All those little oddities, snippets of trivia and quirky facts about goalkeepers that you were just dying to know about

Goalkeeper Awards, Gongs & Other Achievements

International honours

England, Wales and Northern Ireland's most capped players are all goalkeepers, namely Peter Shilton (125), Neville Southall (91) and Pat Jennings (119). Scotland's most capped player is Kenny Dalglish, who picked up 102 caps during his International career.

The first Fourth Division player to win a full international cap was also a goalkeeper - Crystal Palace's Vic Rouse, who was selected to play for Wales in a game against Northern Ireland in 1959.

Italy's Dino Zoff still holds the record for the longest period in international football without conceding a goal, going 1,142 minutes before Haiti's Manno Sanon found the back of the net to give his side a surprise lead in their 1974 World Cup group game.

Robert Gardner was the first goalkeeper to captain an international side, doing so for Scotland against England in football's second international, way back in 1873. He was also the first international to keep a clean sheet over 90 minutes.

In Juy 2016, United States' Hope Solo became the first goalkeeper in history to achieve 100 clean sheets in international competition when she kept South Africa out at Soldier Field. The match was Solo's 150th career win and 197th cap, with the USA winning 1-0.

Spain's Iker Casillas holds the Men's record number of international clean sheets, notching up 77 shut-outs during his career. Second is the Netherlands' Edwin Van Der Sar (71) followed by Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Al-Deayea (69).

Peter Shilton unsurprisingly holds the record for the most clean sheets for England, registering 66 during his international career. Pat Jennings kept 43 clean sheets for Northern Ireland while Jim Leighton had 42 for Scotland. Neville Southall managed 34 during his career with Wales.

Spanish goalkeeper Andrés Palop was part of Spain's victorious Euro 2008 championship winning side and duly picked up a winners' medal, despite failing to make his debut at international level.

Oscar Cordoba kept a clean sheet in every game during Colombia's victorious run in the 2001 Copa America tournament.

Saudi Arabia's Mohamed Al-Deayea holds the record for most international appearances for a goalkeeper, winning 181 caps in total.

Romania's Răducanu Necula had the honour of being the first goalkeeper to be used as a sub in a World Cup game, coming on for his compatriot Stere Adamache during a group match against Brazil in 1970.

The first substitute in international football was Wrexham's Sam Gillam, who came on to replace local amateur Alf Pugh during a game against Scotland twenty minutes into the game. Pugh had started the game after Wales' intended keeper Jim Trainer failed to show up after Preston North End refused to release him.

On 10 October 2009, West Ham United goalkeeper Rob Green became the first ever England goalkeeper to be sent off during a match against Ukraine for a professional foul on Artem Milevskiy.

Botswana goalkeeper and captain Modiri Marumo became the first - and so far only - goalkeeper to be sent off during a penalty shoot-out in May 2003. Marumo was dimissed for punching his opposite number, Philip Nyasulu, during a Castle Cup tie between Botswana and Malawi, after Nyasulu gave him a sporting pat on the shoulder. Malawi won 4-1 to reach the semi-finals of the competition.

Colombia's José Luis Chilavert holds the record for the most goals scored at international level, having netted eight in total during his international career.

Canada's Pat Onstad holds the record for the longest international career for a goalkeeper. Having made his debut against Bermuda in February, 1988 he played his last game against Argentina in May, 2010 - a career that spanned 22 years 95 days and lasted three days more than Egypt's Essam El-Hadary. Northern Ireland's Pat Jennings currently lies third, having played international football for 22 years 58 days.

The longevity of Pat Jennings' Northern Ireland career saw him face England a record 20 times, an achievement that may never be broken. He also faced Scotland 19 times during his time on the international stage.

Kazadi Mwamba is the only goalkeeper to have won the African Nations Cup award for Most Valuable Player, doing so in 1968 when Congo-Kinshasa (later Zaire) lifted the trophy.

World Cup trivia

Italy's Walter Zenga holds the record of longest unbeaten run in World Cup history. He played 517 minutes (Almost 6 games) without letting in a goal in the 1990 tournament, beating the previous record held by England's Peter Shilton. Claudio Caniggia of Argentina eventually ended Zenga's run in the semifinals.

Peter Shilton does hold the record for the number of clean sheets in the World Cup finals, however, a record he shares with France's Fabien Barthez. Both keepers kept ten clean sheets in the final stages

New Zealand keeper Richard Wilson went 921 minutes without conceding a goal during New Zealand's successful World Cup qualifying campaign in 1982.

At the other end of the scale, Mexico's Antonia Carbajal and Mohamed Al-Deayea have the unfortunate honour of conceding the most goals in the final stages - 25 apiece.

However, Carbajal also holds the honour of becoming the first player to compete in five successive World Cup finals, from 1950-1966, although Mexico never got beyond the first round on all five occasions.

Spare a thought for Nicky Salapu of American Samoa. This fine figure of a goalie entered the record books in April, 2001 after conceeding 31 goals in a World Cup Qualifying game against Australia.

The record for most goals conceded in one tournament is the 16 that went past South Korea's Hong Duk-Yung in 1954. To make matters worse, he only played two games.

El Salvador's Luis Guevara Mora conceded 10 against Hungary in 1982.

Switzerland's Pascal Zuberbühler didn't conceded a single goal in 2006. The Swiss were eventually knocked out on penalties by Ukraine.

USA's Tim Howard set a new record for the number of saves during his side's second round game against Belgium during the 2014 World Cup, making 16 in total.

The first player to be replaced in a World Cup finals due to injury was French goalkeeper Alex Thepot, who sustained a jaw injury after being kicked in the face by one of his Mexican opponents in the opening match of the 1930 World Cup. He was replaced by midfielder Augustin Chantrel.

The first goalkeeper to be sent off was Gianluca Pagliuca of Italy in a match against Norway during the opening round of the 1994 World Cup.

Four goalkeepers have captained their teams to World Cup glory. What's more, the first two were both Italian. Giampiero Combi led Italy to their first title way back in 1934 and he was followed forty-eight years later by Dino Zoff, who skippered the Italians to victory in Spain in 1982. They were joined by Spain's Iker Casillas, who lifted the trophy in 2010, and Hugo Lloris who captained France when they triumphed in 2018.

Giampiero Combi and Czechoslovakia's František Plánička led their countries in the 1934 World Cup Final, the only time both goalkeeepers have captained their sides in the final.

American goalkeeper James Douglas recorded the first-ever clean-sheet in the finals of the World Cup when the United States played Belgium in a group game in 1930. The USA won the match 3-0.

West Germany's Bodo Illgner became the first goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in a World Cup final when he kept Argentina at bay in 1990 as the Germans ran out 1-0 winners.

Brazil's Gilmar is only goalkeeper to win back-to-back World Cups, doing so in 1958 and 1962.

Egypt goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary becamse the oldest player ever to compete in the World Cup finals when he lined up against Saudi Arabia at the age of 45 in their group clash at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, marking his appearance by saving a first half penalty. El-Hadary broke the record set by Colombia's Faryd Mondragón, who made a substitute appearance at the 2014 Finals in a game against Japan at the tender age of 43 years and 3 days.

The youngest player to captain his side at the World Cup was United States goalkeeper Tony Meola, who led his side out against Czechoslovakia in 1990 at the age of 21 years, 109 days.

However, Colombia's Mondragón is believed to be the only footballer ever to compete in six consecutive World Cup qualifying tournaments.

Poland's Jan Tomaszewski (1974) and the United States' Brad Friedel (2002) share the record for most penalty saves in open play, both saving twice from the spot in their respective tournaments.

Ukraine's Olexandr Shovkovskiy became the first keeper to keep a clean sheet in a World Cup finals penalty shoot-out when he kept Switzerland out in 2006.

Netherlands' Tim Krul became the first goalkeeper to be brought on specifically for a penalty shoot-out when he entered the field of play during his side's quarter-final game against Costa Rica in the last minute in 2014.

Only two goalkeepers have saved three penalties in a World Cup penalty shootout. The first was Portugal's Ricardo, who kept out three of England's spot-kick during their Quarter Final shootout back in 2006. This feat was matched by Danijel Subačić of Croatia, who saved three of Denmark's penalties when the sides met in 2018.

The record for most penalty shoot-out saves in total is four and held by three different goalkeepers: Harald Schumacher (West Germany), Sergio Goycochea (Argentina) and Danijel Subačić (Croatia)

Gibraltar's Deren Ibrahim conceded the fastest goal in World Cup history when he was beaten by Belgium's Christian Benteke after just 8.1 seconds in October 2016. Ibrahim replaced England's David Seaman, who was beaten by San Marino's Davide Gualtieri after 8.3 seconds in 1993.

The youngest goalkeeper to play in the World Cup finals was North Korea's Lee Chang-myung, who was 19 years 6 months old when he faced the Soviet Union in the his side's opening game. He kept goal in all four of North Korea's matches. The youngest female goalkeeper was Mexico's Cecilia Santiago, who was just 16-years-old when she lined up against England in the 2011 Women's World Cup.

Players of the year

Winners of the Football Writers' Association Award for the Footballer of the Year include Bert Trautmann (Manchester City, 1955-56), Gordon Banks (Stoke City, 1971-72), Pat Jennings (Tottenham Hotspur, 1972-73) and Neville Southall (Everton, 1984-85).

Goalkeepers have fared slightly better North of the Border. Ronnie Simpson (Celtic, 1967), Alan Rough (Partick Thistle, 1981), Hamish McAlpine (Dundee United, 1985), Andy Goram (Rangers, 1993) and Craig Gordon (Hearts, 2006 & Celtic, 2015) have all won the Scottish Football Writers' Association Player of the Year title.

Only two Goalkeepers have won the PFA Player of the Year Award: Pat Jennings (Tottenham Hotspur, 1976) and Peter Shilton (Nottingham Forest, 1978).

Likewise, only two keepers have won the Scottish PFA award - Dutchman Theo Snelders (Aberdeen, 1989) and Andy Goram (Rangers, 1993).

Only one goalkeeper has ever won the PFA Young Player of the Year - Mervyn Day of West Ham United Football Club, who won the award back in 1975.

Moscow Dynamo's Lev Yashin is the only goalkeeper to win the European Footballer of the Year Award, doing so in 1963. He's also the only football player ever to win the Order of Lenin.

Paraguay's José Luis Chilavert is the only goalkeeper to win the South American equivalent - named by El País - doing so in 1996.

Cameroon goalkeeper Thomas Nkono was twice voted African Footballer of the Year, in 1979 and 1982.

Peter Enckelman's father, Göran, did the double in 1975, winning both the Finnish FA and Sports Writers' Player of the Year awards.

Olli Huttunen (1984), Antti Niemi (2004) and Jussi Jääskeläinen (2007) all repeated Enckelman's feat while Lars Näsman won both awards, albeit in different years (1965 and 1967).

Leif Nielsen, who spent most of his career with BK Frem before spells with Houston Stars and Greenock Morton, was the first goalkeeper to win the Danish Player of the Year award, doing so in 1966.

Esbjerg and Denmark goalkeepr Ole Kjær won the Danish Player of the Year title in 1978.

Peter Schmeichel won the same award three times during his career - in 1990, 1993 and finally in 1999.

