Bundesliga Top 10 goalkeepers of all time
The Bundesliga has always been regarded as a gold mine of talent as far as top goalkeepers are concerned. Its pool of incredible keepers from top to bottom teams can attest to the fact that Bundesliga has always been the envy of other European leagues. Unlike other players, ranking goalies is not an easy feat.
A large number of highly competent keepers in Bundesliga makes it even more difficult. Many players could have feasibly made it to the top ten category were it not for just a few significant limiting factors. Here is a list of Bundesliga's top 10 best goalkeepers.
10.) Kevin Trapp
Country: West Germany
Years active: 2007-to date
Kevin participated in several youth teams in Germany including the under-21 national team. His unique play styles and aggressiveness has made him be described as the Rookie of the year in Bundesliga Champions league. He was awarded the Paris-Saint Germaine honours of Trophee des Champions in 2015.
9.) Rene Adler
Country: East-Germany
Years active: 1991-2012
During his tenure in Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Rene was lucky to be part of the club’s first team to play in Bundesliga. Unfortunately, he did not make an appearance during that edition. His first debut was in 2007, against the defending champions Schalke. Following a red card, the starting goalkeeper was served with a suspension. Adler exhibited his prowess by saving ten shots on goals that contributed to Leverkusen’s 1-0 victory. His world class saves enabled his team to break Schalke’s 13 games unbeaten record.
8.) Ralf Fahrmann
Country: East-Germany
Years active: 1995-to date
Ralf is a former member of several youth football clubs in Germany. He has played for Schalke 04 as a competent goalkeeper in Bundesliga. His first professional debut in September 2008 ended in a 3-3 draw against Borussia Dortmund. His notable achievement was in the 2011 DFL Cup, where he was named the man of the match after holding two penalty kicks. That stunning performance made Schalke 04 to defend the title for the very first time in its history.
7.) Pepe Reina
Country: Spain
Years active: 1988-to date
He is the first Spaniard goalkeeper in history to play all the European top leagues: Germany, England, Spain and Italy. He joined Fc Bayern Munich in 2014 and made his debut for Bayern I March 2015, starring in a 4-0 away victory over Werder Bremen.
6.) Ron-Robert Zieler
Country: West Germany
Years active: 1994-date
Ron-Robert is one of the best goalkeepers in Bundesliga’s history. His thrilling capability as a shot-stopper has left many awed. Ron-Robert plays as a goalkeeper for Hannover 96 and German’s national team. He signed his contract with Hannover in 2010, and his consistent performance earned him a debut in Bundesliga 2011 edition. He kept a clean sheet that made him the keeper of choice as his team won 3-0.
5.) Diego Benaglio
Country: Switzerland
Years active: 1993-to date
Diego spent most of his football career with club Vfl Wolfsburg. He made appearances in more than 200 competitive matches, and his team defended the title in 2009 edition. His debut on January 2008 enabled his team to advance to quarter-finals of the Germany Cup penalty shootout. His participation was also significant in 2008-2009 Bundesliga editions in which Wolfsburg was crowned the champions for the first time in the club’s history.
4.) Roman Weidenfeller
Country: West Germany
Years active: 1985-2013
As a German footballer, he played as a goalkeeper for German national team and German Bundesliga team Borussia Dortmund. His most notable performance was in 2011 Bundesliga edition, where his team triumphed. He also participated in the 2012 edition enabling Borussia to win the DFB-Pokal double title as well as Bundesliga’s champion of the season. Another remarkable performance was in 2013. Roman won the coveted DFL-SuperCup, and his Dortmund emerged top on the league with a 4-2 victory against Bayern Munich.
3.) Bernd Leno
Country: Germany
Years active: 1998-date
Bernd is termed as one of the most exciting and young goalkeepers of his generation in Bundesliga’s history. He plays for Bayern Leverkusen and is one of the most promising goalkeepers. Bernd has set a record for being the third goalkeeper after Dirk Krussenberg and Heribert Macherey, to have kept a clean sheet in their first three matches in Bundesliga’s history. Besides, he was the youngest player ever to play in a Champions League level.
2.) Manuel Neuer
Country: West Germany
Years Active: 1991-date
Manuel plays as a goalkeeper for German national team and Bayern Munich. His unique playing style and speed has made him be branded as sweeper keeper. In 2011, Manuel broke the record for the most competitive clean sheets in a row in Bayern’s history. He played for over 1000 minutes without conceding to Hoffenheim. His most memorable performance was during 2012 edition when he saved penalty kicks from legendary Christiano Ronaldo and Kaka, helping Bayern through UEFA Champions League against Real Madrid.
1.) Oliver Kahn
Country: West Germany
Year Active: 1975-2008
Kahn remains to be one of the most successful goalkeepers in history and is popularly regarded as the greatest goalkeeper of all time. During his professional football career, he won six DFB Pokals, UEFA Cup and Intercontinental Cup as well as 8 Bundesliga titles. His exemplary performance has earned him two German footballers of the year trophies, IFFHS World’s best footballer of the year and 4 consecutive UEFA best European goalkeeper of the year. He was the first and the only goalkeeper in Bundesliga's history to win the Golden Ball.