#1. Peter Schmeichel
Peter Schmeichel is undoubtedly the most successful and greatest goalkeeper of all time in Manchester United. The Danish football player became a legend in the club thanks to his significant contribution to all the titles he had with MU.Joined Man Utd from his country club – Brondby, Peter Schmeichel would never know he could gain much success like that. Danish goalkeeper was unknown in Man Utd till he contributed mostly to the club on the first national title after 26 years.
In season 1992-1993, Peter was one of the main factors who achieved 22 clean-sheet matches and led the club win historic League title. The title had been waited for a long time, and this was just the beginning of the following flourish seasons. He got reward the "IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1993 after winning Euro 1992 with Denmark. What a memorable year!
The most unforgettable and successful season in Peter's career was in season 1998-1999 when MU won the triple titles. The incredible winning against Bayern Munich in the Champions League was stunning and shocked the world. As a captain, he managed the team to go through all matches to the finals and won in the “heartbreaking” last minutes.
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| Legendary Goalkeeper–Peter Schmeichel. Source https://lixi88.live |
With Man Utd, Peter Schmeichel achieved 292 appearances in Premier League and 398 matches in total, got himself one goal in UEFA League (which was rare for a goalkeeper). He won five Premier League titles, three FA Cups, 1 League Cup, and 1 Champions League.
Eight years with Manchester United was the most successful time in his career. Although Peter once had a conflict with Sir Alex Ferguson, he apologized and continued to gain more titles after that. His departure left MU a vast space and it was not until 2005 that MU finally found a satisfying replacement – Edwin Van Der Sar.
#2. Edwin Van Der Sar
After the departure of "Great Dane" (as known as Peter Schmeichel), MU was struggling to find a deserving man standing in front of the net. There were about ten goalkeepers put into the test for six years after the 1999-2000 season, but none of them was qualified.And the searching could only stop in 2005 when Manchester United had a significant sign with Edwin Van Der Sar. The Dutchman was like a savior to bring back the glory to the Red Devils. With the presence of Van Der Sar, MU was reborn and had a stable form to achieve many titles after that.
The most beautiful memory of the Dutch goalkeeper was the “magical night” in Moscow when MU played against Chelsea at finals. The match was tight after 90 minutes and the extra time, which forced two teams to the penalties. At the final round, Van Der Sar got the right direction to block the shot of Anelka, which put MU to the top of the Champions League in 2008.
Van Der Sar has an impressive height (197 cm), with a long couple of arms and legs. He also has an incredible reaction that helped him block out the shots inside the penalty box. He used his legs very well, and not many goalkeepers have this ability. As you may not know, this skill could both save the team from a distinct goal and start for an encounter attack.
The Dutchman was considered the Best Goalkeeper Of Manchester United since the dynasty of Peter Schmeichel. Over six years, he had 605 matches in Premier League and 819 games in total. Notably, he recorded to keep the clean sheets in 1,302 minutes, which broke the record of the world made by José María Buljubasich in 2005.
Edwin Van Der Sar is a legend, a great man, and the best goalkeeper in Manchester United since the era of Peter Schmeichel. His leaving made a dramatical blank space foreseen by Sir Alex Ferguson. But it was not long till MU found a new man who’s got qualified characters to replace him – David de Gea.
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| “The Flying Dutchman” – Edwin Van Der Sar. Source https://www.thesun.co.uk |
#3. David de Gea
The skinny young Spanish just turned to 20 years old in 2011 when he got huge attention from Sir Alex Ferguson. Who is he? He’s David de Gea – one of the most essential and irreplaceable players in Manchester United at this time.The Spanish goalkeeper was aimed to be the ideal replacement for legendary Edwin Van Der Sar, and he did it best. The first title he got with MU was the Community Shield Cup when Man Utd beat Man City 3-2 in a dramatic back-to-back winning. After that, De Gea had a good season with Man Utd, but it was not enough for the Premier League title.
David de Gea developed much impressively in the season 2012-2013 to bring the 19th Premier League title for the Old Trafford’s club. He had a great form and played well against the “BIG 4”: Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool. There were some spectacular saves both by hands and legs to keep the club go straight to the 1st finish line.
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| “The Spider” – David de Gea. Source https://e00-marca.uecdn.es/ |
The Spanish goalkeeper almost joined Real Madrid in 2015 when there was a famous event called “broken fax machine". Things got done, but the last step was canceled at the last minute as the fax machine didn't work. If this thing had not happened, MU wouldn’t have had such most talented goalkeeper in the world.
By now, De Gea has 279 games in Premier League and 366 in total, 1 Premier League title, FA Cup, League Cup, and Europa League title.
In conclusion
Manchester United’s Top Best Goalkeepers in the history of the club are undeniable by their contribution and sacrifice. They are always in the “Manucian" fans' hearts and the legend of the Red Devils.
REF:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IFFHS_World%27s_Best_Goalkeeper
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_UEFA_Champions_League_Final
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/sep/01/david-de-gea-manchester-united-real-madrid-no-appeal