Arguably Sweden's greatest goalkeeper, Ronnie Hellström won Player of the Year twice in his homeland, in 1971 and 1978.

Mart Poom won the Estonian Footballer of the Year award six times - 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003.

Manchester United's Tim Howard won a number of awards in his native USA, including Aquafina Goalkeeper of the Year, Nickelodeon GAS Player of the Year and - bizarrely for a goalkeeper - New York Life's Humanitarian of the Year!

Both Sepp Maier and Oliver Kahn have been voted German Footballer of the Year in successive seasons. Maier picked up the award in 1977 and '78 (to add to the title he won in 1975) while Kahn was victorious in 2000 and 2001.

Harald Schmumacher has also won the award twice but was prevented from claiming a unique hattrick of wins when Hans-Peter Briegel pipped him to the title in 1985 while Manuel Neuer won it twice with two different clubs, doing so with Schalke 04 in 2011 then Bayern Munich in 2014.

The only other goalkeepers to win the award were Hans Tilkowski, the first to do so back in 1965, and Andres Köpke, who won it in 1993.

On the other side of the wall, Jürgen Croy won the East German Footballer of the Year award three times - in 1972, '76 and '78.

Hans-Jürgen Dörner of Dynamo Dresden and Lokomotive Leipzig's René Müller held a firm grip on the East Germany's title between 1984 and 1987, with both goalkeepers winning back-to-back titles (Dörner '84 & 85, Müller '86 & '87). Leipzig's Horst Weigang was the first keeper to win the award, in 1965 while Carl Zeiss Jena goalkeeper Hans-Ulrich Grapenthin won the title in 1980 and 1981.

Stipe Pletikosa won the Croatia Footballer of the Year title in 2002 during his first spell with Hajduk Split.

Zoran Simovic, who also played for Hajduk Split, was named Yugoslav Footballer of the Year in 1983.

In 1977 Ubaldo Fillol became the first goalkeeper to be awarded the Footballer of the Year title in Argentina.

Boca Juniors's Hugo Gatti was also voted Argentina's Footballer of the Year back in 1982.

Spain's Luis Arconada won the Zamora Trophy in Spain for the lowest goals-to-game ratio three years on the spin between 1980-82. Barcelona legend Antoni Ramallets holds the record for most wins with five.

Hope Solo won U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year in 2009.

Kasey Keller was named U.S. Soccer Male Athlete of the Year three times (1997, 1999 & 2005). Tim Howard won the award in 2008 & 2014 while Brad Friedal triumphed in 2002.

Aleksandrs Kolinko became the first goalkeeper to win Latvia's Player of the Year award in 2006.

Fan Chun Yip was elected Hong Kong's Footballer of the Year in 2004 during his spell with Happy Valley.

Peter Cech has won Footballer of the Year in the Czech Republic an incredible eight times, including six in succession between 2008 and 2013. The only other keeper to win the award was Sparta Prague's Petr Kouba back in 1993.

Ivo Viktor was voted Czechoslovakia's Player of the Year on five occasions - in 1968, 1972, 1973, 1975 and1976.

Vincent Chileshe was crowned Zambian Player of the Year in 1977 at the tender age of 20, the first goalkeeper to achieve that feat.

Spartak Moscow's Rinat Dasayev won the Soviet Union's Football of the Year award in 1982.

In 2008 Khazar Lankaran goalkeeper Kamran Aghayev was named Azerbaijani Footballer of the Year.

Enver Marić of Velež and Hajduk Split's Zoran Simović were the only goalkeepers to win the Yugoslav Footballer of the Year, doing so ten years apart, in 1974 and 1983 respectively.

Paul Jones is the only goalkeeper to win Wales' Player of the Year trophy, doing so back in 1999.

Five different goalkeepers have won Belgium's Golden Shoe trophy, the Belgian equivalent of Player of the Year, since the award was first established back in 1954, although the last victory for the Goalkeepers' union was as long ago as 1989. The famous five are: Jean Nicolay (1963), Fernand Boone (1967), Christian Piot (1972), Jean-Marie Pfaff (1978) and Michel Preud'homme (1987, 1989).

Surprisingly, Lev Yashin never won the Soviet Footballer of the Year honour during his career. However, Yevgeniy Rudakov (1971), Vladimir Astapovsky (1976) and Rinat Dasayev (1982) all topped the poll conducted among journalists by the weekly sport newspaper Football

Australian Mark Bosnich is the only goalkeeper ever to win the Oceania Footballer of the Year title, doing so in 1997. Bosnich was also voted Oceania Goalkeeper of the Century.

Only two goalkeepers have lifted the Polish Footballer of the Year trophy. The first was Widzew Łódź keeper Józef Młynarczyk, who won the award in 1983, followed by Jerzy Dudek while playing for Feyenoord in 2000.

Three goalkeepers have won Mexico's Balón de Oro award, with the first two winners both hailing from Argentina. Miguel Marín won the award for the 1979/80 season while with Cruz Azul while América's Héctor Zelada picked up the award for the 1983/84 campaign. After a gap of twenty years, Mexico international Oswaldo Sánchez won the award in 2003/04, the first of two occasions he triumphed.

Saint-Étienne's Georges Carnus was the first goalkeeper to win the French Player of the Year award, recording back-to-back triumphs in 1970 and 1971. The only other goalie to pick up the award is Bernard Lama, who won in 1994 while playing with Paris Saint-Germain.

Only two goalkeepers have won the Austrian Footballer of the Year title, which is presented annually by the Austrian Press Association. Franz Wohlfahrt was the first keeper to pick up the award in 1993 while played for Austria Vienna. Three years later Michael Konsel claimed the title following an outstanding season with Rapid Vienna.

Cameroon's Thomas N'Kono won the African Player of the Year title in 1979 and 1982. Morocco's Ezzaki Badou is the only other goalkeeper to win the award, doing so in 1986 following a fine performance in that year's World Cup in Mexico.

Romanian international Narcis Coman was the first goalkeeper to win the Romanian Footballer of the Year title, doing so in 1978. Other keepers to win the award include Silviu Lung (1984), Helmuth Duckadam (1986) and Ciprian Tătăruşanu (2015).

Clean sheets and other club honours

After going a World Record 1,275 minutes without conceding a goal in a single season, Athletico Madrid's Abel Resno was finally beaten by Enrique of Sporting Gijon on 19 March, 1991.

Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Saar narrowly missed out on the European record during the 2008/09 season. The Dutch international went 1,311 minutes before an error allowed Newcastle United's Peter Løvenkrands to score, breaking former Rangers keeper Chris Woods' British record of 1,196 minutes set during the 1986/87 season.

The World Record for clean sheets belongs to Brazilian Matos Filho Mazarópi, who went 1816 minutes without conceding a goal for Vasco da Gama between May 1977 and September 1978.

The European Record is held by Belgian Dany Verlinden of Club Brügge who kept a clean sheet for 1390 minutes in 1990.

Oliver Kahn holds the record for the longest unbeaten run in the Bundesliga. In 2002/03, he went 737 minutes without conceding a goal.

In February 2014, Celtic keeper Fraser Forster broke Bobby Clark's Scottish League record of 1155 minutes without conceding a goal in a league match. Forster's clean sheet run ended on 1,256 minutes when he was finally beaten by Aberdeen's Jonny Hayes.

The record for most consecutive clean sheets in a row in England is held by Dagenham & Redbridge's Paul Gothard, who kept 12 shut-outs during the 1998/99 season.

Former Italian international Stefano Tacconi is the only goalkeeper to have won all five international club competitions - the European Cup, the UEFA Cup, the Cup Winners Cup, the Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. He won all five trophies while with Juventus.

Stoke City's Asmir Begovic scored after just 12 seconds during the Potters' Premier League clash against Southampton in November, 2013. It is believed to be the quickest goal ever scored by a goalkeeper.

Former Welsh international keeper Leigh Richmond Roose won a posthumous Military Medal for bravery during the First World War. He died on the Somme in 1916.

In 1986/87, Tranmere goalkeeper Eric Nixon became the first player to play in all four divisions of the Football League in the same season. Although registered with Manchester City, he played 44 games while on loan at Wolves, Southampton, Bradford City and Carlisle United.

Norwich City legend Kevin Keelan may hold the record for the most clubs in the shortest time span. Over a crazy period of eight months at the beginning of his career, Keelan turned out for four different clubs - Aston Villa, Stockport County, Kidderminster Harriers and Wrexham.

The most penalties saved in a single English League season by a goalkeeper is 8 (out of 10) by Paul Cooper of Ipswich Town in 1979-80.

Lev Yashin is reputed to have saved over 150 penalties during his long and distinguished career.

Walter Scott of Grimsby Town was the first goalkeeper to save three penalties in a single game; he performed this heroic feat in 1909 against Burnley.

Other goalkeepers to achieve this feat include Manchester United F.C.'s Gary Bailey, who saved three penalties against Ipswich Town at Portman Road in 1980 but still conceded six goals from open play, and Huddersfield Town's Matt Glennon, who saved three spot-kicks in a League game against Crewe Alexandra in 2007.

Belgian goalkeeper Jean-Francois Gillet saved three penalties from three different players during a Belgian Pro League match between Mechelen and Anderlect in October, 2015. The Mechelen keeper Gillet saved spot-kicks from Dennis Praet, Stefano Okaka and Youri Tielemans in a 1-1 draw between the two sides.

In September 2016 Dundee United's Cammy Bell went one better in a Scottish Championship game against Dunfermline, saving three penalties in quick succession in the first half. The score was 0-0 when Bell palmed away Gavin Reilly's first attempt after just nine minutes before he blocked Nicky Clark's effort in the 27th minute. Five minutes later he completed his "hattrick" but stopping Paul McMullan spotkick. United won 3-1.

Portsmouth keeper John Milkins saved three penalties from three different players during a match against Notts County during the 1973/74 football season. Despite his heroics, Country won 2-1.

A goalkeeper by the name of Louden saved three first half penalties for Stranraer during a 1937/38 Scottish Qualifying Cup tie against Bo'ness. The competition in question was a tournament that allowed non-League sides to reach the early stages of the Scottish Cup.

In October 1945, Partick Thistle's Jimmy Steadward saved a Kilmarnock penalty seven times! According to the popular football magazine Shoot!, the referee ordered the first six attempts to be retaken because he judged the keeper had moved too soon. When he saved the seventh, the ref waved play on.

Steaua Bucharest's Helmuth Duckadam became the first person to save four consecutive penalties when the Romanian side beat Barcelona in the 1986 European Cup Final. José Ramón Alexanko, Ángel Pedraza, Pichi Alonso and Marcos were all denied by Duckadam during the shoot-out after the match ended 0-0.

In 1982, Jimmy Rimmer became the second player after Italy's Saul Malatrasi to win a European Cup winners' medal with two different clubs, despite only ever playing nine minutes in the actual final. He was a non-playing substitute when Manchester United triumphed in 1968 and was in goal when Aston Villa triumphed in 1982, but was replaced by Nigel Spink after picking up an injury in the opening stages against Bayern Munich.

