Naturally, it looks like a vital goal stays more engraved than a fine save in the mind of viewers. FIFA and UEFA awards shortlists are largely dominated by attacking-minded players. How fair is this to goalkeepers?
Goals win games but it sometimes takes a tight defence and wonder punches for a team to hold on to victory. At the 2012 UEFA European Championship, shot-stoppers will come under pressure to keep their goal line clean. We present 5 names that could win the Best Goalkeeper Award at the tournament.
1) Iker Casillas of Spain
Only a few people may dare to doubt the credibility of Iker Casillas. He has had his nightmares against Barcelona during the past few years in club football. With the Spanish national team, however, Casillas is an iron wall. He played a major role in Spain’s path to glory at the 2008 European Championship and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
His consistency in post has made him an undisputed first-choice goalkeeper since almost a decade now. Even Victor Valdes who has won a multitude of trophies with Barcelona cannot threaten Casillas' First XI place in Spain.
The 31-year-old is the most capped goalkeeper in the history of Spain’s national team with over 130 appearances and counting. The Real Madrid legend has yet to concede a goal in 2012. This record will apply pressure on opposing strikers during UEFA Euro 2012. Who will be the first player to score against Spain’s Iker Casillas?
2) Manuel Neuer of Germany 
Manuel Neuer grabbed the attention of the public at the 2010 FIFA World Cup with his splendid display for Germany. The 2011 Best Bundesliga Player of the Year is young and continues to shine. His input at UEFA Euro 2012 will be crucial for the DFB Eleven.
Germany vs Portugal will see Manuel Neuer affronting Cristiano Ronaldo again. The latter did score twice against Neuer when Real Madrid hosted Bayern Munich in the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League semi-finals. However, team effort sent the two-legged tie into extra-time and eventually gave Neuer the chance to have the final word in the penalty shoot-outs.
Filling the boots of Oliver Khan and Jens Lehman is one hard thing to do for a goalkeeper of Manuel Neuer’s age who got his first cap for Germany at 23. Neuer has stamina in abundance. He played every single bit of Germany’s UEFA Euro 2012 qualification campaign.
In 270 minutes of group stage action, the Bayern Munich star could bring some of the world’s best forwards – Robin van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner and Cristiano Ronaldo – back to planet Earth. A golden performance from Manuel Neuer in each of the Germans’ first three UEFA Euro 2012 matches could prove to be the difference in this famous “group of death”.
3) Joe Hart of England
Having conceded 11 goals in his 18 appearances for the Three Lions, Hart cannot contemplate his statistics with pride. However, he is still considered as one of England’s most promising players and rightfully so. Hart was virtually at the heart of his team’s success when Manchester City won the 2010/11 FA Cup and the 2011/12 English Premier League.
In the just-ended club football season, the 25-year-old goalkeeper conceded only 20 goals. Joe Hart enters the 2012 European Championship as a two-time Barclays Golden Glove winner.
After missing out on the 2010 FIFA World Cup against Robert Green, Joe Hart will try to make of Euro 2012 a tournament to remember for good reasons.
Hart certainly has more to learn in his bright career but he may also have a lot to teach to France’s Karim Benzema, Ukraine’s Andriy Schevchenko or Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
4) Gianluigi Buffon of Italy
Among this shortlist, Gianluigi Buffon is the most experienced goalkeeper. At the age of 34, the Juventus player is still an integral piece in Italy’s national team. He has been through ups and downs and the youngsters in the squad can look up to him for inspiration.
If Italy’s attack does not click, Gianluigi Buffon will be responsible of maintaining the balance at the back. He has faced world football legends like Zinedine Zidane so it would be a mistake to judge his potential on his old age.
Like Iker Casillas whom he will face in the Spain vs Italy fixture, Gianluigi Buffon carries a World Cup medal under his belt. Gigi had to watch in pain as substitute goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis conceded 3 goals against Russia in Italy’s last pre-Euro 2012 game. The skipper will try to win back the fans' faith in Poland and Ukraine.
Fernando Torres, David Silva and Fernando Llorente will surely keep the Italian goalkeeper very busy on June 10. However, if Gianluigi Buffon manages to come out with a positive performance on that day, he could gain an abundant amount of momentum to repeat his achievements of Germany 2006.
5) Petr Cech of the Czech Republic
He cannot count too many spectacular moments with the national team. Petr Cech conceded the fastest goal at the 2006 World Cup when Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan scored against the Czech Republic in a group stage match.
Had he performed better in post, the Czechs might have avoided a first round exit in Germany 2006. Well, this is a story of the past. The 30-year-old goalkeeper has gone through many things since then. These include a terrible head injury as well as FA Cup and European glory with Chelsea.
Euro 2012 comes at a good time for Petr Cech. The Czech Republic veteran goalkeeper is buzzing with confidence following Chelsea’s UEFA Champions League triumph in May. The 2012 European Championship will offer Cech the opportunity to produce a memorable performance in a major international tournament at last.
Petr Cech has saved crucial penalties before. In the 2008 UEFA Champions League final, he punched the spot kick of eventual FIFA Ballon d’Or victor Cristiano Ronaldo.
Against Bayern Munich, he caught Arjen Robben’s potential match winner to save Didier Drogba from transforming from hero to villain. Group D’s attackers better watch out…
Ahead of UEFA Euro 2012, much anticipation surrounds star strikers like Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie of the Netherlands, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, Mario Gomez of Germany and Wayne Rooney of England. What if the fans’ high expectations are just too much pressure on these decorated icons?
In a match, every player wants the ball. At UEFA Euro 2012, goalkeepers could show everyone how to catch it!
