Best Liverpool goalkeepers ever
Best Liverpool Goalkeepers ever? Which Liverpool FC goalkeeper is the best? Here we are ranking Liverpool’s greatest goalkeepers ever.
Best Liverpool goalkeepers ever
10. Best Liverpool goalkeepers ever- Arthur Riley
Arthur Riley joined Liverpool in 1925, thus becoming the first South African footballer to play for the club. He spent the entirety of his professional career at Liverpool.
Riley played for Liverpool till 1940 and made 338 appearances for the club. During his time at Liverpool, the best the club could do in the league was a fourth-place finish in the 1928-29 season. Riley also helped the Reds to a quarter-final finish at the 1931-32 FA Cup.
9. Best Liverpool goalkeepers ever- Sam Hardy
Sam Hardy began his professional career at Chesterfield. During a second division match against Liverpool, Liverpool manager Tom Watson watched Hardy play. Even though Liverpool won the game 6-1, Watson thought that if not for Hardy, Liverpool would have recorded their best-ever victory.
Watson brought Hardy to Liverpool in 1905 and in his maiden season, he helped Liverpool win the League. Hardy went on to play for Liverpool till 1912, making 239 appearances for the club.
He left Liverpool to join Aston Villa where he had a successful 9-year spell. Hardy retired from professional football in 1925 when he was 43 years old. He passed away in 1966, aged 84.
8. Best Liverpool goalkeepers ever- David James
David James had an extensive footballing career that lasted for more than 25 years. However, James will be best remembered for his 7-year stint at Liverpool.
James joined Liverpool from boyhood club Watford in 1992 on a transfer fee of £1.25 million. James had to compete for a starting spot with veteran Bruce Grobbelaar. He soon became Liverpool’s first-choice custodian. James helped Liverpool win the 1994-95 League Cup.
James stayed at Liverpool till 1999 before joining Aston Villa. David James made 257 appearances for Liverpool across all competitions, making 94 clean sheets.
7. Best Liverpool goalkeepers ever – Tommy Lawrence
Tommy Lawrence had a big role to play in Liverpool’s transition to a formidable club in England under Bill Shankly. Lawrence joined Liverpool when he was only 17 years old. Phil Taylor was the Liverpool manager at the time and Lawrence was mostly warming the bench.
Lawrence became a regular under Bill Shankly and became an integral player for Liverpool. He helped Liverpool win the league twice in addition to FA Cup and Charity Shield glory.
Lawrence was eventually dropped by Shankly in favour of another keeper who we will discuss further in this article. Tommy Lawrence left Liverpool to join Tranmere Rovers in 1971 after making 390 appearances for the club.
Lawrence played at Tranmere Rovers until his retirement in 1974. Sadly, Lawrence passed away last January, aged 78.
6. Best Liverpool goalkeepers ever – Jerzy Dudek
One of the finest Polish goalkeepers ever, Dudek is best remembered for his 6-year stint at Liverpool.
Dudek’s impressive performances for Feyenoord attracted interest from Liverpool and he joined the club in 2001 as a replacement for Sander Westerveld.
Dudek’s performances for Liverpool in his very first season helped Liverpool finish 2nd in the Premier League. He soon became an important player and played a crucial role in their Champions League win in 2005. In the historic final at Istanbul, Dudek made two saves during the penalty shootout including the winning save from Andriy Shevchenko.
The Pole lost his place in the starting XI to another goalkeeper who we will discuss further in this article. Dudek eventually left Liverpool in 2007 to join Real Madrid. He made 186 appearances for The Reds, making 78 clean sheets. Dudek played at Real Madrid till his retirement in 2011. He also made 60 appearances for the Poland national team from 1998-2013.
5. Best Liverpool goalkeepers ever – Elisha Scott
One of the greatest Northern Irish goalkeepers of all-time, Elisha Scott joined Liverpool in 1912 and played at the club till 1915 before moving to Belfast United. After short spells at a few clubs, Scott rejoined Liverpool in 1919.
This time, he played at the club till 1934. Scott helped Liverpool win back to back league titles in the 1921-22 and 1922-23 seasons. Scott left Liverpool in 1934 to join Belfast Celtic. He made a total of 468 appearances for Liverpool.
Scott eventually became the manager of Belfast Celtic and held that post till 1949. He passed away in 1959 at the age of 65.
4. Best Liverpool goalkeepers ever- Bruce Grobbelaar
The greatest Zimbabwean goalkeeper of all-time, Bruce Grobbelaar joined Liverpool in 1981 as a backup to another goalkeeper we will discuss later. However, this goalkeeper’s departure to Tottenham made Grobbelaar Liverpool’s first-choice.
Grobbelaar produced some fine performances for Liverpool and was an integral player in Liverpool’s success in the 80s. He won 6 league titles at Liverpool and the European Cup in 1984 among other trophies.
Grobbelaar left Liverpool in 1994 and joined Southampton. He made a total of 628 appearances for Liverpool. He is 9th among the most number of appearances for Liverpool and 2nd among goalkeepers.
3. Best Liverpool goalkeepers ever- Alisson
On 19 July 2018, Liverpool officially confirmed the signing of Alisson for a fee of €72.5 million, making him the most expensive goalkeeper of all time, surpassing the transfers of Ederson (most expensive in pound sterling) and Gianluigi Buffon (most expensive in Euros).
However, the fee was broken just four weeks later when Chelsea signed Kepa Arrizabalaga for a reported €80 million from Athletic Bilbao. On 10 August, Liverpool confirmed via their official website that he would wear the vacant number 13 shirt in the 2018–19 season.
During his two-season stay, he has won the UEFA Champions League in 2018–19 and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2019.
2. Best Liverpool goalkeepers ever- Pepe Reina
Undoubtedly one of the greatest Spanish goalkeepers of all-time Pepe Reina joined Liverpool from Villarreal in 2005. He made his debut for Liverpool in the 2005 UEFA Super Cup which Liverpool won 3-1 against CSKA Moscow.
Reina’s presence relegated 2005 Champions League Final hero Jerzy Dudek to the bench. The Spaniard made some fine performances for Liverpool. However, his most famous performance for the club was in the 2005-06 FA Cup final against West Ham where he saved three penalties in the shootout as Liverpool won the tournament.
Reina won the Premier League Golden Glove in three successive seasons, thus becoming the first keeper to do so. Only Joe Hart has equalled this feat as of now. Reina left Liverpool for Napoli on a loan deal in 2013 before leaving the club for good in 2014. Reina made 395 appearances for The Reds across all competitions, making 177 clean sheets. He currently plays for AC Milan.
Reina has made 36 appearances for Spain so far. He was a part of the squads that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and Euros 2008 and 2012. All in all, Reina has represented Spain in four World Cups, two Euros and as many FIFA Confederations Cup.
1. Best Liverpool goalkeepers ever- Ray Clemence
One of the finest keepers of his time and one of the greatest English keepers of all-time, Ray Clemence joined Liverpool from Scunthorpe United in 1967 but did not become a regular under Bill Shankly till 1970.