The first goalkeeper to save a spot-kick during a penalty shoot-out was Hull City's Ian McKechnie, who kept out Denis Law's effort after The Tigers 1970 Watney Cup semi-final against Manchester United ended in a draw. McKechnie was also the first keeper to concede a penalty in a shoot-out when he failed to stop George Best's opener and became the first goalkeeper to take a spot-kick when he stepped up to take Hull's fifth penalty. Unfortunately for McKechnie he put the ball wide and thus became the first player to miss the deciding kick!

Former Coventry City stalwart Steve Ogrizovic holds the club record for the highest number of consecutive League appearances: 209 from August 1984 to September 1989.

Pat Jennings became the first player in English football to make 1,000 senior appearances when he turned out for Arsenal against West Bromwich Albion in February, 1983. He marked the occasion by keeping a clean sheet.

Sheffield Wednesday keeper Kevin Pressman has the somewhat dubious distinction of holding the record for the fastest ever red card in top level English football. He was sent off after just 13 seconds on the opening day of the 2000/01 season against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Ebbsfleet United's Preston Edwards became an internet sensation after he was sent off against Farnborough in February, 2011, after just ten seconds. The former Millwall goalkeeper saw red after being sold short by one of his defenders and had no choice but to bring down his opponent. With no back-up goalkeeper on the bench, Ebbsfleet were forced to put 18-year-old midfielder Tom Phipp in goal for the remaining 89 minutes. They lost 3-0.

Colorado Rapids keeper Joe Nasco holds the record for the fastest sending off in the MLS, a distinction he achieved in February 2014 when he denied LA Galaxy's Alan Gordon with a clear goalscoring opportunity after just 34 seconds.

If you think that was quick, Real Betis goalie Joaquin Valerio went one better and was sent off 40 minutes BEFORE his team's Spanish Second Division game with Albacete had even kicked off. Valerios insulted the referee Fidel Valle Gil in the tunnel and the offical had no hesitation in producing a red card.

On a similar line, Ljungskile goalkeeper Michal Slawuta became the first goalkeeper to be sent off for receiving two yellow cards for timewasting during an away match against Trelleborg in April 2008. Even more impressive, both cautions came within minutes of each other. With Ljungskile leading 2-1 in the 90th minute, he was booked for taking too over a goal kick. He then went over to the other post to drink water, and was promptly booked for a second time.

Goalkeeper brothers Blair and Max Currie were sent off on same day in March, 2019. Max, the younger of the two keepers, saw red for Stranraer after a League One clash with Arbroath's Michael McKenna just before half-time. Forty minutes later, Blair was sent off after conceding a penalty against Annan in League Two while playing for Clyde.

Arsenal's Jens Lehmann was the first - and so far only - goalkeeper to be sent off during a Champions League/European Cup Final after he brought down Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o in 2006.

In 1999 France's World Cup winning goalkeeper Fabien Barthez topped a poll run by a French Sunday newspaper to find the country's favourite sports person. The chrome-domed keeper beat the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Laurent Blanc, Didier Deschamps and David Ginola to win the award.

The first goalkeeper to concede a goal in the Football League was Aston Villa's Jimmy Warner, who couldn't stop team mate Gershom Cox from putting the ball into his own net on the opening day of the first ever season back in 1888.

The tallest keeper to have played professionally in England is believed to have been Bill Carr, who stood at 6' 8" and kept goal for Bournemouth in 1924.

The game's first black professional footballer was a goalie. Born in Gold Coast (now Ghana), Arthur Wharton picked up his first pay packet in 1889 when he turned out for Rotherham United and later played in Divison One with Sheffield United.

Tottenham keeper Erik Thorstvedt became the first Premiership substitute to enter the field of play when he replaced Ian Walker on the opening day of the season in 1992.

Scottish side East Stirlingshire have the dubious honour of fielding the most goalkeepers in one game, using four different keepers in a match against Albion Rovers. First choice keeper Chris Todd was replaced early on by Scott Findlay, who was subsequently sent off, as was his replacement Graham McLaren. Shire's fourth and final keeper Kevin McCann saved a penalty as they went down 3-1 to Albion.

In 2004, Manchester United goalkeeper Tim Howard became the first American to win an FA Cup winners' medal when they beat Millwall 3-0 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.

The last goalkeeper to take his place between the sticks without gloves - in English football at least - is reputed to be Bolton Wanderers' Simon Farnworth, when he lined up against Bristol City in the final of the Freight Rover Trophy at Wembley in 1986. His side lost 3-0.

Gianluigi Buffon currently holds the record for the biggest transfer fee paid out for a goalkeeper, costing Juventus a cool £33 million when they signed him from Parma in 2001

The most travelled English goalkeeper is John "Budgie" Burridge, who was attached to thirty three different clubs during the course of his 29-year career. After mkaing his debut with Workington Town in 1968 he then played for (in order) Blackpool, Aston Villa, Southend United (loan), Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Derby County (loan), Sheffield United, Southampton, Newcastle United, Hibernian, Newcastle United (second spell), Scarborough, Lincoln City, Enfield, Aberdeen, Newcastle United (third spell), Dumbarton, Dunfermline, Falkirk, Manchester City, Notts County, Witton Albion, Darlington, Grimsby Town, Northampton Town, Queen of the South, Purfleet, Blyth Spartans and Scarborough (second spell) before finishing his career with a return to Blyth Spartans - a total of 771 first class matches in England and Scotland plus a further 121 non-league appearances.

Scottish goalkeeper Joe Crozier, who spent twelve years with Brentford, became a Freeman of the City of London after a successful post-football business career.

Bob Wilson was the first amateur to command a transfer fee when he moved from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Arsenal in 1963 for the princely sum of £7,500.

German goalkeeper Heinz Stuy, who enjoyed a long career in Dutch football with Telstar and Ajax, holds the distinction of being the most decorated goalkeeper at club level never to win an international cap. For the record, Stuy's honours include the Intercontinental Cup, three European Cups, two European Super Cups, four league titles and three Dutch cups.

Wimbledon's Dave Beasant is often mistakenly believed to have been the first goalkeeper to captain a winning side in an FA Cup Final, when he led his team out against Liverpool in 1988. However, back in 1875, Major William Merriman of the Royal Engineers lifted the Cup when he captained his side to beat Old Etonians 2-0 in a replay.

When Clyde won the Scottish Cup in 1939, goalkeeper John Brown only conceded one goal in the whole competition, a penalty kick during his side's 4-1 over Rangers. Brown later complained that had Rangers used their regular spot kick taker, Bob McPhail, he probably would have saved it as he knew where McPhail usually placed his penalties.

Portsmouth's Alan Knight holds the record for the most appearances for a single club by a goalkeeper, playing 683 league games (and 801 games overall) for Pompey between 1978 and 2000, overtaking Peter Bonetti's record of 600 appearances for Chelsea.

IFFHS' World's Best Goalkeeper of the Year

Year Winner Country Club 1987 Jean-Marie Pfaff Belgium Bayern Munich (Ger) 1988 Rinat Dasaev Soviet Union Spartak Moscow (USSR) 1989 Walter Zenga Italy Inter Milan (Ita) 1990 Walter Zenga Italy Inter Milan (Ita) 1991 Walter Zenga Italy Inter Milan (Ita) 1992 Peter Schmeichel Denmark Manchester United (Eng) 1993 Peter Schmeichel Denmark Manchester United (Eng) 1994 Michel Preud'Homme Belgium K.V. Mechelen (Bel)/Benfica (Por) 1995 José Luis Chilavert Paraguay Vélez Sarsfield (Arg) 1996 Andreas Köpke Germany Eintracht Frankfurt (Ger)/Marseille (Fra) 1997 José Luis Chilavert Paraguay Vélez Sarsfield (Arg) 1998 José Luis Chilavert Paraguay Vélez Sarsfield (Arg) 1999 Oliver Kahn Germany Bayern Munich (Ger) 2000 Fabien Barthez France AS Monaco (Fra)/Manchester United F.C.(Eng) 2001 Oliver Kahn Germany Bayern Munich (Ger) 2002 Oliver Kahn Germany Bayern Munich (Ger) 2003 Gianluigi Buffon Italy Juventus (Ita) 2004 Gianluigi Buffon Italy Juventus (Ita) 2005 Petr Cech Czech Republic Chelsea (Eng) 2006 Gianluigi Buffon Italy Juventus (Ita) 2007 Gianluigi Buffon Italy Juventus (Ita) 2008 Iker Casillas Spain Real Madrid (Spa) 2009 Iker Casillas Spain Real Madrid (Spa) 2010 Iker Casillas Spain Real Madrid (Spa) 2011 Iker Casillas Spain Real Madrid (Spa) 2012 Iker Casillas Spain Real Madrid (Spa) 2013 Manuel Neuer Germany Bayern Munich (Ger) 2014 Manuel Neuer Germany Bayern Munich (Ger) 2015 Manuel Neuer Germany Bayern Munich (Ger) 2016 Manuel Neuer Germany Bayern Munich (Ger) 2017 Gianluigi Buffon Italy Juventus (Ita) 2018 Thibaut Courtois Belgium Chelsea (Eng)/Real Madrid (Spain) 2019 Alisson Brazil Liverpool (Eng)

World Cup Golden Glove/All-Star Team Goalkeeper

The Golden Glove Award is awarded to the best goalkeeper of a World Cup tournamemt. Prior to 2010, the award was named the Yashin Award in honour of the late Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin. Although first awarded in 1994, every World Cup All-Star Team prior to 1998 included only one goalkeeper.

Year Winner Country 1930 Enrique Ballesteros Uruguay 1934 Ricardo Zamora Spain 1938 František Plânička Czechoslovakia 1950 Roque Máspoli Uruguay 1954 Gyula Grosics Hungary 1958 Harry Gregg Northern Ireland 1962 Viliam Schrojf Czechoslovakia 1966 Gordon Banks England 1970 Ladislao Mazurkiewicz Uruguay 1974 Sepp Maier West Germany 1978 Ubaldo Fillol Argentina 1982 Dino Zoff Italy 1986 Jean-Marie Pfaff Belgium 1990 Sergio Goycochea Argentina 1994 Michel Preud'homme Belgium 1998 Fabien Barthez France 2002 Oliver Kahn Germany 2006 Gianluigi Buffon Italy 2010 Iker Casillas Spain 2014 Manuel Neuer Germany 2018 Thibaut Courtois Belgium

UEFA European Championship Teams of the Tournament

From 1960 to 1992, only one keeper was named in a team of eleven. As the competition grew, so did the number of players honoured, rising to 18 in 1996 and then 23 in 2004. As a consequence, three goalkeepers were selected at each tournament until 2016 when they returned to the traditional eleven-man line-up.

Year Winner Country 1960 Lev Yashin Soviet Union 1964 Lev Yashin Soviet Union 1968 Dino Zoff Italy 1972 Evgeny Rudakov Soviet Union 1976 Ivo Viktor Czechoslovakia 1980 Dino Zoff Italy 1984 Harald Schumacher West Germany 1988 Hans van Breukelen Netherlands 1992 Peter Schmeichel Denmark 1996 David Seaman England Andreas Köpke Germany 2000 Francesco Toldo Italy Fabien Barthez France 2004 Petr Cech Czech Republic Antonios Nikopolidis Greece 2008 Gianluigi Buffon Italy Iker Casillas Spain Edwin van der Sar Netherlands 2012 Gianluigi Buffon Italy Iker Casillas Spain Manuel Neuer Germany 2016 Rui Patrício Portugal

Sporting Masters

Goalkeepers have proved to be quite adept sportsmen down the years, with several goalies enjoying parallel careers in other sports. Others had to make a choice at an early age while some keepers discovered hidden talents after they had hung up their gloves for good.

