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Who is he? Germany has a vast talent pool of young keepers, and we believe that ex-Stuttgart and Manchester City keeper, Loris Karius (currently at Mainz) could be the next big hit.
Back in 2013: Loris Karius didn’t have as impressive a 2013 as some of the others on the list. Injury struck the youngster at a crucial moment in the season, as he failed to make any appearances in the latter part of the 12/13 campaign and early part of the 13/14 season. It was only in November 2013 that he was given his chance, keeping a clean sheet in his first game against Frankfurt. He has kept in all of Mainz’ matches from then till the winter break, losing just one game (to Dortmund) and earning impressive victories over the likes of Hamburg and even keeping a clean sheet against currently 3rd placed, Gladbach.
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His only International appearance was in a friendly for the German U-20 team, coming on at half time and conceding one goal in a 2-1 loss to Poland.
Looking at 2014: Karius has shown that he has the confidence to play in the Bundesliga in the few appearances that he has made. The fact that he plays in one of the top leagues makes him a candidate to watch-out for in 2014. We hope that he is able to hold down his place in Mainz and follow in the foot steps of ter Stegen, Leno and Trapp as young first-team keepers in the Bundesliga.
4) Jack Butland
Who is he? Englishman Jack Butland is a young keeper for Premier League side Stoke City, with an International cap already to his name.
Back in 2013: Butland spent the early part of 2013 with Birmingham City in the Championship, helping them in their promotion push. They didn’t get through but Butland found himself in the Premier League with Stoke City. A frustrating time so far as he has played second fiddle to Asmir Begovic, being restricted to League Cup and Fa Cup starts. He was briefly loaned out to Barnsley in the Championship to keep touch with first-team football.
He has been called up to the senior England side without making any appearances. He is the first-choice keeper for the U-21 side, keeping 5 clean sheets out of 6 games in the U-21s Euro qualifying campaign which includes 5-0 and 9-0 victories. He was also the keeper when they beat Scotland 6-0 in a friendly.
Looking at 2014: Most recently, injuries to Begovic and Sorensen allowed Butland to make his first Premier League appearance, on New Year’s Day. It also means that Mark Hughes will be giving Butland a regular run of games as the youngsters’ personal ambition is to make it to England’s squad for the World Cup in Brazil. This push makes him 4th in our list of keepers.
3) Alphonse Areola
Who is he? PSG’s Alphonse Areola was born in the Philippines but has French nationality. He is currently on loan at RC Lens. Please note that Areola is the ONLY player in the entire 100 who is, at the time of writing, not playing for a top division side.
Back in 2013: Young Alphonse has spent most of 2013 in France’s 2nd division with RC Lens, gaining some valuable first-team experience. Lens are currently in a fantastic position to earn promotion to Ligue 1. He has played the entire 90 in 17 of Lens’ 18 games. The only game he didn’t feature in, Lens conceded 6 goals (with Rudy Riou as the keeper). Earlier in 2013, towards the end of the 12/13 campaign, Areola played 4 first-team games for PSG, not losing any of them and keeping a clean sheet against Lyon at the Stade de Gerland in a 1-0 victory.
His most valuable International contribution was with the U-20 side. Areola was the first choice keeper of the French side that won the U-20 World Cup in 2013 summer. The only game that the French lost was to the talented Spaniards.
Looking at 2014: The reason we’ve included Areola, despite him playing at a second division club, is because we expect him to be playing Ligue 1 football, one way or another, in the second half of 2014 and that would be Areola’s hopes as well. He’s a talented keeper, who needs a move away from PSG, albeit temporarily.
2) Oliver Zelenika
Who is he? Croatian champions, Dinamo Zagreb, have been dominating their domestic league for quite sometime. The current man in between the posts as they continue to do so, is 20-year-old Croat, Oliver Zelenika.
Back in 2013: A large part of Zelenika’s 2013 was spent in the Croatian second division with NK Rudes. It’s amazing that in the second half of the year he was playing first-team football for the defending Croatian champions. Besides dominating at home, Dinamo Zagreb had European competition to contend with as well. Zelenika got first-hand experience of the Champions League, albeit in three qualifying rounds as Zagreb were knocked out by Austria Vienna. Zelenika kept all of Dinamo’s Europa League games as well, another disappointing performance but priceless experience at such an early age.
We first heard of Zelenika at the U-20 World Cup, as Croatia topped their group and got knocked out in the Round of 16 to Chile. Oliver Zelenika was their first choice keeper for the tournament.
Looking at 2014: Zelenika will continue to improve as an individual as part of Dinamo Zagreb’s campaign as they look to win their 9th straight HNL title. It can be a great advantage for a youngster to be at the best clueb in his country at just 20. Oliver will be hoping he could grab some more attention and earn a call-up to Croatia’s 23-man World Cup squad.
1) Stefanos Kapino
Who is he? Stefanos Kapino is a 19-year-old keeper for Greek Super League side, Panathanaikos. A youngster with an International cap already to his name.
Back in 2013: Kapino’s first significant experience in 2013 came on the last day of the 12/13 campaign as he made his debut in the Super League. He started the next season from where he left off, first-choice for Panathanaikos, a club chasing the Greek title and looking to stop Olympiakos. A huge responsibility for someone still in his teens. But Kapino has shown his immense quality this campaign, playing the full 90 minutes in Panathanaikos’ first 12 games before losing his place to the experienced Stefanos Kastolis.
Although he hasn’t played for the National team since 2011 (he made his senior team debut at 17), Kapino has regularly been called up for the Greek National Team. Kapino is another who we took note of at the U-20 World Cup. With Kapino in goal, Greece squeezed through their group but were knocked out in the Round of 16.
Looking at 2014: It isn’t entirely impossible that Kapino goes to the World Cup. With more experience in the next few months, he could realistically be considered for the first-team spot in Greece’s World Cup campaign. His talent and progress will only further attract attention towards Kapino and this makes him our #1 Keeper to watch-out for in 2014.
