Excited to be back in the Players Behind The Shirt Series. Fact is, not every one of us began watching football 20+ years ago; some only started following football 5 or 10 years back. Hence, there are some histories behind your favourite club that you don't know. There are also many great players you don't know even existed.
The goal of the series is to take us down memory lane, acquaint us with some histories and equally inform us of some retired players who made a little or great impact during their playing days in their clubs. I hope you find this episode insightful.
This episode will not be centered on the shirt number rather on the position played. I have been talking about players a lot and I thought it wise for us to discuss goalkeepers. Of course, I'll be starting with Liverpool FC goalkeepers.
Football is never complete without those men in-between the bars. For shot-stoppers, the game of football goes beyond just playing with the legs; it is a full-body game because they involve all parts of their body. The importance of their role in a team cannot be over-emphasized. For the records, goalkeepers take the most risk on the pitch.
Players Behind Liverpool No.1 Position - 2000 to 2022
Ever since the existence of Liverpool FC, about 66 goalkeepers have stood in-between the bars for the club. For brevity's sake, this post will only dwell on goalkeepers between the years 2000 and 2022. Others with some outstanding records will be highlighted as well.
Leggo!
Pegguy Arphexad, Brad Friedel, and Sander Westerveld: In the year 2000, I wasn't following football that much but from research, these were the men that took the responsibility for the Reds' goal post with regards to their capacities. Hence, it was a joint task force with one person being the first goalkeeper, second and third as the case may be.
Brad Friedel joined the club in 1997 and stayed till the year 2000. He made 31 appearances only and conceded 39 goals. In 1991, Sander Westerveld joined the club in a two-year deal (1991-2001). In that time, he made 103 appearances for LFC while he conceded 93 goals.
Pegguy Arphexad came to the club in 2000 in a deal that expired in the year 2003. In a disappointing outcome, he made only 6 appearances and conceded 3 goals. Judging from the stats, Sander Westerveld was the first-choice goalkeeper as he made the most appearances during this year. While Pegguy must have been a bench-warmer or the third goalkeeper. His playing time reduced more when Jerzy Dudek joined Liverpool from Feyenoord
Jerzy Dudek came into the picture in August 2001 and the name rings a bell. Interestingly, he is the first goalkeeper I watched playing for the Reds. Also, if you used Merseyside Reds to play football leagues in the Konami game, you must have seen this name with order players like Cisse, Luis Garcia, etc. Liverpool FC was always my option anytime I played Konami so, I can recall Dudek.
The retired Polish international was renowned for his bravery and strong reflexes. He joined Liverpool FC the same day as Chris Kirkland but fortunately, he was handed the first keeper role which Chris and Pegguy saved as substitutes.
However, Dudek didn't impress in the early days as the Reds GK. His debut in the league resulted in a 1-3 loss against Aston Villa. Fans and supporters were unhappy with such performance but in subsequent games, he gained the admiration of fans.
You cannot talk about Jerzy Dudek and not mention the 2005 Champions League final against AC Milan; that would be incomplete. The climax of his career at Liverpool was that fateful night in Istanbul on 25 May 2005. First, he conceded three goals at half-time but in the second half-hour, he contributed to Liverpool equalizing and pegging the game at a 3-3 scoreline which led to the penalties.
It was Jerzy Dudek's goalkeeping heroics that landed Liverpool their fifth Champions League trophy (European Cup). His most outstanding performance was stopping Andrea Pirlo and Andriy Shevchenko's spot-kicks. This memory remains evergreen in the minds of fans. However, Dudek's time was over following the signing of Pepe Reina by Rafael Benitez.
His honours while with the REDS included; 1 UEFA Champions League (2005), 1 FA Cup trophy in 2006, 1 League Cup in 2003, 1 UEFA Super Cup in 2005, and 1 FA Community Shield in the year 2006.
In all competitions, Jerzy Dudek made 186 appearances while conceding 176 goals. His full name is Jerzy Henryk "Jurek" Dudek born on 23 March 1973.
Chris Kirkland joined Liverpool the same with Jerzy Dudek. On 31 August 2001, it was confirmed that Liverpool had completed the signings of goalkeeper Chris Kirkland for a fee of £6,000,000. More expensive than Dudek (£4,850,000) but he spent the majority of his first season understudying Dudek. Equally, frequent injuries impeded his actions.
However, Christopher Edmund Kirkland (born 2 May 1981) is a retired English international who played as a goalkeeper for Liverpool from 2001 to 2006. In all competitions, he made only 45 appearances for the Reds and conceded 47 goals. Kirkland won both the League Cup in 2003 and the Champions League trophy in 2005.
Other mentions are Patrice Luzi (2002-2005) who made just one appearance for the club. Paul Jones (2004-2004) played only 2 games conceding 2 goals. Scott Carson (2005-2008) made only 9 appearances, conceding 10 goals. Undoubtedly, they were not first-choice keepers.