Cricket

Former Scottish International Andy Goram also played cricket for Scotland, keeping wicket against Australia in 1989. He won three caps in total and was told to stick to football by Australian bowler Merv Hughes...

Morton 'Monty' Betts played County Cricket for Middlesex and Kent as well as keeping goal for England. He also scored the only goal in the first ever FA Cup while playing up front for Wanderers.

As well as being the heaviest man ever to play football for England, Sheffield United's Willie 'Fatty' Foulke also represented his country playing cricket.

Leslie Gay of the Old Brightonians has the unique distinction of keeping goal for England's national football team as well as keeping wicket for England in a test match.

Coventry City goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic also used to play cricket in his spare time and once bowled out Viv Richards.

West Ham United keeper Jim Standen played cricket for Worcestershire during the summer months and topped the county bowling averages. He could apparently hurl a football 60-70 yards.

Queens Park and Scotland custodian Archibald Rowan was also a successful cricketer in the late 19th Century.

Former Tranmere, West Brom and Aston Villa goalkeper Jim Cumbes won the cricket county championship with Worcestershire in 1974. He is now Chief Executive of Lancashire Country Cricket Club.

Arthur Jepson, who played for Port Vale, Stoke City and Lincoln during his career, also played County Cricket for Nottinghamshire and became a Test umpire following his retirement from the game.

In August 1920, keeper Jack Durston took five wickets for Middlesex against Surrey in the morning then kept a clean sheet for Brentford in their opening game of the season in the afternoon.

Aston Villa's England international goalkeeper Bill George also played cricket for Warickshire.

Another England goalkeeper who also played cricket was Alexander Morten. Morten played both sports for the original Crystal Palace side of the 1800s.

Scottish goalkeeper Hamish McAlpine regularly turned out for Perthshire cricket club Rossie Priory.

New Zealand test cricketer Don McRae also played in goal for his country - winning one cap in 1936 in a 7-1 defeat to Australia.

Further afield, Charlie Gardiner, of the Unity Club in Belize, also turned out for the club's cricketing counterpart as well as keeping goal in the 1960s.

Blackpool goalkeeper Lewis Edge played cricket for both Morecambe and Cumbria County Cricket Clubs, keeping wicket as a youngster.

After retiring from football, Burnley's Jerry Dawson - who holds the record for most league appearances for The Clarets - became a batsman in the Lancashire League for Burnley Cricket Club.

Another goalkeeper who opted to take up cricket on his retirement was former Swindon Town and Torquay goalkeeper Kenny Allen, who went on to captain his local team, Chudleigh.

Former England test-batsman Phil Mead played one game in goal for Southampton way back in 1907, keeping a clean sheet in the process!

England Test cricketer Abe Waddington could be considered something of an all-rounder in the world of sport. As well as playing for England and enjoying a successful county career with Yorkshire, Waddington also played seven league games for Halifax Town during the 1921-22 season and later took part in the qualifying rounds of The Open golf championship.

George Raikes, who kept goal for England four times in the 1890s, enjoyed a first class county career with Oxford University and Hampshire before twice winning the Minor Counties Championship with Norfolk.

Another goalkeeper to enjoy success in the Minor Counties Championship was Watford goalkeeper Bill Yates, who played for Buckinghamshire and took two five wicket hauls against Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire in the early 1950s.

George Harris, who kept goal for Mansfield Town and Swansea, played one first-class cricket game for Glamorgan against Surrey in 1932 and was dismissed for a duck in his only innings.

Forest Green Rovers goalkeeper Steve Perrin is captain of Wiltshire County Cricket Club in the Minor Counties League, where, unsurprisingly, he plays as wicket keeper.

Newcastle United's Steve Harper played local league cricket when was not warming the bench at St. James' Park!

Veteran Watford goalkeeper Alec Chamberlain once had trials with Middlesex County Cricket Club before being snapped up by Ipswich Town.

Albert Iremonger played cricket for Nottinghamshire as well as keeping goal for Notts County Football Club at the turn of the 20th Century.

The strangely named Mordecai Sherwin also kept goal for Notts County and played cricket for Nottinghamshire, later playing three test matches for England in Australia.

Billy Moon, who once held the distinction of being England's youngest ever goalkeeper, kept wicket for Middlesex in two first-class cricket matches during the 1891 County Championship.

Chesterfield, Stockport County and York City goalkeeper Chris Marples played a string of first class County Cricket matches as wicket-keeper for Derbyshire during the mid-1980s.

One time Norwich City keeper Sandy Kennon played cricket for Norfolk in the 1970 Minor Counties Championship.

Edward Nash, who enjoyed spells between the sticks with Swindon Town, Crystal Palace and Brentford, played Minor Counties for Wiltshire after retiring from football, keeping wicket.

While at Oxford University, Charles Nepean played 10 first class cricket games for the University and Middlesex County Cricket Club. He also won an FA Cup Winners medal after Oxford beat Royal Engineers in the 1874 final. He retired from both sports on graduation to take holy orders.

Another goalkeeper who excelled at both sports was Ron Nicholls, who played first class cricket for Gloucestershire as well as keeping goal for Bristol Rovers, Bristol City and Cardiff City amongst others.

Glan Letheren, who kept goal for Leeds United and Swansea City in the 1970s, enjoyed a minor counties cricker career with the South Wales Cricket Association as a medium pace bowler and middle order batsman.

Scottish goalkeeper Dave Edwards, who enjoyed a varied career with Greenock Morton, Bethlehem Steel in the United States and Cowdenbeath amongst others, became a wicketkeeper/batsman with Cowdenbeath Cricket Club after retiring from football.

Victor Barton enjoyed a successful cricket career with the Army and Hampshire, making one Test appearance for England against South Africa. He was also on the books of Southampton St. Mary's, making an appearace in the semi-final of the Hampshire Senior Cup in 1893.

Len Beel, who played for Shrewsbury Town and Birmingham City in his short career, also made one appearance for Somerset in a Sunday League match against Warwickshire.

The wonderfully named Desire Montgomery Butler made appearances for both the British Virgin Islands' football and cricket teams in a long career, keeping goal and wicket respectively.

Tommy Thorpe, who kept goal for Doncaster Rovers, Barnsley and Northampton Town amongst others, played three first class games for Northamptonshire during the 1913 County Cricket Championship.

Aston Villa's Billy George, who won three caps for England before the First World War, made thirteen first-class cricket matches as a batsman for Warwickshire.

Steve Adlard never quite made it as either a goalkeeper or a cricketer. A reserve keeper for both Nottingham Forest and Lincoln City, he played one first class game of cricket for Lincolnshire against Derbyshire in the Gillette Cup in 1976 before enjoying a career in the Minor Counties.

Scottish goalkeeper Tom Crosskey, who enjoyed spells with Crystal Palace, Hearts and Raith Rovers, played four first class Cricket matches for Scotland betwen 1949 and 1950. A right-handed batsman, he top-scored with 49 during a tour game against the 1948 Australian Invincibles.

England international Nigel Martyn played for Cornwall Schoolboys - keeping wicket, naturally - as well as his local side before pursuing a career in football. Following his retirement, the former Crystal Palace and Leeds United goalkeeper resumed playing cricket, turning out for a team called Old Modernians in the Wetherby League.

Willis Walker enjoyed a successful cricket career that ran alongside his goalkeeping duties with the likes of Doncaster Rovers, Leeds City and South Shields amongst others. He played County Cricket with Nottinghamshire, scoring 18,259 runs before retiring in 1937.

Australian cricketer Ken Grieves, who made 452 first-class appearances for Lancashire and made a county record 555 catches, also pursued a career in football after emigrating to England, turning out for Bury, Bolton Wanderers and Stockport County as a goalkeeper between 1947 and 1958.

Leicester City and Gillingham goalkeeper Jack Beby was something of an all-rounder during his spell with the Grenadier Guards, representing his regiment at cricket and the shot put.

Rebecca Rolls was capped by New Zealand in both football and cricket. The Metro FC goalkeeper won 21 caps for the Football Ferns and made over 100 appearances in One Day Internationals as a wicketkeeper batsman.

George Waller, who kept goal for both Sheffield clubs as well as Middlesbrough before the turn of the 20th Century, also made three first class appearances for Yorkshire Cricket Club taking four wickets and scoring seventeen runs.

David Thomson, one of the founding fathers of Welsh football, was also something of a useful cricketer, regularly turning out for Wynnstay Cricket Club before his unexpected early death in 1876.

Reginald Courtenay Welch, who kept goal for England and played in the first two FA Cup Finals for The Wanderers, represented Harrow School at cricket, playing five matches during the 1871 season. His highest score as a batsman came against the Lords and Commons Cricket Club when he scored 12 while his best bowling figures of 4 for 17 came in a match against the Marylebone Cricket Club.

York City and Darlington goalkeeper Tony Moor captained Scarborough Cricket Club to the Yorkshire League title three times in the 1970s. He was also selected for the National Cricket Association XI gainst the touring Canadian team in 1974, and for the Yorkshire League XI against the West Indies tourists in 1973 and Pakistan in 1974.

Peter Pickering, the South African goalkeeper who played for York City and Chelsea after the Second World War, appeared in one first-class game for Northamptonshire during his time with Northampton Town. He scored 59 runs over the course of two innings.

Great Britain's 1936 Olympic team goalkeeper Haydn Hill, who also had a spell with Sheffield Wednesday, played cricket for Dorset, making 24 appearances in the Minor Counties Cricket Championship between 1948 and 1953

Antipodean goalkeeper Ken Hough played two Tests against England in 1958-59 and 28 first-class matches for Northern Districts and Auckland. A right-arm fast bowler and something of a useful lower-order batsman, he holds the record for taking the most wickets - six - without having a batsman caught.

Southampton St. Mary's goalkeeper Jack Barrett tried to carve out a career in County Cricket after deciding to quit football at the age of twenty-one but he was thwarted in his attempts and he had to settle for the odd appearance in the Minor Counties.

John Prodger enjoyed a dual career as a goalkeeper for Charlton Athletic, Dartford, Margate and Sittingbourne and a batsman with Kent, where he played for over ten years. Prodger still holds the record for most outfield catches for the country, claiming eight in a match against Gloucestershire in 1961.

One-time Woolwich Arsenal and Liverpool goalkeeper Harry Storer played six first class matches for Derbyshire during the 1895 season. He was a right-handed batsman and played 10 innings in 6 first class matches.

Leeds United's Royden Wood was reckoned to be one of the best wicket-keepers in the Leeds and District League during his days at Elland Road. He was also a pretty useful hockey player.

Sheffield United goalkeeper Joe Lievesley was a useful cricketer too and also turned out for the club's cricket side during the summer months.

Archie Ling enjoyed a long career with Leicester Fosse, Swindon Town and Brentford and also played cricket professionally with Cambridgeshire.

After being released by Grimsby Town in 2009, Gary Montgomery swapped his goalkeeper gloves for cricket whites and signed a professional contract with Lancashire County Cricket Club, going on to play three first class matches in the Clydesdale Bank 40 Competition.

