Goalkeeping is the loneliest position and the least forgiving. We weighed shot-stopping, command of the area, the modern demand to play with the ball, and the simplest measure of all — the matches and trophies their saves won.

1. 1

   Lev Yashin

   Dynamo Moscow · USSR

   The Black Spider — the only goalkeeper to win the Ballon d’Or, and the template for the modern keeper.

2. 2

   Gianluigi Buffon

   Juventus · Italy

   Two decades at the summit, a World Cup, and the most reassuring presence a back line could ask for.

3. 3

   Manuel Neuer

   Bayern Munich · Germany

   Reinvented the position as the sweeper-keeper, redrawing where a goalkeeper’s job ends.

4. 4

   Iker Casillas

   Real Madrid · Spain

   San Iker — reflexes that won a World Cup and a European treble of trophies for Spain and Madrid.

5. 5

   Peter Schmeichel

   Manchester United · Denmark

   A colossus in the United goal, whose star jumps and treble-winning saves defined an era.

6. 6

   Oliver Kahn

   Bayern Munich · Germany

   Sheer will in gloves; the only goalkeeper named player of the tournament at a World Cup.

7. 7

   Dino Zoff

   Juventus · Italy

   Captained Italy to the 1982 World Cup at 40 — calm, immovable, eternal.

8. 8

   Gordon Banks

   England · England

   The save from Pelé in 1970 is still called the greatest of all time.

9. 9

   Edwin van der Sar

   Ajax/Manchester United · Netherlands

   A modern, ball-playing keeper before it was fashionable, and a winner everywhere he went.

10. 10

    Petr Čech

    Chelsea · Czech Republic

    Record clean sheets in the Premier League and the cool head behind a Champions League triumph.

A LeaguePaper editorial ranking — opinion, offered for argument.