The International Federation of Football History and Statistics made the announcement today after analysing its vast databank of statistics, collating its latest figures and then concluding that the Italian World-Cup winner has been the greatest in-between the sticks since 1987.*
However, Buffon does not stand alone at the top of the list, for in-fact he shares his accolade with former Manchester United and Denmark shot-stopper Peter Schmeichel who also stands on 69 points.
German legend Oliver Kahn is in third place on 62 points, followed by free-kick specialist Jose Luis Chilavert of Paraguay (58) and ex-Inter and Italy goalie Walter Zenga (55). Edwin Van Der Sar, Belgium’s Michel Preud-homme, Brazilian World-Cup winner Claudio Taffarel and England’s moustached David Seaman complete the top 10.
However, the art of collating statistics such as these to decide who ranks highest is not appreciated by all players. For as Portsmouth’s athletic keeper David James recently articulated in his Guardian Sport Blog, the computerised method used to attribute points doesn’t tell the whole story.
“You see in [this] data they don't differentiate a great save from an easy save - you get the same number of points for either - so who's the better goalkeeper, the one who catches 20 halfway-line chips, or the one who makes 10 six-yard point-blank blocks?
“You need the human element to define what is quality, and what is not.”
Nevertheless, the IFFHS has made its decision and it also plans a gala in 2012 to mark ‘25 Years of World Goalkeepers.’
The news of Buffon’s achievement is sure to rankle with La Liga viewers, and especially Real Madrid fans, many of whom rank their imperious keeper Iker Casillas as superior to Buffon.
A row over who is the best between the two leading keepers of world football recently broke out after former Juventus defender and Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro labelled his team-mate Casillas as the best in the world.
Italian press, players and fans countered and favoured Buffon. Perhaps the IFFHS readings shall put an end to the dispute, although due to the nature of football dividing opinion it is unlikely.
*The IFFHS data only goes back to 1987 as that was the year it was founded.
However, Buffon does not stand alone at the top of the list, for in-fact he shares his accolade with former Manchester United and Denmark shot-stopper Peter Schmeichel who also stands on 69 points.
German legend Oliver Kahn is in third place on 62 points, followed by free-kick specialist Jose Luis Chilavert of Paraguay (58) and ex-Inter and Italy goalie Walter Zenga (55). Edwin Van Der Sar, Belgium’s Michel Preud-homme, Brazilian World-Cup winner Claudio Taffarel and England’s moustached David Seaman complete the top 10.
However, the art of collating statistics such as these to decide who ranks highest is not appreciated by all players. For as Portsmouth’s athletic keeper David James recently articulated in his Guardian Sport Blog, the computerised method used to attribute points doesn’t tell the whole story.
“You see in [this] data they don't differentiate a great save from an easy save - you get the same number of points for either - so who's the better goalkeeper, the one who catches 20 halfway-line chips, or the one who makes 10 six-yard point-blank blocks?
“You need the human element to define what is quality, and what is not.”
Nevertheless, the IFFHS has made its decision and it also plans a gala in 2012 to mark ‘25 Years of World Goalkeepers.’
The news of Buffon’s achievement is sure to rankle with La Liga viewers, and especially Real Madrid fans, many of whom rank their imperious keeper Iker Casillas as superior to Buffon.
A row over who is the best between the two leading keepers of world football recently broke out after former Juventus defender and Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro labelled his team-mate Casillas as the best in the world.
Italian press, players and fans countered and favoured Buffon. Perhaps the IFFHS readings shall put an end to the dispute, although due to the nature of football dividing opinion it is unlikely.
*The IFFHS data only goes back to 1987 as that was the year it was founded.
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