Champions League's top goalkeepers: Most appearances, clean sheets
Sunday 1 January 2023
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Most goalkeeper appearances, final wins, clean sheets, goals-per-game ratios, youngest winners, oldest finalists.
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Which goalkeepers have made the most Champions League appearances?
Iker Casillas made 177 UEFA Champions League appearances for Real Madrid (150) and Porto (27) between 1999 and 2019. He lifted the trophy three times – no goalkeeper has won it more – with the first coming just four days after his 19th birthday. He remains the youngest goalkeeper to play in a Champions League final.
Casillas is one of six keepers among the 47 players who have amassed 100 or more appearances in the competition. Manuel Neuer, Gianluigi Buffon, Petr Čech, Víctor Valdes and Oliver Kahn make up that elite group, with Edwin van der Sar falling just two games short.
| Player | Games | Conceded | Clean sheets | GPG |
| Casillas | 177 | 203 | 57 | 1.15 |
| Neuer | 131 | 119 | 54 | 0.91 |
| Buffon | 124 | 118 | 53 | 0.95 |
| Čech | 111 | 103 | 49 | 0.93 |
| Valdes | 106 | 89 | 45 | 0.84 |
| Kahn | 103 | 104 | 33 | 1.01 |
| Van der Sar | 98 | 79 | 51 | 0.81 |
| Shovkovskiy | 77 | 114 | 16 | 1.48 |
| Ter Stegen | 76 | 87 | 30 | 1.14 |
| Reina | 76 | 89 | 25 | 1.17 |
| Oblak | 74 | 69 | 33 | 0.93 |
| Dida | 72 | 56 | 35 | 0.78 |
| Lloris | 70 | 96 | 20 | 1.37 |
| Courtois | 69 | 81 | 25 | 1.17 |
| Szczęsny | 68 | 87 | 24 | 1.28 |
European Cup/UEFA Champions League games, first round/group stage to final. Stats include partial games.
Which goalkeepers have kept the most Champions League clean sheets?
Not surprisingly, the three keepers with the most Champions League appearances have also kept the most clean sheets: Casillas, Neuer and Buffon. Former Ajax, Juventus and Manchester United No1 Van der Sar (51 in 98) has the best clean sheet-per-match ratio, though, managing better than one every two Champions League outings. Dida (35 in 72), Petr Čech (49 in 111), Jan Oblak (33 in 74) and Edouard Mendy (14 in 22) also have impressive returns.
57 Iker Casillas (Real Madrid, Porto)
54 Manuel Neuer (Schalke, Bayern)
53 Gianluigi Buffon (Parma, Juventus, Paris)
51 Edwin van der Sar (Ajax, Juventus, Man United)
49 Petr Čech (Sparta Praha, Chelsea, Arsenal)
45 Víctor Valdes (Barcelona)
35 Dida (AC Milan)
33 Jan Oblak (Atlético)
33 Oliver Kahn (Bayern)
30 Marc André ter Stegen (Barcelona)
Most consecutive clean sheets in the Champions League
Jens Lehmann kept nine successive clean sheets for Arsenal between 9 March 2005 and 17 May 2006. The last appearance in that sequence lasted just 18 minutes, though, as the German became the first player (and so far only goalkeeper) to be sent off in a Champions league final – Arsenal went on to lose 2-1 to Barcelona.
Which goalkeepers have won the most Champions League or European Cup titles?
Seven goalkeepers have won three Champions League/European Cup finals – all with one club: Juan Alonso, Heinz Stuy, Sepp Maier, Ray Clemence, Iker Casillas, Víctor Valdes and Keylor Navas. Stuy, Maier, Alonso and Navas won three seasons running, with Ajax's Stuy keeping clean sheets in all three of his finals. Conversely, 15 years separated Casillas's first title in 2000 and last in 2014.
3 Keylor Navas (Real Madrid 2016, 2017, 2018)
3 Juan Alonso (Real Madrid 1956, 1957, 1958)
3 Iker Casillas (Real Madrid 2000, 2002, 2014)
3 Ray Clemence (Liverpool 1977, 1978, 1981)
3 Sepp Maier (Bayern 1974, 1975, 1976)
3 Heinz Stuy (Ajax 1971, 1972, 1973)
3 Víctor Valdes (Barcelona 2006, 2009, 2011)
How many goalkeepers have scored in the Champions League ?
Three goalkeepers have scored in the Champions League proper, with Hans-Jörg Butt leading the way. The German, who once scored nine in a single Bundesliga season, converted three Champions League penalties over the years for Hamburg, Leverkusen and Bayern – all, remarkably, against Juventus (versus Van der Sar, Buffon and Buffon again!).
Hapoel Tel-Aviv's Vincent Enyeama also struck from the spot against Lyon in 2010, while Sinan Bolat is the only goalkeeper to score from open play in the competition. The Turkish-born keeper headed a 95th-minute equaliser for Standard Liège to snatch a UEFA Europa League spot from AZ Alkmaar in 2009/10.
Hans-Jörg Butt (Hamburg 4-4 Juventus, 13/09/2000)
Hans-Jörg Butt (Leverkusen 3-1 Juventus, 12/03/2002)
Hans-Jörg Butt (Juventus 1-4 Bayern, 08/12/2009)
Sinan Bolat (Standard Liège 1-1 AZ, 09/12/2009)
Vincent Enyeama (H. Tel-Aviv 1-3 Lyon, 29/09/2010)
Youngest goalkeeper to win the Champions League
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid 3-0 Valencia, 2000) – 19y 4d
Oldest goalkeeper to win the Champions League
Edwin van der Sar (Man United 1-1 6-5p Chelsea, 2008) – 37y 205d
Youngest goalkeeper to play a Champions League final
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid 3-0 Valencia, 2000) – 19y 4d
Oldest goalkeeper to play a Champions League final
Edwin van der Sar (Barcelona 3-1 Man United, 2011) – 40y 211d
Dino Zoff was 41 years 86 days when his Juventus side lost 1-0 to Hamburg in the 1983 European Cup final.
Youngest goalkeeper to play in the Champions League
Maarten Vandevoordt (Napoli 4-0 Genk, 10/12/19) – 17y 287d
Oldest goalkeeper to play in the Champions League
Marco Ballotta (Real Madrid 3-1 Lazio, 11/12/07) – 43y 252d
Most clean sheets per season
2021/22 5 Edouard Mendy (Chelsea), Odysseas Vlachodimos (Benfica), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
2020/21 9 Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)
2019/20 6 Manuel Neuer (Bayern)
2018/19 6 Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona), Alisson (Liverpool)
2017/18 6 Loris Karius (Liverpool)
2016/17 8 Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
2015/16 9 Keylor Navas (Real Madrid)
2014/15 6 Danijel Subašić (Monaco), Manuel Neuer (Bayern), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona)
2013/14 6 Petr Čech (Chelsea), Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
2012/13 6 Helton (Porto), Willy Caballero (Málaga), Gianluigi Buffon), Manuel Neuer (Bayern)
*Players level are ordered by appearances, lowest first.