All Time Football World Cup Golden Glove Winners
Since its inception at the World Cup by FIFA in 1994 there have been 6 goalkeepers who have won this prestigious award. The inaugural recipient was Belgium goalkeeper Michel Preud'homme, who was succeeded in 1998 by Fabien Barthez who achieved the honour playing for host nation France. German Oliver Khan and Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon were the next two winners in 2002 and 2006 respectively. In 2010 the World Cup was hosted by South Africa with the Golden Glove going to Iker Casillas of Spain, while Manuel Neuer of Germany was selected most recently in Brazil 2014.
What Is The Golden Glove In Soccer?
The Golden Glove was introduced in 1994 to recognise the contribution of a goalkeeper in the success of a team. Selected by FIFA’s technical study group the Golden Glove is awarded to the best goalkeeper at the tournament. Clean sheets, amount of saves and dominance of the penalty box will be a big factor on who wins the award. Yet so will the difficulty of those saves and the influence they had on a match.
Like goals, great saves can swing matches. In today’s game, a goalkeeper’s distribution of the ball is also of increasing importance.
Interesting Facts & Information Regarding the Golden Glove
From its introduction in 1994 until the World Cup of 2006 the award for the outstanding goalkeeper of the tournament was called the Lev Yashin award. This was named after the legendary Russian goalkeeper, rated by many as the best of all time. Nicknamed the “Black Spider” he wore all black kit and showed incredible agility and speed. Lev Yashin is the only goalkeeper to have won the Ballon d’or award and was a fitting icon to name a trophy after recognising the best goalkeeper in football’s biggest competition.
In the World Cup of 2002 co-hosted by South Korea and Japan Germany’s goalkeeper, Oliver Kahn became the first goalkeeper to win the Golden Ball as well as the Golden Glove. The Golden Ball is an award voted by the media for the tournaments best player overall, and Kahn edged out Brazil’s Ronaldo. Although ultimately losing 2-0 to Brazil in the final, a game in which Kahn played with a finger injury, he conceded only one other goal through the whole tournament. Kahn’s performances were a major factor in helping his side through to the final as they edged games by the odd goal.
Although the Golden Glove award only began at the 1994 tournament goalkeepers had previously been recognised by being named in the All-Star team going all the way back to the first World Cup of 1930. Such greats as Gordon Banks, Sepp Maier, Dino Zoff, and Jean-Marie Pfaff have been included in these All-Star teams.
Who Was The Last FIFA World Cup Golden Glove Winner?
The FIFA World Cup of 2014 saw the tournament return to Brazil where German Manuel Neuer won the Golden Glove. His focus, concentration and speed off the line were huge assets to Germany as they went on to win the tournament. Selected from a shortlist of three Neuer kept four clean sheets including the 1-0 win over Argentina in the final, and conceded just four goals to win the Golden Glove, following in the footsteps of his compatriot Oliver Kahn who won in 2002.
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