Watford and Southend United goalkeeper Geoff Morton was also a bowler with Middlesex cricket club, turning out in six minor counties matches and two first-class games at Lord's during the 1950 County Championship. He later became an umpire.

Ernie Watts, who kept goal Notts County and West Ham United at the turn of the 20th Century, played cricket for his army regiment, the Royal Berkshire Regiment Cricket XI.

Arthur Staples enjoyed a successful cricket career with Nottinghamshire, playing 358 first-class matches as an all-rounder, scoring over 12,000 runs and taking 635 wickets. His football career was slighly less successful, despite spells with Notts County and Mansfield Town, managing just thirteen league appearances.

Milija Aleksic, who kept goal for Tottenham Hotspur when they won the FA Cup back in 1981, earned his nickname "Elastic" while playing cricket for Silverdale Cricket Club before he signed for Plymouth Argyle.

Former Huddersfield Town goalkeeper Harry Fearnley used to spend his summers playing cricket in the local league, representing seven different clubs in total. A quick scoring batsman and a pace bowler, he skippered the Huddersfield League representative team before moving to Oxford United.

England wicket keeper Ian Gould, who represented Middlesex and later captained Sussex, played in goal for Slough Town, having been on Arsenal's books as youth player.

Somerset and Kent cricketer Peter Trego turned out for Margate, Weston-super-mare and Bath City among others during his sporting career.

Former West Ham United and Chelsea goalkeeper Harry Medhurst was a keen cricketer, turning out as a batsman for Cambridgeshire in the Minor Counties Championship between 1950 and 1953.

Scottish goalkeeper Robert Parlane played both football and cricket for Vale of Leven in the late 19th century.

Joseph Marshall kept goal for Derby County a year after turning out for Derbyshire Country Cricket club in 1887.

Yorkshire all-rounder George Ulyett kept goal for Sheffield Wednesday for two seasons between 1882 and 1884.

Frank Wildman, who played for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Swindon Town between the wars, enjoyed playing cricket during the off season and was a prominent member of the South Kirkby Colliery Cricket Club.

McPherson Meade is something of an all-round sporting star in Montserrat, captaining the national cricket team and keeping goal for the national football team.

Royal Engineers FA Cup winning goalkeeper William Merriman also represented the regiment at cricket and later became vice-commodore of the Royal Bombay Yacht Club.

Former Sierra Leone goalkeeper Mahmoud Turay also played cricket for his country during the 1960s when Sierra Leone dominated the game in West Africa. His also regularly turrned out for Middleton Cricket Club during the off-season.

Percival Parr, who kept goal for Oxford University in the FA Cup Final of 1880 and won one cap for England, played cricket for the Winchester College XI in 1877-78 and later made one first-class cricket appearance for the Gentlemen of Kent, also in 1880.

Sheffield United goalkeeper Robert Carlin, who also turned out for South Kirkby and Mexborough Athletic, was a first-class all-rounder with Derbyshire for three seasons between 1905-08.

Rochdale, Oldham and Ashton United goalkeeper Walter Cornock was arguably a better cricketer than he was a footballer. In 1948 he enjoyed a successful season with Leicestershire, scoring over 800 runs and taking 81 wickets, and after returning to Australia later captaining Cumberland Cricket Club whenever regular skipper Richie Benaud was absent!

Alfred Schneidau, who kept goal for Fulham as a teenager in 1886 when they were still known as St. Andrew's, later won a silver medal at the 1900 Olympics as part of France's cricket team.

Bermuda wicketkeeper Dennis Wainwright also kept goal for the national football team.

Walter McBride kept goal for Oxford University and played for the cricket team in the late 1920s, also appearing for Hampshire County Cricket Club while pursuing his studies.

Headington United goalkeeper William Brain played cricket for a number of clubs in the 1890s, including Gloucestershire, Oxford University and Marylebone Cricket Club, and notably became the first player to perform the "wicket-keeper's hat-trick" (three dismissals off consecutive deliveries) and the only man to perform a hat-trick of stumpings.

In addition to playing for both Notts County and Nottingham Forest, Hugh Owen was an opening batsman for Essex and captained them from 1895 until his retirement from first-class cricket in 1901.

Rugby

Clapham Rovers' goalie Reginald Birkett was capped by his country at both football and Rugby Union.

Former Bolton Wanderers and Millwall goalie JW Sutcliffe was the last man to play both Rugby Union and football for England.

French World Cup winning goalie Fabien Barthez was brought up playing rugby and only turned to football when he was 15 years of age. After retiring from football, Barthez took up motor racing.

Another rugby playing goalkeeper was former Wales international Dai Davies, who turned out for West Wales Schools as a teenager.

Another keeper called Dai Davies, who played for Bolton Wanderers before the First World War, had spells playing both codes of Rugby alongside his football career and holds the distinction of being capped at international level by Wales for both football and Rugby League.

German keeper Oliver Kahn also enjoys playing rugby and regularly competes in local tournaments when not playing football.

Luxembourg international goalkeeper Stéphane Gillet, who enjoyed spells with SV Elversberg, Racing FC Luxembourg and Jeunesse Esch, took up up rugby at the end of his career, playing second row for Rugby Club Luxembourg.

Former Manchester United, Arsenal and Aston Villa keeper Jimmy Rimmer played both rugby and football for Lancashire & England Boys

Bob Valentine combined a career keeping goal for Manchester United with playing Rugby League for Swinton. His brother Jim played both codes of rugby at a high standard.

England international goalkeeper Jack Butland was something of a rugby player growing up, appearing in the Somerset Schools' Cup final, but was forced to give up playing by Birmingham City after he broke his thumb in a game.

Former Queen's Park goalkeeper Gordon Wilson played Rugby Union with Melrose and Selkirk in the early 1970s.

Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper Brian Powney played Rugby for his local club side while acting as player-manager for non-league Southwick.

Former Clyde goalkeeper and Scotland international John Brown became a physiotherapist after retiring from football and worked with the All Blacks and the Scotland Rugby Union team.

New Zealand All Blacks forward Shannon Frizell was a keen goalkeeper when growing up in Tonga and in 2011 he was selected by Tonga Football Association to compete in the OFC Under-17 championship.

Before being signed by Everton in 1908, goalkeeper Clarence Berry was a regular for rugby league side Warrington but put his rugby career on hold to play for the Toffees. However, after his contract expired with the Merseyside club he returned to playing rugby with Warrington.

Ice Hockey

Former European Footballer of the Year Lev Yashin started life as an Ice Hockey goalie before finding fame with the powerful USSR side of the 1960s.

Sweden's Magnus Hedman also played Ice Hockey as a youngster before being picked for the Swedish U-15 football team and had trials with Stockholm's leading Hockey team.

While competing in ITV's Dancing on Ice, former England and Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman revealed that he used to play ice hockey as a youngster and like Magnus Hedman had trials with several local sides before deciding on a career in football.

Just before the 2017/18 season kicked off, Arsenal's Petr Cech took to the ice in his native Czech Republic to keep goal for a period in an exhibition ice hockey game, a testimonial for former NHL star Martin Havlat. After retiring, he became a goaltender for ice hockey team Guilford Phoenix.

Sverre Fornes, who made over 500 appearances for Rosenborg between 1948 and 1965, also turned out for Rosenborg's ice hockey and handball teams.

In 2009, Katrin Lehmann made history by becoming the first woman to be involved two European club finals in different sports when she was named as the substitute goalkeeper for Duisberg in their UEFA Women's Club Championship final against Russian side Zvevda, which they won 7-1 on aggregate. A year earlier, Lehmann was part of AIK IF's title winning side that claimed the International Ice Hockey Federation's European Women's Champions Cup. She also represented Switzerland in both the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics.

Norway international goalkeeper Arild Andresen played both football and ice hockey for Vålerenga.

After his career in football was brought to an end after he accepted a £300 bribe to a throw a game, former Bristol Rovers goalkeper Esmond Million emigrated to Canada with his family, where he became active in professional ice hockey.

Swedish goalkeeper Hampus Nilsson, who has appeared for Djurgårdens and Falkenbergs, was a keen ice hockey player as youngster but gave the game upp when he signed his first professional contract with Landskrona BoIS in 2017. During his spell with Djurgårdens he was a regular spectator at the club's ice hockey games.

Latvian goalkeeper Laimonis Laizāns, who played for FK Daugava Riga and Torpedo Moscow in the Soviet Union, combined his football career with one in ice hockey during the winter months in the Soviet Leagues. However, an injury on the ice curtailed his top flight career in the USSR and he saw out the rest of his playing days in the lower leagues.

Newcastle United and Slovakia goalkeeper Martin DÃºbravka admitted in an interview with the Daily Telegraph that he could have easily have gone on to enjoy a career in ice hockey but for a childhood injury involving a machete.

American Football

After the 1994 World Cup, USA goalie Tony Meola received a number of offers to play American Football professionally. His NFL career proved short-lived however, and he quickly returned to the game that made in him a household name in the States.

When Former Barcelona keeper Jesus Angoy decided that he needed a career change he didn't hang about weighing up all the possible options in front of him and signed for the Denver Broncos, then one of the hottest sides in the NFL, as a specialist field-goal kicker. The Catalonian custodian is still famous in Barcelona for marrying Johan Cruyff's daughter if nothing else...

Horst Muhlmann was rather more successful when it came to pursuing a career in American Football. The former Schalke 04 keeper played nine NFL seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Philadelphia Eagles having previously played in the NASL with Kansas City Spurs.

Josh Lambo had a promising career as a goalkeeper before the bright lights of the NFL lured him away. At the age of 15, Lambo was invited to train with Everton during their summer tour of the States in 2006 and went on to join F.C. Dallas in the first round draft in 2008, being capped by the United States at Under 20 level in the process. However, by the age of 21 he had become disillusioned with football and switched codes, becoming a placekicker with the San Diego Chargers.

After a career with West Bromwich Albion, Scunthorpe United and Kansas City Wizards, Gary Germaine tried his hand as a field goal kicker with the Tennessee Titans.

Basketball

Former Brentford and Hibernian Icelandic goalkeeper Oli Gottskalksson has represented his country at both football and basketball.

In his youth ex-Leicester City and Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Tim Flowers used to be something of a mean basketball player and represented the Midlands. He went on to have trials for England before deciding on a career in football.

The much-travelled American goalkeeper Brad Friedel was an All-State basketball player in Ohio and had try outs for UCLA before his goalkeeping career took off.

Everton's Tim Howard is also reputed to be something of a mean basketball player.

Another American goalkeeper with a strong basketball background is Celtic's Dominic Cervi, who picked up several High School awards while growing up in Oklahmoma.

Golf

One-time Asian Goalkeeper of the Year and Malaysian international Chow Chee-keong became a professional golf coach after retiring from football.

Former Scotland and Glasgow Rangers keeper Peter McCloy was something of a keen golfer and represented Scotland at amateur level.

West Ham United F.C. goalkeeper George Kitchen, who played for the Hammers before the start of the First World War, was a professional golf player at the age of 14 and became a club pro after retiring from football.

Scottish goalkeeper John Jackson, who counted Partick Thistle and Chelsea amongst his clubs and was capped by Scotland eight times, became a professional golfer after retiring from football.

