The appointed heir to Gianluigi Buffon as Italy’s No. 1, could it be possible that AC Milan’s Gianluigi Donnarumma will eventually dwarf the Juventus legend? The 18-year-old goalkeeper was sensational in Milan’s highly controversial defeat to Juventus, recording nine saves and showcasing his strength, agility and tenacity.
The fight for second place in Serie A is serious business. Roma and Napoli are not fighting solely for the privilege of finishing behind Juventus, but battling to avoid a Champions League playoff qualifying spot. So bad is the history of Italian teams in the playoff rounds that Italy has, more often than not in recent years, only had two representatives in the group stages of Europe’s premier footballing tournament.
Thus, when Roma and Napoli played one another this weekend, the chance to finish in second was up for grabs.
Tim Krul is best known for being brought on by Louis van Gaal before the Netherlands penalty shootout against Costa Rica in the 2014 World Cup quarterfinals. It was a rare decision that turned out to be a stroke of genius from Van Gaal, with Krul saving penalties from both Bryan Ruiz and Michael Umana to send the Netherlands into the semifinals.
Goalposts cannot feel pain. This I believe, and I believe it strongly. Goalkeepers, however, can surely feel pain, especially after they let in a goal off the goalpost and then headbutt said goalpost in frustration. That is what Cray Valley Paper Mills goalkeeper Jordan Carey did during his side's 5-2 loss to Ashford United.
What'd the goalpost ever do to you, man? (via @aufcfans) pic.twitter.com/qgXjm8MGsZ
Eleven-year-old Samuel suffers from cerebral palsy and cannot walk without assistance, but he doesn’t let his condition stop him from pursuing his dreams. Manchester United inspires the young goalkeeper, but at the end of the day, Samuel is an inspiration to all of us.
Sam revealed, “Having cerebral palsy is very hard, and playing football is a bit difficult but I don’t really take that as a big issue, I just get on with it.”
After spending £6.5 million on Belgian Matz Sels in the offseason but watching him commit a series of high-profile errors to start the campaign, Newcastle United turned to 26-year-old goalkeeper Karl Darlow to steady the ship.
Darlow has since been great in net for the league league leaders, but he undoubtedly suffered the worst moment of his career in Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with Norwich City on Tuesday.
The signs have continued to add up for Hope Solo to miss the Seattle Reign season opener. Even with the regular season kick-off still two months away, it appears as though the team has moved on from the iconic keeper.
First, the club announced the acquisition and signing of Madalyn Schiffel from Europe. The club made moves with another NWSL club to be able to bring her in, signalling that she would, at a minimum, challenge for the starting spot.
On February 22nd and March 14th, two titans of the goalkeeping position will clash in their final duel at the highest level of the game. Perhaps we shouldn’t ever write-off the possibility of the 35-year-old Iker Casillas and the 39-year-old Gianluigi Buffon encountering each other on the pitch again, but we should be exceptionally grateful for at least one last bout.
Elite goalkeepers have to be extremely accurate with their punts. You can't just lump it down the field and hope your team comes up with the ball if you play for one of the best clubs in the world.
Inaccuracy is not a concern for Real Madrid goalie Keylor Navas, who knocked the phone out of an unsuspecting BBC producer's hands at a recent training session. Better yet, the producer was recording video at the time, so we get to watch this:
How exactly does a goalkeeper go about scoring on a punt?
Like this:
WATCH: Goalkeeper on goalkeeper crime in Spain's third division pic.twitter.com/SG087doQPm
— Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer) February 6, 2017
And that celebration!