The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) has named it’s list of best goalkeepers of 2014 and while predictably Manuel Neuer took the top spot, Argentina number one, Sergio Romero was sixth.
The Sampdoria goalkeeper is perhaps indebted to Alejandro Sabella for his lofting ranking given that this will be based almost entirely on his excellent performance for Argentina in Brazil and while many doubted his position pre-tournament, Sabella stayed firm.
Prior to the World Cup, 2014 had been a frustrating year for Romero as he found playing time at Monaco very hard to come by. However, after impressing for Argentina, most notably in the penalty shootout against the Netherlands, Romero has returned to Sampdoria and continued his good form.
Neuer claimed the number one spot for the second year in a row after he ended Iker Casillas’ run of five consecutive titles in 2013. Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois was runner up but the World Cup obviously had a considerable influence on the result with Keylor Navas, Claudio Bravo and Guillermo Ochoa joining Romero on the list.
RANKING 2014
1 – Manuel NEUER (FC Bayern München / Germany) 216 points
2 – Thibaut COURTOIS (FC Chelsea / Belgium) 96 points
3 – Keylor NAVAS (Real Madrid / Costa Rica) 46 points
4 – Gianluigi BUFFON (Juventus FC / Italy) 26 points
golazo argentino 