Perhaps one of the most scrutinised positions in world football, being the goalkeeper for Manchester United isn't for the faint hearted.
United might be known for its free scoring attackers but behind every great, silverware winning team is a victory crazed sentinel, stationed between the sticks, who is often the driving force to glory.
Manchester United have an illustrious history of those who have donned the gloves for the club, so whittling it down into a list is no easy task, but we gave it a go anyway:
#5: David de Gea
The Spaniard was the reason for one of only three absences Sir Alex Ferguson had from 1986 to 2013. The great Scot flew to Madrid to see the then 19-year-old David de Gea for himself after his goalkeeping coaches were certain that the teenager was the heir apparent to the No.1 spot.
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After a shaky start to life at Old Trafford as his bean pole physique was targeted by the opposition as an obvious weakness, De Gea soon filled out his shirt and wowed spectators with his unorthodox dependence on blocking shots with his feet.
Like all world class goalkeepers, De Gea has lightning fast reflexes which are regularly on display resulting in saves that are only done justice in the replays.
His performance against Arsenal in the 17/18 Premier League season at the Emirates Stadium is probably one of his best outings in a United shirt.
Over the 90 minutes De Gea produced a whopping 14 saves, a league record equalling amount, with the pick of the bunch being a breathtaking double save, first denying Alexandre Lacazette by quickly diving to the ground and clawing the Frenchman’s fizzed shot away, then, in a blink of an eye De Gea was up to block former United flop Alexis Sánchez’s point blank rebound with his boot. This passage of play perfectly describes David de Gea’s style as a keeper, he’s one for the cameras but brings a shed load of skill to the goal mouth and doesn’t care what limb he uses to stop a shot.
#4: Harry Gregg
The ‘Hero of Munich’.
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Harry Gregg Made his debut for Manchester United on the 21st of December 1957 after transferring from Doncanster for a world record fee for a goalkeeper of £23,500.
Less than two months later he would heroically run back into the fiery plane wreck several times to save a mother and her baby, teammates including Bobby Charlton and Dennis Violet as well as his manager Sir Matt Busby.
A superhero off the pitch, Gregg more than held his own on the playing field. Internationally, the Northern Irish stopper was voted the best in his position in the 1958 World Cup, beating Lev Yashin, who is the only goalkeeper to win the Ballon D'or, by 478 votes to 122 votes for the Russian.
Domestically, his form was of a similar vein although injuries meant that his time at United ended with zero personal medals even though the club won trophies, but Gregg failed to tally up the minimum appearances needed to qualify for recognition of his involvement for the successes.
Harry Gregg of Manchester United saves a shot against Newcastle. (Alamy)
Harry Gregg made 247 appearances in his stay at Old Trafford that was just shy of nine years and Manchester United would be a very different club today without Gregg’s selfless acts on that horrible winter’s night in Munich, and his name should be synonymous with the club’s history.
#3: Alex Stepney
Manchester United have never been afraid to break financial barriers and make new transfer records and this was no different with the signing of Alex Stepney.
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Stepney joined United from Chelsea for a then record fee of £55,000 in 1966 and the Red Devils would go on to win the league in his debut season, qualifying Sir Matt Busby’s men for next year’s European Cup where the Englishmen would shine in net, especially in the final.
United faced Eusébio’s Benfica in a poignant final at Wembley Stadium with the English side being motivated by the memory of the 23 that died ten years earlier in the air disaster.
Survivor of the crash, Bobby Charlton opened the scoring with a glancing header in the second half, however the Portuguese side equalised through Jaime Graca with a close-ranged volley, giving Stepney no chance.
Fast forward to the final four minutes of the match, Manchester United's worst fears are materialising in front of their eyes, Eusébio is through on goal.
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One on one with one of the greatest strikers of all time, Stepney stood tall and collected a thunderous shot from the Portuguese into his midriff which was powerful enough to force the goalkeeper to the ground. The stadium erupted with applause, with the first to do so being Eusébio himself.
