Editor’s Note: LastWordOnSports football writers Tommy Farr and Mike Kovacs are excited to embark on a 10-part series that seeks to create the perfect Premier League team. The process is not as simple as choosing the most talented players. We have determined a step-by-step selection process for choosing our line-up that, with your help, will hopefully result in the perfect team. Once we have filled out our team, we will stack them up against the best from around Europe’s top leagues. As we add articles along the way we will continuously update our project’s homepage. Please take the time to vote as often as you like – it will help us make informed decisions.
Having already discussed potential formations and managers (we will reveal the full results in time), we now must begin filling our roster. We will begin at the back, by examining five goalkeepers we feel are head and shoulders above the rest and will give us the best shot at taking down the Spanish, Italian and German giants.
Joe Hart – Manchester City
Joe Hart has all the aspects we need for our club. He plays on the big stage for Manchester City and represents his country, England, on the world stage, and has done so since playing on the U19 squad. At Man City since 2006, he did have several domestic loan spells, the most important being the 2009-10 season at Birmingham City. After some excellent performances, he was brought back to Manchester, but not before earning the “Goalkeeper of the Year” award for his work at Birmingham. There isn’t much we can criticize about Hart’s abilities, but there are two drawbacks. First, Joe has had what some would consider a rough start for City, given the incredibly high expectations in this 2013-14 campaign. On more than one occasion he has allowed a soft goal, which is un-Joe-like. We’re willing to give the benefit of the doubt, but current form is always a consideration. Secondly, although he has played in international competition, he has not played for a club outside of England, so therefore hasn’t the experience to draw from. Whether you consider that a detriment is up to you. Vote accordingly.
David de Gea – Manchester United
David de Gea arrived in Manchester at a very auspicious time – he was taking over from Edwin van der Sar – certainly not an envious task for a young keeper. After a very shaky start, he has settled and found his way in the Premiership. It’s a different game than the Spanish game he is used to. Having represented Spain at every level beginning with U15, he certainly has the stock to warrant a nod on our list. And don’t forget his experience playing for Atletico Madrid – he made 57 appearances before leaving for the Premiership. Certainly for some that experience is a difference maker as he has trained alongside some of Spain’s elite. And considering our club will be playing the likes of Iniesta, Fabregas, Xavi, etc, it can only help. He knows how they think, how they train. Is that enough for him to take down some of the Premier League’s elite keepers? Perhaps.
Peter Cech – Chelsea
Still only 31-years-old, it seems as though Petr Cech has been around forever at Chelsea, amassing over 400 appearances for the club in total following his arrival from French side Rennes in 2004. The same can be said of his importance to the Czech Republic side for whom he has 103 caps. Cech first established himself in his homeland with a spell at lower league club Chmel Blsany before moving to Sparta Prague and then onto France. Ever since arriving in the Premier League, Cech has been viewed as one of the very best around and shows no willingness to let go of that mantle. Now resplendent in his protective headgear on game day, Cech has a clean sheet record of roughly one every other game whilst also holding the record for shortest time taken to reach 100 Premier League clean sheets (180 matches). He has been Premier League Golden Gloves winner twice to accompany his plethora of team medals which include 3 Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups, 2 League Cups, Europa League and Champions League meaning that his place on this list was never in doubt.
Hugo Lloris – Tottenham
Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris has long been a goalkeeper talked of as amongst the best around after building his reputation at French club Nice. A couple of seasons playing in their B team led to him taking over as the number 1 and he hasn’t looked back since. A move to French giants Lyon saw Hugo given the opportunity to perform on the European stage in the Champions League and he didn’t disappoint, with Lyon reaching the semi-final for the first time in their history and Lloris nominated as one of the best keepers in the competition. 50 caps for the national side have further enhanced his reputation to the point that Tottenham were willing to pay around £10m for his services to replace the ageing Brad Friedel in 2012. After initially splitting time with Friedel, the number one jersey is now his own and his performances have been excellent.
Asmir Begovic – Stoke City
The young Begovic travelled and lived in several countries from his upbringing in Bosnia, to a couple of stints living in Germany as well as spending 6 years in Canada resulting in him being multilingual. Begovic didn’t hit the radar straight away at Portsmouth, but instead took in several loan spells to build his reputation, including a short stop in Belgium at La Louviere. In the 2008/9 season, Asmir finally made his Pompey bow before being sold to Stoke the following season for £3.25m – a fee many still kick themselves over but with the financial problems at Pompey at the time, it was simply a case of needs must. Since then, Begovic has become the concensus #1 for the Potters, and is widely considered amongst the top keepers in the league. What makes him even more intriguing is that he is the only one on our list who does not play for a “big” club. Stoke have little to play for in terms of silverware, but with a keeper as good as he is, it’s not out of the realm of possibility – thinking Capital One and FA Cups respectively. What can’t be understated is what he means to his national side, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which again adds a necessary international element to his game. At 6’6″ and 26 years old, he also has the right blend of experience and size for us.
[poll id=”85″]
Thanks for reading! Remember, this is a 10-part series. Do find time to come back for our next installment: Choosing Defenders.
Also, please take a moment and follow us on Twitter – @FommyTarr and @RoryHarbaugh. Give the site a follow while you’re at it – @LastWordOnSport.
Feel free to discuss this and other footy related articles with thousands of fans at r/football or with our new IRC football Chat.
Interested in writing for Last Word On Sports? Find out more by clicking on our “Join Our Team” page.
