5 Greatest Manchester United Goalkeepers of all Time

When Football fans think of Manchester United, they inevitably think of decades worth of beautiful, dynamic attacking Football with such luminaries as Sir Bobby Charlton, Ryan Giggs, Eric Cantona, Wayne Rooney and Cristiana Ronaldo leading the charge.

What goes under the radar somewhat, however, is that United's status as England's most successful Football club is built from the back with legendary goalkeepers stood between the sticks a tradition dating back to the 1950's and Sir Matt Busby's original Busby Babes team.

It is no coincidence that the most fallow periods of success in United's history coincided with their lack of certainty in the goalkeeper position. Following the exit of long-serving goalkeeper, Alex Stepney in 1978, United called upon Gary Bailey to keep goal, but in one of his first high profile matches, he made a big gaffe, failing to intercept a cross in the 1979 FA Cup Final which directly led to Alan Sunderland scoring the winning goal for Arsenal.

Between 2003 and 2005, United played both American, Tim Howard and Northern Irishman, Roy Carroll in goal regularly, with manager Sir Alex Ferguson unable to decide which of the two were his number one, which ensured United finished no higher than third in the FA Premier League table during that two-season period.

In 2018, United's best player is a goalkeeper, David de Gea; proven by the four Player of the Year awards, the shot-stopper has accrued in the past five seasons.

Without de Gea, United's success over the past seven years would have been notably less as no goalkeeper has prevented more clear goal scoring chances than him during that period.

Here are the top 5 goalkeeper's in United's history:

#5 Alex Stepney (1966-78)

Alex Stepney: Kept goal for United for 12 years

Alex Stepney replaced legendary United goalkeeper, Harry Gregg when he made his debut in a 1-0 success versus city rivals, Manchester City.

Stepney became the first English goalkeeper to win the European Cup, when United defeated Benfica 4-1 at Wembley in May 1968.

Portuguese great Eusebio was denied the winning goal in the final minute of normal time with the score 1-1 by a stunning save by Stepney, which Eusebio was forced to applaud.

Stepney's tenure as United goalkeeper also encompassed First Division and FA Cup success in 1967 and 1977 respectively as his spell between the sticks covered different eras of the team.

An excellent positional goalkeeper, Stepney knew where he was inside his own box at all times and was legendary for his vocal organisation of his defence.

Stepney was missed when he exited United in 1978 having fallen out of favour as first choice.

Stepney is the most capped goalkeeper to ever play for the club, having lined up for United 539 times in total, keeping a remarkable 175 clean sheets.

#4 Edwin van der Sar (2005-11)

Chelsea v Manchester United - UEFA Champions League Quarter Final

Sir Alex Ferguson had wanted to sign Edwin van der Sar as a replacement for the outgoing Peter Schmeichel in the summer of 1999, but Manchester United Chairman had already agreed a deal with Aston Villa stopper, Mark Bosnich.

However, it wasn't until 2005, when Ferguson finally landed van der Sar that he did suitably replace the "Great Dane" in the United goal.

No fewer than 10 goalkeepers kept goal for United between 1999 and 2005, all failing miserably to reach the required level to prove successful as first team goalkeeper for the club.

van der Sar's arrival coincided with a huge upturn in form for United who had struggled in the face of Arsenal and Chelsea dominance in the early part of the 21st century.

In his first season with the club, he helped United to win the League Cup which was followed by four Premier League titles, a European Cup and Club World Cup, during his six full seasons with United before his 2011 retirement from Football.

One of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, van der Sar had an exceptional positional awareness which meant he was excellent at collecting crosses and could play with the ball at his feet as well as his hands, which would often lead to him beginning United attacks from the team's own box.

Had it not been for the immense talents of the keeper to follow him at the club, his presence would have been sorely missed.

#3 Harry Gregg (1957-66)

Harry Gregg: Survived Munich to lead United to success in the 1960s

Harry Gregg joined Manchester United in December 1957, just two months prior to the Munich air disaster which claimed the lives of 23 people, including eight United players.

Gregg has long been dubbed, the "hero of Munich" as the goalkeeper assisted in pulling survivors clear of the wreckage.

Astonishingly for such a long-serving goalkeeper, playing for the club during a period of high success, Gregg never received a winners medal.

Despite being on course to win the 1958 First Division, the Munich disaster ensured the club came up short. With Gregg keeping goal, United also failed to win the 1958 FA Cup Final to Bolton Wanderers.

United went one better in the FA Cup in 1963, winning 3-1 in the final versus Leicester City but Gregg missed the game through injury. Injuries also prevented Gregg from playing enough games to earn a League Championship medal in United's title-winning campaigns of 1964-65 and 1966-67.

A commanding presence in goal, Gregg was one of the finest keepers of his generation and will always be remembered as a United great.

#2 David de Gea (2011 to present)

David de Gea: The greatest goalkeeper in the world

David de Gea was a fresh-faced 20-year-old when he signed for Manchester United in June 2011 to replace the recently retired, Edwin van der Sar.

Those were huge gloves, for the young Spaniard to fill and he initially struggled to adapt to the intensity of the English game, failing to collect crosses and making some catastrophic errors leading to goals.

However, what was never in question was his unmatched shot-stopping ability and his lanky frame could routinely deny clear goal scoring opportunities.

When de Gea added muscle mass to his tall frame and gained experience, he eliminated the errors from his game and became United's most important player.

de Gea kept goal in United's last ever Premier League winning season in 2012-13 and under the stewardship of Louis van Gaal, added the 2016 FA Cup to his resume and under Jose Mourinho won a Double of 2017 League Cup and 2017 Europa League silverware.

Named as United's player of the year in four of the past five seasons, no player is more vital to the club's long term success than the Spaniard.

#1 Peter Schmeichel (1991-99)

The Great Dane: United's finest ever goalkeeper

Peter Schmeichel is the most honoured goalkeeper in Manchester United's history. His signing in August of 1991 coincided with the beginning of the most successful era in club history.

With Schmeichel between the sticks, United won their first top level League Championship in 26 years when they won the inaugural Premier League title in 1992-93.

At six feet four inches with an aggressive scream and demeanour, Schmeichel terrified his own backline and opposition forwards in equal measure.

The "Great Dane" was also renowned for making a nuisance of himself in the opposition box as well as his own, famously scoring in the 2-2 home draw with Rotor Volgograd in the 1995-96 UEFA Cup.

In his eight years at the club, Schmeichel racked up five Premier League titles in total, three FA Cups, one League Cup, the 1991 Super Cup and 1999 Champions League title.

Schmeichel departed the club on the highest of highs, with his final three matches seeing the club win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League to win a historic Treble.

The "Great Dane" is the most successful and greatest goalkeeper in United history.