This save proved pivotal to Manchester United becoming the first English team to win the European Cup as they would run riot in extra time and clinch victory via a 4-1 scoreline.
Along with being the first United keeper to taste continental success, Stepney also has the record of the most goalkeeper appearances for the club with 539 and bizarrely he is also the club’s top goal scoring goalkeeper with a staggering two goals!
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Both of these goals would come in one of Manchester United's worst seasons ever, 1973/74.
United were relegated from the top flight this season with the final nail in the coffin being provided by former Old Trafford superstar Denis Law who was playing for Manchester City at the time. To hit home the dire situation at Manchester United even more, Stepney’s two goals, which were from the penalty spot, made him the red side of Manchester’s top scorer by Christmas.
#2: Edwin van der Sar
Although he is now at the centre of the majority of Manchester United’s transfers as Erik ten Hag tries to cherry pick his former team Ajax where he is the CEO, Edwin van der Sar’s relationship with United began in 2005 when he became the perfect missing piece to fill the team’s goalkeeping problems after joining from Fulham for a measly £2 million by modern day standards.
With Van der Sar in goal Manchester United soon returned to European dominance, with the Dutchman appearing in two back to back Champions League finals in his four years at the club, winning one where he played a vital role.
The 6”5 goalkeeper was crowned a king of footballing Europe in 2008 via a penalty shootout against rivals Chelsea on a sodden pitch in Moscow shortly after midnight.
Edwin van der Sar saved the decisive penalty from Nicolas Anelka to send the Reds into adulation during the dead of night in the ‘Red City’.
Success in the Champions League was preceded by that in the Premier League as he earned the nickname ‘Van der Save’ and broke many league records, including most consecutive clean sheets, with 11 and at the same time going the longest in the Premier League without conceding a goal at 1,311 minutes.
It is unlikely that many clean sheets were kept in training and afterwards as a young Cristiano Ronaldo liked the long frame of Edwin van der Sar to practice and perfect his famous freekick technique against.
#1: Peter Schmeichel
The ‘Great Dane’ takes our number one spot for Manchester United’s best No.1 with a variety of iconic moments in his eight years at the club.
Schmeichel steered United through one of their golden eras by barking relentlessly at his defenders, demanding their best at all times.
Psychologically, he did everything he could to make his goal feel smaller, whether it meant jumping in his trademarked starfish style or deliberately wearing a bright kit that was one size too big; he used everything to his advantage to win.
This obsessive winning mentality gained the Danish keeper five Premier League titles, three FA Cups, one League Cup, a UEFA Super Cup and of course the famous Champions League win that completed the historic treble.
The now 58-year-old was vital in arguably United’s best season as his penalty save against Dennis Bergkamp in the FA Cup semifinal replay eventually sent the game into extra time allowing Ryan Giggs to slalom his way through the Arsenal team to then blast the ball into the back of the net to keep the treble hopes alive.
The treble dream became a reality in Barcelona and after his goal was bombarded by Bayern Munich all evening with the German giants hitting the post several times in the match, Schmeichel was a sight of unbridled joy when Ole Gunnar Solskjær scored the winner. Peter Schmeichel turned the Camp Nou into his own gymnastics arena as he cartwheeled during his celebrations.
Memorable moments in Europe seemed to gravitate to Schmeichel as it was in the UEFA Cup, now the Europa League, that he became the 2nd goalie to score for United, the first being the aforementioned Alex Stepney, with a bullet header against Rotor Volograd which preserved Manchester United’s 40 year unbeaten record on the continent.
The final stat to cement his place as number one is 42% of the 310 games that Schmeichel played in the Premier were a clean sheet, which is mind blowing and shows why he deserves to top the list!
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Manchester United, David De Gea, Peter Schmeichel, Edwin Van Der Sar, Football, Premier League