Wales international goalkeeper Bert Gray was a keen golfer, winning the Merseyside Footballers' title in 1933, 1934 and 1936 during his time with Tranmere Rovers.

Brechin City and Chelsea goalkeeper Colin Hampton was someting of an all-round sportsman and a keen athlete when serving in the armed forces during the First World War. However, he enjoyed a round of golf and won The Daily Mirror Professional Golf Competition in 1921 and the Handicap Medal in the Coventy Gauge and Tool Company Golf Club competition in 1943.

Boxing

Another Hibs goalkeeper to excel at a second sport was William Harper, who was a heavyweight boxing champion in the Scots Guards and also played rugby for his regiment

Joe Nicholls, who played for Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and Bristol Rovers between the wars, was the Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the Grenadier Guards during his spell in the army.

Former Wigan Athletic goalkeeper Joe Paladino became a professonal boxer in 1993, retiring four years later before later returning as an amateur.

Leroy Franks, who won a cap with the United States in 1957, was something of a mean boxer, winning 5 fights in 1954 Golden Gloves competition.

Track & Field

Ex-Manchester United and England goalkeeper Ray Wood had the opportunity to become a professional sprinter as a teenager but chose to play football instead.

Former Everton F.C. & Chelsea F.C. goalkeeper Ben Howard Baker had something of a sporting career that has yet to be surpassed. Not only was he capped by his country at football but he was also an international high jumper of some repute - He held the British record, was AAAs Champion and represented Great Britain at both the 1912 and 1920 Olympics.

Germany's Hans Jakob, who played in both the 1934 and 1938 World Cup Finals, also enjoyed a successful Track & Field career, winning several Bavarian Hurdles titles.

Arsenal's Wojciech Szczesny was a promising javelin thrower as a youngster.

Perugia and Reggiana Lamberto Boranga took up athletics after retiring from the professional game and has set Masters World records in both the long jump and triple jump.

Winter Sports



Henry Johansen, who played for Vålerenga and was capped by Norway prior to the Second World War, was also a dab hand at Ski Jumping and was awarded the Egebergs Ærespris, a prize awarded to Norwegian athletes who excel in more than one sport, in 1938. He was also a keen Ice Hockey and Bandy player.

Another Norway international goalkeeper who enjoyed a career in two sports was Strømsgodset's Inge Thun, who won a silver medal in the 1965 Bandy World Championship with Norway. He hit the headlines in the UK ten years later when Liverpool put eleven goals past him in the Cup Winners Cup.

Finland international keeper Lars Näsman was also capped by his country at bandy, being voted the Best Bandy Goalkeeper in the World in 1967, the same year he was bestowed the title of Footballer of the Year in Finland by the country's press.

Baseball

As a teenager, Bruce Grobbelaar was once offered a baseball scholarship in the United States but decided to stick with football.

Frank Borghi, who played in goal when the USA beat England 1-0 in the 1950 World Cup Finals, began life as a professional baseball player and always preferred to the throw the ball out rather than kick it.

Southampton, Derby County and England goalkeeper Jack Robinson won the British Baseball championship twice in the 1890s with Derby County Baseball Club alongside Steve Bloomer.

United States international Archie Strimel was also a successful minor league baseball player, turning out for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Stanley Chesney, who played in the American Soccer League in the 1920s & 30s and was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1966, also played baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Hockey

Malaysian Michael Shepherdson was something of an all-rounder. As well as keeping goal for Selangor he was part of the Malaysia Olympic field hockey team at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and competed in the Asian games in 1958 and 1962, where he won Bronze in Jakarta. He also captained the national cricket team.

Wilfred Skinner represented Singapore at both football and hockey, captaining the national hockey team in the 1962 Asian games, having first appeared in the 1954 games as part of Singapore's football squad.

Harry Cannon, who kept goal for Bohemians and the Irish Free State international side during the 1920s, was goalkeeper for the Railway Union field hockey team, going on to captain the Irish Olympic Team at Los Angeles in 1932. Something of an all-round sportsman, he also played club cricket with the Civil Service Cricket Club.

Aussie Rules

Australian international goalkeeper Joanne Butland switched codes at the suggestion of her sister-in-law and gave up football to become play Australian Rules Football for North Cairns in the AFL Cairns Women's League. She was selected in the All-Australian team three times between 2005 and 2011.

Another Aussie international goalkeeper to ditch football was Brianna Davey, who took up Australian Rules with St Kilda Sharks in the Victorian Women's Football League in the winter of 2015 after missing out on selection for the Women's World Cup. Having played both codes in parallel for two years, Davey hung up her gloves for good and signed professionally for Carlton Football Club in the inaugural AFL Women's competition in 2016.

GAA & Shinty

Former Northern Ireland international Norman Uprichard played Gaelic football as a teenager and won a minor league medal with St. Peter's - however he was banned by the GAA before he could receive his medal because he had signed for Glenavon!

One-time Aston Villa and Leeds United goalkeeper Con Martin also played Gaelic Football, winning the Leinster title with Dublin, before he too was expelled by the GAA after they discovered he was playing a foreign sport with Drumcondra. Like Uprichard, his medal stayed with the GAA until 1971 when they finally lifted their ban.

Hugh Kelly, who carved out a career with Fulham, Southampton and Exeter City during the 1950s, represented County Armagh in Gaelic Handball.

Portsmouth and Ireland goalkeeper Matt "Gunner" Reilly played Gaelic Football before switching codes while serving in the armed forces in Glasgow.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Motherwell keeper Michael Fraser was a talented shinty player, regularly turning out for Glenurquhart Shinty Club, but gave up the sport in 2002 after signing on with Caley Thistle.

Ned Courtney played Gaelic football for Cork during the Second World War, winning the Munster Senior Football Championship, before winning three League of Ireland titles and playing in three successive FAI Cup finals with Cork United and Cork Athletic.

Shane Curran enjoyed a parallel career keeping goal for Athlone Town and Roscommon.

Ipswich Town's Shane Supple surprised many when the club announced that his contract had been cancelled by mutual consent after Supple decided that he'd had enough of Association Football and switched codes, joining Gaelic Football side St Brigid's in Dublin. He later returned to football and joined Bohemians in 2016.

After something of a journeyman career with UCD, Dundalk and Longford Town, Neil Gallagher opted to switch codes and play Gaelic Football with Louth.

Home Farm goalkeeper Charlie Nelligan also kept goal for Kerry and became an All-Ireland title winner. He also kept goal for Munster.

Bowls

Ian Wilkinson, who made a brief appearance for Manchester United in the League Cup back in October 1991, went on to play crown green bowls at County level after injury curtailed his career.

One time Southampton and Fulham goalkeeper Ian Black represented Surrey at bowls following his retirement from football.

Former Bradford City goalkeeper Geoff Smith, who played over 250 games for the Bantams, played bowls for Skipton Vets during his later years.

Handball

Faroe Islands international goalkeeper Kaj Leo Johannesen also played handball at club level, playing 163 matches for Kyndil and scoring 625 goals.

Another Faroe Islands international to play handball was Jens Martin Knudsen, who achieved a certain amount of fame by wearing a bobble hat during games. Knudsen, who was also a champion gymnast, played for the Faroese top flight handball club Tjaldur and was capped at international level.

Spain international and former Real Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Ángel was a promising handball player before switching codes.

Saudi keeper Mohamed Al-Deyea could have had a career in handball but was persuaded by his older brother, Abdullah, to stick with football. He went on to make over 180 appearances for Saudi Arabia.

Fritz Herkenrath, who won 21 caps for West Germany in the 1950s, was initially a handball player before switching to football after World War II.

Russian goalkeeper Anatoly Akimov, who played for Spartak and Dynamo Moscow in the 1930s, also played handball for the later club.

Wrestling

When Thomas Boric's goalkeeping career in the NASL, which included spells with Tampa Bay Rowdies and the Calgary Boomers, came to an end he decided to become a professional wrestler, fighting under the name of Paul Diamond.

In a similar vein, former Crewe Alexandra and Port Vale goalkeeper Stuart Tomlinson began training as a professional wrestler after hanging up his gloves, earning a development contract with WWE. Fighing under the name Hugo Knox he made his wrestling debut at a WWE NXT event in November, 2014.

Former Germany international goalkeeper Tim Wiese took up wrestling after retiring from football, eventually making his WWE debut at a live event in Munich in November, 2016, adopting the name "The Machine".

Motor Sports

Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Peter Enckelman has a keen interest in motor sport and the 2007 British Touring Car Championship season featured a team named after him, Encke Sport.

Former Liverpool and Poland goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek took up motor racing after retiring from football. In 2014, he competed in the Volkswagen Castrol Cup, a Summer racing championship held in circuits around Eastern Europe.

Valencia and Spain goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares became a rally driver after hanging up his goalkeeper gloves, competing for the first time in the Spanish rally Championship in October 2010. He earned his first victory in June 2017 when he won the Rally de la Cerámica.

Tennis

Jack Moore's football career was cut short by the Second World War, having just signed his first professional contract with Port Vale. Following the cessation of hostilities, Moore went on to become something of an accomplished tennis player, making several appearances at the Wimbledon championships. He later became a tennis coach in Nottingham.

Years before he won the World Cup with France, Hugo Lloris was something of decent tennis player, ranking high in the national standings in his youth before he opted to concentrate on football.

England international and Great Britain's 1908 Olympic Gold Medal winning goalkeeper Horace Bailey represented Derbyshire in Lawn Tennis.

Ballroom Dancing

Not sure if Ballroom Dancing is still officially classed as a sport, but Peter Schmeichel didn't do too badly on BBC TV's Strictly Come Dancing. Unfortunately the same could not be said of Peter Shilton while David James was the fourth celebrity to be voted off in 2019.

United States international goalkeeper Hope Solo was a contestant on the 13th season of the Dancing with the Stars television series in the USA but was eliminated in the semi-finals.

Thomas Ravelli appeared in the Swedish version of the show, Let's Dance, in 2019 becoming the sixth celebrity to be voted off.

Former Rapid Vienna and Austria goalkeeper Michael Konsel finished seventh in the Austrian version of the show, Dancing Stars, in 2007.

Other Sports

Former Southampton reserve goalkeeper Eddie Thomas represented Wiltshire at water polo in later life.

Australia international goalkeeper Jack Reilly, who played in all three of the Socceroos' World Cup games in 1974, became a horse trainer and breeder after hanging up his gloves.

Former Team USA coach Bruce Arena also represented his country at Lacrosse, winning the World title in 1974, a year after he won his one and only cap in goal for the States in a 2-0 defeat against Israel.

Cardiff City's Dilwyn John was also a talented snooker player and claimed the Welsh amateur champion title during the 1980s. He was also runner-up at the IBSF World Snooker Championships in 1985.

Ton van Engelen, who kept goal for PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord and Go Ahead Eagles, became a soigneur for a number of Dutch cycling teams after he retired, participating in over twenty Tour de France events.

Goalkeeper Jay Timo represented Tuvalu at the Pacific Games in both football and volleyball.

Singapore goalkeeper Amos Boon, who enjoyed a career with Marine Castle United, Sengkang Punggol and Geylang United among others, was a keen wakeboarder and President of the Wakeboard Association, representing Singapore in the Asian X-Games.