Pepe Reina: My favourite GK back in the days. José Manuel Reina Páez, born on 31 August 1982 is a Spanish goalkeeper who played for Liverpool FC from 2005 until 2013. He was a shot-stopper indeed who made massive contributions to the club. Consequently, Pepe Reina got himself some personal recognitions and awards during his days at Anfield. In the 2009/2010 season, he won the "Liverpool FC Player of the Season" awards. Also, he won the Barclays Golden Glove for the following years/ seasons - 2005/06; 2006/07; 2007/08.
What made him more outstanding was his habit of stopping spot-kicks in critical games. Just like every player, he committed some blunders that did cost the club victories. That notwithstanding, he remains an Anfield legend as he contributed to the club taking home the following trophies: 1 UEFA Super Cup in 2005, 1 FA Cup in 2006, 1 League Cup in 2012, and 1 FA Community Shield in 2006.
Before he departed from the club, Pepe Reina made a total of 394 appearances and conceded 252 goals.
These goalkeepers also played for Liverpool FC but couldn't feature often because Peps Reina had more quality. They include Daniele Padelli (2007-2007), who made just one appearance but conceded 2 goals.
Charles Itandje (2007-2008) played in 7 games and conceded 10 goals. Diego Cavalieri (2008-2010) played 10 games and conceded 12 goals. Brad Jones (2010-2014) played 27 matches and conceded 35 goals. Lastly in this category was Alexander Doni (2011-2013) who played 4 games and conceded 3 goals. No way they could have played more games when we had our bald gloves man.
However, more serious competition for Reina and replacement arrived at Anfield in the person Simon Mignolet. He joined Liverpool on 25 June 2013 after penning a five-year contract to be Liverpool's goalkeeper. The Belgian was a very inconsistent fellow IMO because his quality was never constant. One moment, he's a top-notch shot-stopper but the next moment, he becomes the king of blunders. These blunders, he made them more in crucial games which were always disappointing.
Being full of inconsistencies, Brendan Rodgers at some points, made Brad Jones the first-choice goalkeeper. Brad Jones appeared to be not-so-good to Jurgen Klopp when he took the managerial role so, he still used Mignolet. Still, Simon Mignolet lacked quality. Klopp had no choice but to sign Loris Karius who he made first-choice.
In addition, Simon Mignolet's inconsistency made him sit on the bench in Liverpool's champions league final against Tottenham Hotspur. However, he got a medal and that was his only trophy at Liverpool - the 2019 Champions League. Also, he won the Standard Chartered Player of the Month in September 2013.
On 5 August 2019, Simon Mignolet exited the club after a series of disappointments to join Club Brugge. In all competitions, he 203 appearances and conceded 243 goals.
Liverpool FC Current GoalKeepers
As it stands, the Reds have 4 first-team, goalkeepers which are; Alisson Becker, Adrain, Kelleher, and Karius.
Loris Karius joined the Reds in 2016 but he is currently on loan duty at Germany with Union Berlin. So far, he has made 49 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions and conceded 47 goals. Just like Mignolet, Karius was inconsistent in quality. The major blunders he committed that fans may never forget was in the Champions League final against Real Madrid. He single-handedly gave Real Madrid the trophy.
However, the post-match report had it that, he suffered a concussion triggered by a Sergio Ramos elbow hit. This is said to explain the reason behind his too many mistakes in the match. The German was the first-choice goalkeeper until Alisson came into the picture.
Alisson Ramses Becker is the current wearer Liverpool FC No.1 shirt and he is well-deserving. He is a clear picture of what a number should be like. Time and time again, he has proven that he is worthy of the huge fee paid on his head. He joined Liverpool in July 2018. So far, he has made over 162 appearances, scored once, and has many trophies with the club.
Some of his individual awards include Best FIFA Goalkeeper in 2019, Yashin Trophy in 2019, UEFA Goalkeeper of the Season (2018/2019), 1 Premier League Golden Glove in 2018/2019, Liverpool Goal of the Season (2020/2021) among others. He is also a one-time English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and FIFA Club World Cup winner. No doubt, Alisson is going to lift more trophies with the Reds.
Adrian is currently Liverpool's second-choice goalkeeper. He joined the team in 2019 and he's made over 25 appearances and conceded 35+ goals so far. Similarly, Liverpool's third choice is the academy lad Caoimhin Kelleher. He was featured in 2019 and he's made about 11+ appearances for the club.
Liverpool Legendary GoalKeepers
| GoalKeeper | Season | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Sidney Ross | 1893/1894 | 21 |
| Harry Storer | 1896/1901 | 121 |
| William Perkins | 1899/1903 | 117 |
| Sam Hardy | 1905/1912 | 239 |
| Kenneth Campbell | 1911/1920 | 142 |
| Elisha Scott | 1913/1934 | 468 |
| Arthur Riley | 1925/1940 | 338 |
| Cyril Sidlow | 1946/1952 | 165 |
| Tommy Younger | 1956/1959 | 127 |
| Tommy Lawrence | 1959/1971 | 390 |
| Ray Clemence | 1967/1981 | 665 |
| Bruce Grobbelaar | 1981/1994 | 628 |
It's been a long journey and here's where we'll draw the curtain until the next episode. As aforementioned, not all goalkeepers are being mentioned in this post. The post only recognizes outstanding performances because the list is long. Just in case you are craving for more, do well to visit the external sources (links) included in the post.
