is agile, with excellent reflexes and the ability to stop shots between the posts. His ability to save balls with his feet allows him to make acrobatic and impressive saves.
The goalkeeper is also known for his consistency, calmness in finishing, and leadership.
From a young age, when he struggled to deal with high balls due to his slim build, he significantly refined this ability. He also greatly improved his ball handling, spatial awareness, decision-making, and catching crosses.
De Gea has excellent ball control, vision, and the ability to play with both feet, allowing him to initiate attacking plays from the back.
When the stars struggle…
Although David de Gea is one of the top goalkeepers, a few of his saves likely did not add to his pride.
In 2018, at the World Cup in Russia, he disappointed by letting in six goals out of seven shots. According to statistics at the time, this was the worst performance by a goalkeeper since 1996.
First, De Gea was beaten three times by Cristiano Ronaldo in the match against Portugal, with one goal slipping through his gloves. He also conceded goals from a penalty and a direct free kick.
In the match against Morocco, he conceded two goals from three shots and made only one save of the tournament against Khalid Boutaib's breakaway.
In the lost round of 16, he failed to stop a penalty goal from Artem Dzyuba. Subsequently, during the penalty shootout, De Gea let in all four Russian attempts, leading to Spain's unexpected elimination.
