Let’s start by listing down the men in question:

*Drum Roll*

1. “Saint” Iker Casillas
2. Gianluigi “Gigi” Buffon
3. Edwin Van der Sar

Now as we would do for any comprehensive analysis, we should list the good and bad points of each and every keeper, but I don’t have time for that and more importantly we don’t need that.

All three of them can be easily called one of the best goal keepers of their times. But this is where we have to say bye-bye to Van der Sar. Even though he is a great goalkeeper, gifted with extra-ordinary reach and flexibility thanks to his 6’ 6” frame, he does not have the ability to ‘fly’ like the other two do and is sure not getting any younger at 37. Well basically he is very close to his last dance and the Euro 2008 might well have been his last major tournament for Netherlands.

This leaves us with The Saint and Gigi. Both will surely be remembered in years to come as the best goalkeepers of all time (the key words here being all time). However, it is very difficult to compare both of these goalkeepers. Both have perfect technique, have awesome reach and amazing flexibility. Add to this their lightning-quick reflexes and they become the best ever. For me it is even more difficult to separate both of them because one plays for my favorite club (Real Madrid) and the other plays for the national team I support (Italy). However, I am still trying to figure this one out.

Gigi first started at the age of 17 for Parma A.C. At the age of 19 he was already playing for Italy. This was his time. He became huge, he became immensely huge. No one ever even argued that he was not the best; he WAS the best, period. The reason? In 2001, he transferred from Parma to Juventus for a world-record goalkeeper's fee of €52 million. With Juventus, he has won two Serie A titles and one Serie B title. He still loves the club he is playing for right now. In 2006, the year Italy won the FIFA World Cup, Juventus, surrounded by match fixing allegations, was relegated to Serie B. This paved the way for teams from other leagues to grab good Italian players as Juventus could not refuse the transfer money. World Cup winners like Zambrotta and Captain Cannavaro left, but the Gigi didn’t inspite of big offers coming his way. A year later he said, "I think that in the end, I made the right choice, a choice which makes me sleep well during the night, and keeps my conscience clear." Apart from winning titles for his clubs and the World Cup final which went down to penalties he has won six Serie A Goalkeeper of the year awards, two Onze d’Or, two FIFPro Goalkeeper of the Year awards and featured thrice in the UEFA Team of the Year. All these achievements count a lot considering that both his club and national team have underachieved for the majority of his tenure with them.

St. Iker on the other hand is an out and out Madrid boy. He is a product of the Real Madrid’s youth System. He debuted for the Real Madrid senior team at the age of 17 in the 1998-99 season and became the first choice keeper then on. In 2000, he became the youngest goalkeeper ever to feature in a UEFA Champions League final and then go on to win it. Only once did he loose his spot in the first team in the 2001-02 season, but won it back in style in the last game of the same season. To top it, the game was the Champions League final and he had come on as a substitute. Inspite of this, he made some of the most amazing saves, which not only won Real Madrid the title, but also secured his position for next season which he has kept till date. He does not have any big money transfer to his name, but that sure does not take anything away from him, he just happened to have born in the city with the biggest club in the world. With Madrid, he has won an amazing four La Liga titles, two Champions League medals with the last one coming in 2002 when they also won the UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. With the national team, he has won FIFA U-20 World Cup in 1999 and the most recent UEFA Euro Cup in 2008. He hasn’t won many individual awards, but goalkeepers hardly ever do, with Buffon an exception to the rule.

Both of them ply their trade in leagues which are not as popular or covered as much by the Indian media as the English League. This has worked against them in terms of the global audience taking more time in recognising their skills and ability.

But all of this changed at the recently concluded Euro 2008. The stage was set for the two best goalkeepers in the game to face off. Both of them had the added responsibility of captaining their team as well and both of them have huge respect for each other (one could see that). Many people still knew Buffon was one of the best, but they surely didn’t know how good Casillas was (the ignorant English fans that they are). But boy did he prove a point! He showed that he is second to none. In his own right, he can be called the best goalkeeper today on par with Gigi. Apart from this, I love this guy. Not only has he saved Madrid the blushes by getting them out of trouble thousands of times, but the modesty with which he has done that is commendable. I have been watching him play since he was 17 and I still remember the commentator in a Real Madrid Vs Manchester United match saying, “He is driven to practice every day as opposed to his team mates who drive their expensive super cars. He is not old enough to get a driving license yet.”

I have to admit, I like Casillas more than Buffon. Buffon has always played in a team with some of the best defenders and the ball would rarely be allowed to reach him easily. On the other hand Casillas has more often than not been the goalkeeper for a Madrid team famous more for its attacking flair than the defensive ability.

Casillas was just recently rewarded by the club with a lifetime contract. This wouldn’t make much of a difference to him as he had already pledged his career to Madrid. He wants to become the president of Real Madrid Club de Fútbol one day.

What do you think?