Bettitude Goalkeeper (Men) Of The Year 2021

Written by Dare Solomon

Having safe hands between the sticks is as important as having a top finisher in a team. The goalkeeping department over the years has witnessed a dramatic turnaround from just the regular shot stopper to being a ball player, sweeper, attack starter and many more.

While these attributes add more feathers to what a quality goalie is, the priority, which is keeping the ball out of the net, can not be overemphasized. This and many more over the course of the year 2021, have seen some outstanding goalkeepers done and performed exceedingly, making the poll for the “Goalkeeper of the year” a debate and an open ended question.

We on Bettitude.com have put together a standard rubrics or metrics which at the end will point who the Goalkeeper for the year 2021 is.

Metrics

Plays in a top 5 league
The year in view starts from January and ends November
Saves
Clean sheets
All round contribution to the team

Playing In The Top League And Competitions

Since the year 2021 witnessed international championship (Euro 2020, Gold Cup and Copa America) and league football across Europe and The Americas, the outstanding contribution of goalkeepers in the competitions as well their respective clubs, make them eligible for the award. This also covers for goalkeepers who during the year in view had no international tournament to participate in but had outstanding performances for their clubs all year.

Saves

The goalkeeper denying the opposition a goal in a game goes a long way in seeing a team win a game. Every great team will always want to have one. The number of shots destined for goal but denied by the goalkeeper is what this rubric stands to highlight. We understand that some defences are more compact than others thereby creating some sort of advantage for some goalkeepers, but the average of saves per game will be put into consideration.

Clean Sheets

While goalkeepers make saves and sometimes hand wins to their teams, the glory of these number one players is the number of games they play without conceding a goal. This is what a clean sheet is all about and definitely a major determinant of who the goalkeeper of the year is.

All Round Contribution To The Team

This has to do with the goalkeeper’s performance rubbing off on his team. The goalie’s contribution should be part of the team’s success. Although this is an individual award, all of the aforementioned areas should translate to trophies and medals.

So, who then stands head and shoulder above every other goalkeeper in the year 2021?

Manuel Neuer…

Regarded by many as the finest goalkeeper on the planet, he also gets mentioned in the talks for the greatest goalkeeper of all time, the Bayern Munich shot stopper smashes our metrics.

His reputation is up there with the best of them, he’s unmatched for natural talent, has won it all with Bayern, and keeps winning, comes up clutch when his team needs him and his form has been strong all year.

Although Neuer conceded 51 goals in 2021, the German International has kept 17 clean sheets in 46 games with a credible record of 104 saves.

At 35, there’s little sign of Neuer slowing down yet, and he’s bounced back incredibly well from one of his more erratic spells a few years ago. There’s still plenty left in the tank for the German, and plenty more opportunities to feature in future Welcome to World Class editions.

Special Recognition

Edouard Mendy and Jan Oblak. The two names make the decision very tough and close to call as their performance over the year is too difficult to ignore. Both Mendy and Oblak have had an admirable 2021 which on any other day could win a goalkeeper the Golden Glove.

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