Top Five: Szczesny picks his favourite goalkeepers

We sat down with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to find out which five players in his position he admires above all others.

A self-confessed student of the art of the goalkeeping, Szczesny’s list covers the evolution of the position over the last 20 years or so – with the five different individuals picked for the new perspectives they brought to the role and the particular influence they have had on the Pole’s own career.

Here’s his top five, listed with their country and one of their most notable club sides...

PETER SCHMEICHEL
Manchester United & Denmark

“My very favourite goalkeeper would have to be Peter Schmeichel. When I started doing goalkeeping he was the top goalkeeper at the time, and I definitely looked up to him. I never got to play against him, but I did get to play against his son, Kasper – we swapped shirts after that match so I can cheat and say I’ve got Schmeichel’s shirt at home!

“He was always my favourite, first and foremost because he was just clearly the best at the time. A lot of people talk about his physicality, his way of saving shots, but I think what I admired was his personality, and the presence he had. It taught me that you don’t necessarily have to be that big or that strong to project that presence and aura in goal. For example, more recently you have Iker Casillas - who is not the biggest of goalkeepers - but you definitely see that presence.

“Schmeichel had that something about him – that command of his area - and at the time Man Utd were winning every trophy there was and he was a big contributor to that. There was really no goalkeeper that could compare. There were plenty of good ones around but he was always ahead of them.”

ANDREAS KOPKE
Nurnberg, Marseille & Germany

“This is a hard one to explain, because Kopke played before I was really getting into football. I think I was watching Euro ’96 when I first noticed him. I don’t know why I liked him but he was always a goalkeeper that I admired, there was something about his style that attracted me.

"He had a very good tournament then, including a few penalty saves on the way to Germany winning the final. Then I got to meet him a couple of years ago when Poland played against Germany and I got to chat to him afterwards.

“We had just won the game against them 2-0, so he wasn’t very happy with me! But he complimented me on my performance as I had a very good game – to win 2-0 against Germany you have to – and he was helpful with me. It was only a two or three-minute chat but it was interesting to hear from him. I know he works with the German national team so I imagine there is another goalkeeper on this list that gets a lot out of working with him.”

EDWIN VAN DER SAR
Manchester United & Netherlands

“I got to play against him in my first season at Arsenal. He was just a fantastic all-round goalkeeper, especially with his distribution.

“He’s changed the game, in many ways, with his style of playing the ball out from the back. He was one of the first ones to do that and look so comfortable with it – and it’s something we see much more nowadays.

“In many ways he’s the link between the likes of Schmeichel and Kopke and the top goalkeepers of today.”

MANUEL NEUER
Bayern Munich and Germany

“Neuer has to be on the list, just for the way he changes the way you look at goalkeeping in general. Before our generation it was often about just catching it and kicking it. Then with Van der Sar it was about distribution a bit more, that aspect came into it, and then the sweeper-keeper came in with Neuer.

"He has taken that concept to the another level that, in my opinion, no-one else has quite mastered yet.

“I actually don’t think he has mastered it himself, but I think it’s one of those things you never will: if you like that style of goalkeeping and implement it then you are always going to be exposed to making one or two bad decisions in amongst the many good ones. But he’s the best at it right now.”

MACIEJ SZCZESNY
Szczesny’s father – and former Poland goalkeeper

“An obvious, huge influence on my career. It’s all good watching goalkeepers that you are never going to meet, but to have someone who can be such a big influence on your career on a day-to-day basis is very helpful.

“I would say that the mental side of the game is about 80% of being a goalkeeper, so it’s always good to learn from others who have been in a similar situation, or know a lot about the discipline. But, then again, as I said about the way goalkeeping has developed so much – you should only rely on those that played 20 years ago a little bit less than you could.

“That’s because it is a very different position now. My dad used to play at a time when you could pick up the ball when the defender passed it back to you – so if he tries to give me advice on distribution I can say to him, ‘Look, you could catch the ball when it was difficult, so don’t talk to me about that!’

“So it’s always good to learn from experience and those who have been there before, but you have to put it in perspective. Goalkeeping has evolved a lot since he played, thanks in large part to the other players on this list.”