Advertisement
Mad Men

Oops! The 11 worst goalkeeping errors ever

David De Gea is not the only goalkeeper to make the occasional blunder. Here are some prime examples of similarly disastrous mistakes.

ON SUNDAY, MAN United’s new signing David De Gea didn’t exactly cover himself in glory when he let Shane Long’s tame shot creep under him for West Brom’s equaliser.

Nonetheless, De Gea only committed a minor offence in comparison to some of his goalkeeping colleagues of the past.

With that in mind, we bring you 11 of the worst gaffes you’ll ever see. And be warned: this article contains images that some goalkeepers may find disturbing.

11. Shay Given (Newcastle v Coventry)

Shay Given is probably Ireland’s greatest ever goalkeeper and his career has been characterised by his reliability in front of the posts. So long as you ignore this one anomaly of course…

10. Khalid Askri (FAR Rabat v Maghreb Fez)

Surely a contender for the dopiest goalkeeper of all time. The Moroccan league is not renowned as a goalkeeping hotbed, nor should it be on this evidence.

9. Tim Flowers (Liverpool v Blackburn)

Tim Flowers should have known better than to be messing about with the Anfield pitch. After he made a divot in front of his goal for no logical reason, Stan Collymore’s shot subsequently deflected off said divot and into the net.

8. Andy Dibble (Coventry v Nottingham Forest)

Andy Dibble evidently forgot one of the golden rules of goalkeeping – always keep (no pun intended) the ball in two hands. He was consequently punished, as he conceded the most unusual goal imaginable.

7. Peter Enckleman (Aston Villa v Birmingham)

Peter Enckleman never really established himself as a goalkeeper of renown, despite years toiling away amid the fringes of the Aston Villa first team. Perhaps this is why…

6. Massimo Taibi (Man United v Southampton)

The player who De Gea has been inevitably compared to in light of the less-than-assured start to his United career, Taibi came to Old Trafford with high expectations and left shortly thereafter, with his reputation in tatters.

5. Fabien Barthez (Man United v Arsenal)

It appears at times that a curse hangs over United goalkeepers – Roy Carroll, Tim Howard and Ben Foster have all failed spectacularly when presented with the opportunity to take over the goalkeeping reigns at Old Trafford. Alas, Fabien Barthez didn’t have much luck either, particularly in the game below, where he made not one, but two absolute howlers.

4. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus v Atalanta)

David De Gea can take solace in the knowledge that even good goalkeepers occasionally make bad mistakes over the course of their career. And those who consider Buffon to be the world’s best goalkeeper may revise their opinion after seeing this clip.

3. James Pullen (Chelmsford City v Welling United)

There’s a reason you’ve never heard of James Pullen. This mistake essentially cost Pullen’s team the game given that it took place in the 93rd minute. Something tells me a few choice words may have been exchanged in the dressing room afterwards.

2. Sammy Bossut (Zulte Waregum v Lokeren)

Throwing the ball to a player on their own team should be one of the minimal tasks expected of a professional goalkeeper. Alas, this doesn’t always happen, as is apparent in this case, where Sammy Bossut literally hands the opposition team a goal. And what’s even more incredible is that Bossut, as is typical of goalkeepers, somehow manages to blame someone else, despite being blatantly at fault.

1. Rene Higuita (Cameroon v Colombia)

Surely the craziest keeper of all time, Higuita is perhaps more renowned for his remarkable scorpion kick against England. However, occasionally his tricks didn’t work out quite so smoothly, as was the case in the video below.

Read: McLeish optimistic on Given’s injury>

Read: Brillaint debut from Aguero as he scores a brace against Swansea>