Trinidad & Tobago international Michael McComie was a mean table tennis player and served on the board of the Trinidad and Tobago Table Tennis Association.

Daniel Miller Tenenbaum, who came through Flamengo's youth system in Brazil, was a talented rower in his youth, taking to the water with several clubs.

Quirky Coincidences

On August 28 1993, Ian Rush scored his 200th League goal of his Liverpool career against Leeds United goalkeeper John Lukic. He scored his first goal for the Reds 12 years earlier in a game against Arsenal. The Gunners' keeper that day was a certain John Lukic

He may only have been capped twice, but England goalkeeper Ernie 'Tim' Williamson conceded three goals while on international duty. The strange thing was that Sweden's Harry Dahl scored all three goals in those two games - he grabbed two on May 21 1923 and then added a third four days later when the sides met for a second time. Dahl was the first foreign player to score twice, let alone three times, against England.

In 1963, Denis Law played at Wembley three times - once in the FA Cup Final for Manchester United, once for a Rest of the World select XI and once for Scotland. On each occasion the opposition goalkeeper was none other than Gordon Banks.

Not many goalkeepers can claim to have played in a Cup Final at Wembley. Even fewer could claim to have played in the final of three separate competitions and been on the losing side each time. Former Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough custodian Ben Roberts can. In 1997 he was in goal for Boro as they lost both the FA and League Cup Finals to Chelsea and Leicester City respectively, then in 1999 he was on the losing side again as Millwall went down 1-0 in the final of the Auto Windscreen Shield.

Speaking of Millwall, when they played in the 2004 FA Cup Final, they ended up facing the same keeper that kept goal against them in the AWS Shield Final in 1999, namely Northern Ireland international Roy Carroll. Carroll kept a clean sheet on both occasions.

Preston North End fielded amateur goalkeepers in their first two appearances in the FA Cup Final. Dr Mills Roberts kept goal in 1889 while James Frederick Mitchell was between the sticks in 1922.

All three goalkeepers in South Korea's 2002 World Cup squad - Lee Woon-Jae, Choi Eun-Sung and Kim Byung-Ji - were born in the month of April!

During the course of the 2004/2005 season, Rangers beat Dundee United 7-1 in the Semi-Final of the Scottish League Cup. Earlier that season, Manchester City beat Barnsley 7-1 in the English League Cup. Nothing strange about that, you might consider, except for one small matter - the same two goalkeepers played in both games. On the receiving end of the seven-goal thrashings on both occasions for Barnsley and Dundee United was Nick Colgan while his opposite number in the Manchester City and Rangers goal was Ronald Waterreus.

Arguably two of Scotland's greatest post-war keepers, Jim Leighton and Andy Goram both made their international debuts in the same month, against the same country and both kept a clean sheet. Leighton made his debut against East Germany in the 2-0 victory in October 1982 while Goram was capped in the corresponding international fixture in October 1985 which ended 0-0.

When Chic Brodie's professional career was ended after a collision with a stray dog while playing for Brentford at Colchester United's Layer Road ground, he became a taxi driver in the capital. While driving through Westminster he had to swerve his cab to avoid hitting another stray dog that had run out into the road and hit another vehicle, driven by former West Ham and England striker Geoff Hurst...

Barrow goalkeeper Alan Coglan had the misfortune to break his leg three times during his career. The strange thing was that on all three occasions he was playing in a reserve team fixture against the same opposition - Sunderland.

There must be something in the water in Barrow - striker Bobby Knox had the distinction of becoming the first substitute to come and score a goal when he netted against Wrexham on the opening day of the 1965/66 season. However, Knox also went on to become the first substitute to come on and save a penalty, after he replaced the injured Ken Mulholland and kept out a Doncaster spot kick.

From 1894 to 1936 Ireland's goalkeeper was named Scott for all but a handful of games. First to keep goal was Tommy Scott of Linfield, who won 13 caps before being replaced by Billy Scott, who made 23 appearances during a career that included spells with Linfield, Everton and Leeds City. After a break of five games either side of the First World War, Billy's brother Elisha of Liverpool became Ireland's first choice keeper and remained between the sticks for 16 years.

Swindon Town achieved something rather unique during the 2015/16 Football League season. On the opening day, debutant goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux, who was on loan from Liverpool Football Club, saved a penalty during a 4-1 victory over Bradford City. On the final day of the season, teenage debutant Will Henry also saved a spot-kick for the Robins.

England goalkeeper Chris Woods eight-year, 43-cap international career began and ended with an away game against the United States. It was the only time the two teams met during this period.

In 1948 goalkeeper Ken Hough made his international debut for Australia against New Zealand. Ten years later, he made his debut for New Zealand against Australia.

The first goalkeepers to win the West German and East German variations of Player of the Year award did so in the same season - Borussia Dortmund's Hans Tilkowski and Leipzig's Horst Weigang doing so respectively in 1965.

German goalkeeping legend Sepp Maier and Italian great Dino Zoff share the same birthday - 28th February!

With Gordon Banks and Peter Bonetti having already secured two of the three goalkeeper berths available in Alf Ramsey's 1970 England World Cup squad, the fight for the remaining spot came down to Peter Shilton and Alex Stepney, who shared the same birthday - 18th September. Stepney won the race and sat on the bench for England's infamous quarter-final defeat to West Germany.

Aston Villa's European Cup winning goalkeepers Jimmy Rimmer and Nigel Spink both played just forty-five minutes of international football for England, against Italy in 1976 and Australia in 1983 respectively.

Scottish side Ross County remarkably started the 2020/21 season with three goalkeepers called Ross - Ross Laidlaw, Ross Munro and Ross Doohan, who came in on loan from Celtic.

Three of Italy's four World Cup winning goalkeepers - Gianpiero Combi, Dino Zoff and Gianluigi Buffon - played for Juventus at the time of their triumph. The odd man out was Aldo Olivieri, who kept goal for Lucchese.

Both Scotland and Northern Ireland selected uncapped players for their third choice goalkeepers - Aberdeen's Jim Leighton and Linfield's George Dunlop - with both players being assigned the number 22 shirt.

Book Keepers

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes novels, was a founder member of Portsmouth FC and also the team's first ever goalkeeper.

After writing his first book about his life as a vet, author Alf Wight couldn't find a suitable pseudonym under which to publish his memoirs until one night he was watching a game of football and was rather taken with the name of Hibernian's goalkeeper - Jim Herriot. The name James Herriot went on to become a household name in the UK thanks to the TV series All Creatures Great and Small.

Alan Simpson, one half of the comedy writing duo Galton & Simpson, who were responsible for such classics as Hancock's Half Hour and Steptoe & Son, was set to sign for Chelsea in 1947 but before he could put pen to paper, he contracted tuberculosis, which brought his goalkeeping career to a premature end.

Martin Waddell, awarded winning children's author of such classics as Little Dracula and the Napper series of football books, was an aspiring footballer as a youngster and kept goal for Fulham's youth team in the late 1950s.

Philosopher, journalist and author Albert Camus' career may have taken a different path had tuberculosis not curtailed his promising football career in 1930. The Frenchman had kept goal for his university side and was reportedly quite taken with the game.

Former French international and Auxerre goalkeeper Joël Bats took up writing poetry while recovering from testicular cancer in 1982 and has had two volumes of his work published.

Slightly off subject, former Arsenal and Scotland goalkeeper Bob Wilson was immortalised in print when he signed for Melchester Rovers in the comic strip Roy of the Rovers in the mid-1980s. Wilson helped Rovers win the Milk Cup and kept a record-breaking successive number of clean sheets during the course of the season. Not a bad achievement considering he hadn't played for ten years...

Another goalkeeper to appear in a comic strip was former QPR and West Ham goalkeeper Phil Parkes, who featured a storyline of Thunderbolt and Smokey!, which featured in Eagle in 1982. Parkes was called up to provide a coaching session to a schoolboy striker who was forced to play in goal in a cup semi-final after the regular keeper was beaten up by a rival player from the opposition team!

In 2008 David James illustrated the children's book Harry's Magic Pockets: The Circus, written by his friend and Portsmouth's stadium announcer, Steve Pearson.

Argentine author Osvaldo Soriano was a keen supporter of San Lorenzo and enthusiastic goalkeeper who wrote a collection of short stories with a football theme in 1998 titled Fútbol that featured the story of a works team goalie that was later made into the film Il Rigore Più Lungo del Mondo.

Oxford University and England goalkeeper Percival Parr, who was in goal when the University lost the FA Cup Final in 1880, branched out into publishing in later life. He was partner in the publishing firm of W.H. Allen & Company, and later editor of the magazines National Observer and Ladies' Field.

American goalkeeper Jeff Attinella, who has carved out a career with Real Salt Lake and Tampa Bay Rowdies among others, founded a publishing company with his wife and father-in-law and has written a number of children books that he describes as "nursery rhymes with a sports emphasis".

Goalkeepers Name Checked by Half Man Half Biscuit

Goalkeeper Song Luis Arconada Emerging From Gorse Joel Bats Emerging From Gorse Joseph-Antoine Bell Emerging From Gorse George Farm 1966 And All That Brad Friedel I Went to a Wedding... Peter Grummit Let's Not Jean Marie Pfaff Emerging From Gorse Mart Poom Left Lyrics in the Practice Room Bert Trautmann 1966 And All That Bob Wilson Bob Wilson, Anchorman Lev Yashin 1966 And All That Dino Zoff The Referee's Alphabet Andoni Zubizarreta The Referee's Alphabet

Music To Their Ears

Hamish McAlpine, formerly of Dundee United and Raith Rovers, once had a song written about him - Hamish the Goalie - by Dundonian musician Michael Marra. The song was later covered by Seventies pop star Leo Sayer.

Former United States goalkeeper Kasey Keller was once the subject of song by American indie group Barcelona. The song, Kasey Keller, was a tribute to the keeper's match-winning performance against Brazil in 1998 and appeared on the band's 2000 album, Zero One Infinity.

Former Westlife member Nicky Byrne was a professional goalkeeper before a career in the boyband beckoned. Byrne was part of Leeds United FA Youth Cup winning team of 1997 and also played for Shelbourne, Home Farm and Cobh Ramblers in his native Ireland.

In 2006, British indie pop group Saint Etienne - who took their name from the leading French football club of the 1970s - released an album entitled What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day?, which was the soundtrack to a film the band made about the redevelopment of Lea Valley. The album title was inspired by the former West Ham and Leyton Orient goalkeeper of the same name.

England goalkeeper Gordon Banks' nephew, Nick, is the drummer for the band Pulp.

Speaking of Gordon Banks, in 1970 he was part of the England team that recorded an album that included the number one hit Back Home. The album, titled The World Beaters Sing The World Beaters, saw members of the squad cover a range of popular tunes and Banks' contribution was to take lead vocals on a song called Lovey Dovey, which was described in the cover notes as "your actual reggae music"...

Probably one of the greatest crimes ever committed to vinyl was the duet featuring none other than England's finest, Ray Clemence and Peter Shilton. Recorded in time for the Three Lions' appearance in the 1980 European Championships in Italy, Side By Side failed to make any kind of impact on the UK charts.

Irish country singer Margo O'Donnell, elder sister of Irish singer Daniel, once recorded a track in honour of Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Packie Bonner. The track, unsurprisingly titled Packie Bonner can be found on Margo's greatest hits collection 50 Songs, 50 Years.

