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In 1956, the popular French magazine France Football pioneered a method to adjudge the best in the world of football and lovingly called it — Ballon d'Or. Little did they know that the same would turn out to be a parameter to determine the best for years to come.
However, even though unintentional, the Golden Ball aka the Ballon d'Or developed into a "strikers' monopoly". It's been 65 years since the induction of the most coveted individual trophy (Ballon d'Or) in the realm of football but alas! We can establish that many deserving players lost out on the same for not being on the scoresheet.
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Unfortunately, given the nature of the sport, goals are the factors that etch into the minds of the watchers. For the same reason, goal scorers are remembered for a long time. And that one 'crucial save' is often overlooked.
Lev Yashin is the only goalkeeper within the history books of Ballon d'Or to have taken the trophy home. In conclusion, if it was for the stellar performance over the season, quite a few men who stood between the sticks like a guardian angel deserved the Ballon d'Or.
Let us take a look at five of such Ballon d'Or deserving goalkeepers.
#5 Peter Schmeichel (Manchester United/Denmark) - 1992
During Manchester United's golden era, there was a man of intimidating stature who guarded their goal post. That man was none other than Peter Schmeichel!
It felt like each corner of the goalpost was within the reach of this 6 feet 3 inch goalkeeper. The goalkeeper, who was termed the 'bargain of the century' by Manchester United's main man Alex Ferguson, captained his side to a dramatic 1999 Champions League victory.
The year 1992 was phenomenal for the Danish shot-stopper. His heroics saw the Red Devils finish second in the Premier League and the Football League Cup for the first time in the club's history.
It didn't stop there, the same year he brought the Euro trophy home with Denmark and was voted the best goalkeeper by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) but unfortunately, no Ballon d'Or.
#4 Jens Lehmann (Arsenal) - 2004
An eccentric personality on and off the pitch, Germany's Jens Lehmann was a topliner quite often during his stay in England.
Lehmann's expertise went beyond ordinary goalkeeping skills that included agility, speed and strength.
An amalgamation of leadership and experience, Lehmann often held the thread to his team's back-line, which responded as per his command and deflected the opposition's firing line.
2004 was historic not just for his club but within the world of football too. The Gunners lifted the domestic trophy following an error-free season that saw zero loss! And, undoubtedly, the German had a massive hand (and also legs) behind it, displaying some crucial saves throughout the season to gift Arsenal a campaign without defeat.
He remains one of the favorite goalkeepers to have missed out on the Ballon d'Or.
#3 Gianluigi Buffon (Italy/Juventus) - 2006
Speaking of being denied the prestigious Ballon d'Or, let's first address a fact. Gigi Buffon is one of the few players in the sport's history to have kissed almost every trophy known to football.
A highly distinguished tenure spread over 26 years and still counting has had the former Juventus number 1 on top of his game for the majority of his career. And also was a favorite to be voted for the Ballon d'Or on numerous occasions.
Buffon's career took a strange turn in 2005 that saw Juventus relegated to Serie B following the Calciopoli scandal. His character came into the limelight as he chose to stay with the Old Lady while many big names opted to leave the club during the club's dark phase.
He earned the Italians' deep-rooted admiration and established himself as their cult-hero. In the subsequent year, Buffon and Juventus got promoted back to Italy's top flight and he won the FIFA World Cup with the Azzurri.
Buffon was placed second behind teammate Fabio Cannavaro in the 2006 Ballon d'Or race.
#2 Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich/Germany) - 2013, 2014
Arguably, we can say no goalkeeper ever existed who made the box his own territory like Neuer did.
The German and Bayern sweeper-keeper is known for his risk-taking, gutsy moves far off his line that left the opposition attackers trembling. He is one of the most Ballon d'Or deserving players in the modern era.
A series of breakthrough seasons saw Manuel Neuer establish himself as a formidable goalkeeper and draw comparisons with legends — Casillas and Buffon, who were considered equivalent to gods within the goalkeeping fraternity.
The current Bavarian skipper's best years came in 2013 and 2014 where he slotted trophies for fun. He won the World Cup with Germany a year after securing a historic treble victory in the Bayern outfit.
He was placed third on the Ballon d'Or podium in 2014.
#1 Iker Casillas - (Real Madrid, Spain) - 2008, 2012
Iker Casillas, San Iker or The Saint as admiringly called by his lovers tops our list. Despite his relatively short stature as a goalkeeper, the former Spain and Real Madrid leader has had infinite jaw-dropping performances on a regular basis throughout his career.
Casillas' agility, which made him capable of reaching from one end of the goal post to the other within the blink of an eye, is a feature possessed by no other goalkeeper ever. A player of superior class and leadership quality ushered Spain into a hat-trick of major trophies between 2008-2012.
The Spaniard also had his fair share of club accolades. From being the youngest ever goalkeeper to play and win in a Champions League final to leading the Blancos in their La Decima pursuit, we all simply lived in a world that belonged to the legend Iker Casillas.
Many consider Iker not winning the Ballon d'Or an unpleasant event in the history of individual accolades.
This concludes our list of 5 goalkeepers who deserved the Ballon d'Or. Post your opinion below and let us know which goalkeeper deserved the Ballon d'Or according to you.
