The Real Quiz – Goalkeepers
Goalkeepers are at the base of every team, and without one there’s no way to win. With a good one, the rest of the side have more confidence and less pressure, but it’s a job that very few want. They don’t take the headlines, or the glory, but they are absolutely crucial in any great side.
See if you can answer these 20 questions based on some memorable ‘goalkeeper’ moments.
Good luck.
Questions
1. At time of writing (June 2022), how many Bundesliga titles has Manuel Neuer won?
2. At time of writing (June 2022), how many professional league seasons has Gigi Buffon played in?
3. At time of writing (June 2022), how many professional league titles has Gigi Buffon won?
4. At time of writing (June 2022), how many Champions League titles has Thibaut Courtois won?
5. At time of writing (June 2022), how many Premier League titles has Ederson won?
6. Against which side did Alisson score that infamous late winner in 2021?
7. How many goals did Rogério Ceni score in his club career?
8. How many club goals did Paul Robinson score in his career?
9. Who did he score his goal/goals against?
10. Who was in the goal as Alisson scored his late winning goal in 2021?
11. Who is the most expensive goalkeeper signing of all-time?
12. Who did the keeper move from & to?
13. Where did City goalkeeper Ederson join the Manchester side from?
14. Which club did Everton sign Jordan Pickford from in 2017?
15. Which club signed Buffon from after his Juventus contract expired in 2018?
16. Which keeper holds the world record for most clean sheets?
17. Which keeper holds the record for most consecutive Champions League seasons?
18. Where did Manchester United sign Edwin van der Sar from?
19. Which keeper was 3rd in the Ballon d’Or in 2001 and 2002?
20. Which club did Tim Howard join after leaving Everton in 2016?
Interval
Answers
1. 10 (The latest season saw Neuer win his 10th Bundesliga, and to be honest, if you come back to this post in a years’ time, we might need to update this question. In the last 10 seasons, 10 league titles, that’s some record.)
2. 27 (Beginning in the 1995-1996 season for Parma and ending the latest campaign in 2022 for the same team, Buffon’s time between the sticks is surely coming to an end, and with 27 superb seasons under his belt, we must savour his final moments in his terrific playing career.)
3. 12 (With 1 Serie B title and 10 Serie A titles at Juventus, and 1 Ligue 1 title from his spell at PSG, Buffon has 12 league titles to his name.)
4. 1 (With the 2021-2022 Champions League victory, Thibaut Courtois won his first ever Champions League title. And with a man of the match performance in the final, it may not be his last.)
5. 4 (Winning 4 out of the 5 titles since he joined City, Ederson has been racking up the trophies and titles under Pep Guardiola. Once again, we might need to revisit this next year.)
6. West Bromwich Albion (With Alisson’s late header, Liverpool kept their top 4 hopes alive and essentially secured qualification for the Champions League the following season, where they have just made it all the way to the final.)
7. 131 (A stunning statistic from the set-piece taking goalkeeper. In his 1237 games for São Paulo, Ceni netted well over 100 goals. Even better than some strikers have managed in their whole careers.)
8. 2 (Netting for both Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur in the early 2000s, he wasn’t afraid of a long-range effort, and was rewarded on 2 occasions by netting some wonder strikes.)
9. Watford and Swindon Town (With a goal for Leeds against Swindon in the cup, and against Watford in the league, he has netted on 2 separate occasions, a rarity in English football but great moments nonetheless.)
10. Sam Johnstone (It’s never nice to be on the receiving ends of these as a keeper, but Johnstone had been having a great season in a struggling West Brom side, and he can be forgiven for this as the header was that of a top striker let alone another keeper.)
11. Kepa Arrizabalaga (Joining Chelsea for a record breaking £70+million, he smashed a world record fee for a keeper when he joined in 2018.)
12. Athletic Bilbao (Leaving his boyhood club for this record fee, it was a move that benefitted both sides. Although of course, Bilbao’s policy means this money couldn’t be thrown at just any top keeper as a replacement.)
13. Benfica (Another quality player who has come and gone through Benfica, Ederson joined City in 2017 and has been Pep’s top choice ever since.)
14. Sunderland (As his boyhood side fell through the leagues, Pickford joined Everton in 2017 and has been repaying their investment since this point.)
15. PSG (After his time at Juventus seemed to be coming to an end, but of course there was a return on the cards, he joined the French champions in the hope of winning the Champions League title.)
16. Ray Clemence (Keeping 460 clean sheets in over 1000 matches, Clemence holds the current clean sheet world record.)
17. Iker Casillas – 20 (With his career at Real Madrid and then at Porto, Casillas managed 2 straight decades in the Champions League. That’s the epitome of a top level career.)
18. Fulham (Joining for around £2million in 2005, Manchester United bagged one of their best bargain buys of all-time.)
19. Oliver Kahn (The German shot stopper was a machine throughout his career, and he was rewarded with recognition for his individual efforts in 2001 and 2002, however never managed to claim the 1st placed prize.)
20. Colorado Rapids (After leaving England, Howard spent 4 seasons in Colorado where he made 103 appearances in the MLS.)