In a similar vein, German group Die Prinzen released the single Olli Kahn in 2002 to celebrate the World Cup performances of Oliver Kahn. The track reached number 32 in the German hit parade.

One of the more obscure songs about a goalkeeper was a track recorded by a "supergroup" of Indie pop stars who all happened to be Tottenham Hotspur fans. Called The Lillies, the band comprised of Simon Raymonde from the Cocteau Twins, Miki Berenyi and Chris Acland from Lush and Moose's Kevin McKillop and Russell Yates, but they only ever released one record - a flexi-disc given away free with a Spurs fanzine in September 1991 featuring a song called And David Seaman Will Be Very Disappointed About That... The song commemorated the club's 3-1 victory over arch rivals Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-finals the previous season.

Woking stalwart Laurence Batty, who also had spells with Fulham and Brentford, is the son of songwriter Steve Wolfe, who co-wrote such hits as Beg, Borrow or Steal by the New Seekers and Lost in France by Bonnie Tyler.

Former Barcelona goalkeeper José Manuel Pinto became a music producer after retiring from football, having set up his own record label, Wahin Makinaciones, back in 2000 while with Celta Vigo.

Another former Barca goalkeeper with musical connections is international Victor Valdes, who lists AC/DC as his favourite band. In 2010, the keeper had a song written about him by Spanish soft rocker Joaquin titled Victor Valdés (el numero uno)

Reading and USA international keeper Marcus Hahnemann once performed on stage with Tenacious D at the Reading Festival and in 2012 recorded a track with thrash metallers Malefice called Omega.

South African goalkeeper Sandy Kennon, who made over 200 appearances for Norwich City, had a four-piece band called 'Sandy Kennon and his Blazes'. With Kennon on lead vocals, the band used to perform all over Norfolk during the keeper's spell at Carrow Road.

Lionel Messi's grandfather, Julio Musimessi, who was capped by Argentina in the 1950s, was known as "El Arquero cantor" (the singing goalkeeper) because of his vocal performances on radio.

Yugoslavian goalkeeper Petar Radenković, who played over 200 times for 1860 Munich, released three singles in the mid-1960s, the most famous of which was Bin I Radi - Bin I König.

Former San Jose Earthquakes, Colorado Rapids and USA goalkeeper Joe Cannon's father, Joe Snr, was a Country & Western singer in the early 1970s and released a couple of albums.

Hungary goalkeeper Gábor Király has listened to Bon Jovi's It's My Life before every game he has taken part in since 2000. Such is his devotion to the band than his car is spray painted with the band's name.

Swedish goalkeeper Aron Ekberg, who plays in the lower echelons of Sweden's football pyramid with Byttorps IF, combines his custodian duties with an unlikely career as a rapper, record producer and record label owner. Ekberg, who performs under the stage name of AronChupa, was a founding member of the electro-hip hop group Albatraoz, who spent nineteen weeks on the Swedish hit parade in 2013. However, he found more success as a solo artist and enjoyed a Number One hit in Sweden and Denmark with the single I'm an Albatraoz in August, 2014. It also reach the top ten in Germany, Austria, Norway, Finland, Australia and the Netherlands.

Former Southampton and Aldershot Town goalkeeper Gerry Gurr was an accomplished musician, forming a band called The Sunsets with teammates Mick Judd and Dave Paton during his time at The Dell. He returned to music after hanging up his gloves, as a songwriter and recording his own material.

Dean Delany, who began his career at Everton before turning out for Port Vale, Shelbourne and Bohemians among others, played rhythm guitar and was lead vocalist with Irish indie group The Novas.

Fulham and Gibraltar goalkeeper Tony Macedo appeared on the cover of the original release of Manchester band James' iconic single Sit Down.

Russian composer Alexander Pantykin is set to write a musical about legendary Soviet Union goalkeeper Lev Yashin in time for the start of the 2018 World Cup, which is due to take place in his home country. "The musical will be autobiographic," said Pantykin when the project was announced. "It will have everything: defeats and victories, happy moments and disappointments."

Druids goalkeeper Harry Adams, who won four caps for Wales in the late 19th Century, was a keen bandsman and later became bandmaster for the King's Shropshire Light Infantry's 2nd Volunteer Battalion.

Scotland keeper Frank Haffey is probably best remembered for his uncertain performance between the sticks at Wembley in 1961 when he conceded nine goals in a horrendous 9-3 defeat against England. He angered teammate Denis Law after the game by singing in the dressing room bath but later put his "talents" to better use after emigrating to Australia where he became a cabaret singer.

One-time West Ham United goalkeeper John Geggus was the grandfather of Cockney Rejects founders Jeff and Mick Geggus.

Former River Plate and Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Germán Burgos was the frontman for the rock band The Garb and despite once penning the lyric "The footballer dies, the musician lives on", he chose a coaching career in the game after hanging up his gloves and plectrum.

Zimbabwean goalkeeper Labani Kandi, who enjoyed a career with Dynamos and Eiffel Flats in his homeland, swapped his goalie gloves for a guitar after he retired, becoming part of a heavy rock/Afro jazz combo called Total Package, who released two albums under the band's former name Mixed Grill!

Belgian goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff had an organ installed in his home while playing for Bayern Munich as he believed playing the instrument helped keep his fingers supple. He also released a single - written by his hairdresser no less - while with the German side called ... jetzt bin ich ein Bayer.

Staying with Pfaff, a group calling themselves The B.B.C. Singers recorded a track simply called Jean-Marie in honour of the Belgian goalkeeper following his heroics at the 1986 World Cup Finals.

Iran international goalkeeper Nima Nakisa quit professional football in 2007 to pursue a singing career, having released an album in 2005.

Former Arsenal and Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech released a charity single with Queen drummer Roger Taylor in 2019 called That's Football. Cech, who is an accomplished drummer in his spare time, sung vocals on the track with all proceeds going to The Willow Foundation, which was set up in by Arsenal's double-winning goalkeeper Bob Wilson.

Stockport County's Harry Hardy was a professional oboist.

France's Joël Bats released a single in 1986 prior to the World Cup Finals in Mexico, a sultry number called Soli solitude, following it up with the ditty L'Escargot. Both tracks were from his album Gardien De Tes Nuits.

Back in 1968, West Germany and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Sepp Maier fancied being a pop star and released the single Die bayerische Loreley, a truly awful effort that has to be heard to be believed...

There must be something about German goalkeepers and pop music as eleven years later, Maier's understudy at the 1974 World Cup Norbert Nigbur decided to release his own effort 44 Beine(44 Legs). The best thing to say about the Schalke 04 keeper's effort is that it's better than Maier's earlier attempt to appear on Top of the Pops with a chorus that went "44 legs are fighting for the small leather ball on the football pitch, 44 legs only want the one thing: score as much as they can..."

German rock band Fury in the Slaughterhouse once released a single called Jörg Sievers Blues, in honour of Hannover 96 goalkeeper Jörg Sievers.

Shortly after the car crash that effectively ended his career in 1973, Gordon Banks was the subject of a tribute single by Chris Renshaw with The Keepers simply titled Banksie.

Former Cowdenbeath goalkeeper George Kyle returned to the town after the Second World War and moved into showbiz, becoming one of West Fife's most popular entertainers. Later forming a double act with his wife, he was primarily a comedian and singer and compered shows at various venues all round Fife. Such was his fame and popularity that he was named as Cowdenbeath's 'Citizen of the Year' in 1983.

Stars of the Silver Screen

George Marks only played twice for Arsenal, thanks in part to the Second World War, but his second appearance against Brentford proved to a memorable one as the game was recorded and used the film The Arsenal Stadium Mystery, a murder whodunnit from 1939 involving a fictitious amateur side called The Trojans who draw Arsenal in the FA Cup.

Ipswich Town goalkeepers Paul Cooper and Laurie Sivell both had parts in the 1981 prisoner of war yarn Escape to Victory. Cooper, who was Ipswich's first choice keeper, acted as a stand-in and stunt double for star Sylvester Stallone while Sivell had a more prominent role as the goalkeeper of the German opposition team. World Cup winner Gordon Banks also worked on the film, coaching Stallone for his role between the sticks.

Airdrieonians Football Club goalkeeper John Martin had a small role in the Robert Duvall film, A Shot at Glory.

Former Borussia Mönchengladbach and West Germany goalkeeper Wolfgang Kleff bore such a resemblence to German actor and comedian Otto Waalkes that he was cast in a number of German films, albeit in minor cameo roles, including the 1985 farce Otto - Der Film.

Ex-Tottenham Hotspur and Norway international Erik Thorstvedt appears in the Norwegian film The Liverpool Goalkeeper, a 2010 movie about a hapless 13-year-old goalkeeper and an elusive trading card.

German international Manuel Neuer vocied the character Frank McCay in the German version of the Disney film Monsters University.

England goalkeepers Peter Shilton and David Seaman appeared as themselves in the UK film My Summer With Des.

David Seaman also had a role in the 2004 British comedy The Baby Juice Express, playing a "huge gangster".

Andreas Kontra, who played in the lower leagues of Germany with VfB Hilden and is currently a goalkeeper coach at MSV Duisburg, played Hungarian legend Gyula Grosicz in the 2003 film The Miracle of Bern.

Dino Zoff had a cameo appearance in the 2015 Italian comedy Basta Poco

Former international goalkeeper Theresa Wiseman, who won 60 caps for England, enjoyed a parallel career as an animator, working on such classics as The Snowman before moving to Los Angeles to work for Disney on programmes such as Phineas and Ferb.

Bert Trautmann and Pat Dunne both appeared in the 1965 film Cup Fever, a British film about a children's team trying to win a local cup competition with a little help from Manchester United manager Matt Busby.

Iceland's Euro 2016 goalkeeper Hannes Þór Halldórsson is a film director in his spare time and has a contract of employment with SagaFilm once his football career comes to an end. His credits include directing video to Iceland's 2012 Eurovision entry!

Juventus and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon made a cameo appearance in the Italian comedy L'allenatore nel pallone 2 in 2008.

Henry Cele, who played for Aces United in the South African Soccer League in the 1960s, was also something of an accomplished actor, earning rave reviews for his portrayal of the Zulu warrior king Shaka in the miniseries Shaka Zulu. He later appeared alongside Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer in the 1996 film The Ghost and the Darkness.

Ray Clemence played a character called 'Ray Clemence the Younger' in the 1999 TV movie The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything.

Former Brighton & Hove Albion and Watford goalkeeper Perry Digweed appeared alongside Vinny Jones in the 2001 film Mean Machine.

Bob Wilson became better known as an anchorman after hanging up his gloves but in 1995 he appeared in the TV film The Perfect Match alongside Denis Law.

United States goalkeeper Tony Meola had a cameo in the 2001 Jason Priestly vehicle Zigs as a card player. It wasn't the first time Meola had tried his hand at acting, appearing in an off-Broadway show titled Tony and Tina's Wedding in 1995.

Much travelled American goalkeeper Devala Gorrick, who plyed his trade in Sweden, Thailand, Germany and Canada before returning to the States, runs his own film production company, Angry Lion Studios. His first film, Waves of Destruction, was nominated for a number of awards.

West Germ