On April 25, 2020, Between the Sticks celebrated its first anniversary along with its 50th post. To mark the occasion, goalkeeper journalist Mouhamad Rachini ranked the top 10 goalkeepers from each of the five continents: Africa, Asia/Oceania, Europe, North/Central America, and South America.
Goalkeepers were evaluated based on several factors like team and individual achievements, how long they played, the quality of leagues they competed in, their peak performance, and statistical success.
The goalkeepers were categorized by the country they represent internationally, not necessarily the country they were born in. For instance, Steve Mandanda, though born in Africa, is classified as a European goalkeeper because he plays for France in international competitions.
This ranking specifically focuses on the ten greatest South American goalkeepers of all time.
10. MARCOS ROBERTO SILVEIRA REIS (BRAZIL, PALMEIRAS, 1992 – 2012)
Marcos Roberto Silveira Reis, known as Marcos, earned recognition as one of the greatest goalkeepers in Brasileirão history. He spent 20 years at Palmeiras, amassing over 500 appearances. Marcos secured two Brasileirão championships and guided Palmeiras to their sole Copa Libertadores title in 1999, where he received accolades as the top goalkeeper and MVP.
Internationally, Marcos had a shorter career, playing for Brazil for six years and earning 29 caps. Despite competition from Cláudio Taffarel and Nelson Dida, Marcos made a significant impact on Brazil’s national team.
In the 2002 World Cup, Marcos played every minute of all seven matches, keeping four clean sheets and conceding only four goals as Brazil won their fifth World Cup title. He was recognized as one of the tournament’s top three goalkeepers, having kept three clean sheets in four knockout round games.
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9. HUGO GATTI (ARGENTINA, MULTIPLE CLUBS, 1962 – 1988)
Hugo Gatti, who played football for 26 years, holds the record for the most appearances in the Argentine Primera División with 765 league games. He played for major clubs like River Plate and Boca Juniors.
Gatti had more success at Boca Juniors, playing over 380 games and winning three league titles, two Copa Libertadores championships, and the 1977 Intercontinental Cup. He was also named Argentina’s Player of the Year in 1982.
Known as “El Loco” for his unconventional style, Gatti started as a striker before becoming a goalkeeper. He was known for his skill with the ball at his feet and sometimes joined in attacking plays. He would even leave his goal to help defend or challenge opponents.
8. NELSON DIDA (BRAZIL, MULTIPLE CLUBS, 1992- 2015)
During his 23-year career with top football clubs like Corinthians and AC Milan, Nelson Dida achieved great success. He won several prestigious trophies including the Copa Libertadores, Brasileirão, Italian Serie A, UEFA Champions League, and Club World Championships. Dida was named FIFPro Goalkeeper of the Year in 2005 and is the only goalkeeper to have won both the Copa Libertadores and the Champions League.
Dida also made a significant impact by breaking barriers for black goalkeepers in Brazil. His skillful performances helped change attitudes. In 1999, he became the first Afro-Brazilian goalkeeper to play for Brazil since Moacyr Barbosa in the 1950 World Cup.
Dida earned more than 90 caps for Brazil, contributing to their victories in the Confederations Cup in 1997 and 2005, and the Copa América in 1999.
7. RENÉ HIGUITA (COLOMBIA, MULTIPLE CLUBS, 1985 – 2009)
René Higuita, known as ‘the Madman’, was a unique goalkeeper unlike any other. Originally a striker who was his high school’s top scorer, Higuita switched to being a goalkeeper but kept scoring goals. He scored 44 goals in total, including three for Colombia’s national team, making him one of football’s highest-scoring goalkeepers ever.
Playing in countries like Colombia, Spain, and Mexico, Higuita was famous for his unusual style. He sometimes dribbled out of his goal area to challenge attackers directly and wasn’t afraid to clear loose balls far from his goal. This unconventional approach helped change how modern goalkeepers play.
Higuita’s flair extended to his goalkeeping skills too. One of his most famous saves, known as the “Scorpion Kick”, involved him kicking the ball over his head with his heels to stop a cross from England’s Jamie Redknapp.
6. CLÁUDIO TAFFAREL (BRAZIL, MULTIPLE CLUBS, 1985 – 2003)
Claudio Taffarel played 101 matches for Brazil, making him their most experienced goalkeeper ever and one of their top five players with the most appearances.
During his career, Taffarel was a very successful goalkeeper for Brazil. Over 10 years, he won a silver medal at the Olympics, two Copa América titles, and the 1994 World Cup. He played a crucial role in the World Cup, only letting in three goals throughout the tournament and none in the final match, helping Brazil win their fourth World Cup.
In club football, Taffarel was one of the first Brazilian goalkeepers to succeed in Europe. He won two Coppa Italias and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1993 with Parma. With Galatasaray, he won two Süper Lig titles, two Turkish cups, and two continental cups. Taffarel was even named Man of the Match in the 2000 UEFA Cup final, which Galatasaray won.
5. LADISLAO MAZURKIEWICZ (URUGUAY, MULTIPLE CLUBS, 1963 – 1981)
Ladislao Mazurkiewicz was born in Piriápolis, Uruguay, to a Polish father and a Spanish mother. He was a goalkeeper who is often overlooked when talking about the best goalkeepers of the 20th century. However, this is mostly because people don’t know much about him rather than any shortcomings on his part.
He is best known for playing with Peñarol, though he also played for clubs in Brazil (Atlético Mineiro), Spain (Granada CF), Chile (Cobreloa), and Colombia (América de Cali). Mazurkiewicz spent a total of nine years with Peñarol over two periods, winning five Uruguayan league titles, the Copa Libertadores, and the Intercontinental Cup in 1966. His team defeated Real Madrid in the latter, and Mazurkiewicz kept two clean sheets in the final.
Mazurkiewicz played for the Uruguayan national team for nine years, participating in the World Cups of 1966, 1970, and 1974. He played 13 games across those tournaments, including six in the 1970 World Cup, where Uruguay finished fourth. Mazurkiewicz was recognized as the top goalkeeper of the 1970 tournament.
Highly respected in South America and worldwide, Mazurkiewicz was seen as the successor to Lev Yashin, the iconic Soviet goalkeeper often considered the best ever. Yashin even gifted Mazurkiewicz his gloves during his farewell match, symbolizing the passing of the torch. In 1999, the IFFHS ranked Mazurkiewicz as the fifth-best goalkeeper in South America and the 12th best in the world for the 20th century.
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4. UBALDO FILLOL (ARGENTINA, MULTIPLE CLUBS, 1969 – 1991)
Ubaldo Fillol is widely considered one of Argentina’s best goalkeepers ever. Known for his agility and quick reflexes, Fillol was nicknamed ‘The Duck’. He started his professional career in 1969 with Quilmes AC when he was just 18 years old. His acrobatic style made him famous, especially in 1972 when he stopped six penalty shots, a record in Argentina’s top league.
Fillol later played for River Plate, where he became a legend over 10 years, making over 360 appearances and winning seven league titles. He helped River Plate win the 1975 Metropolitano tournament, their first title in 18 years.
Fillol also played for Argentina’s national team, making his debut in 1974 and playing in the World Cups of 1978 and 1982. In 1978, he played a crucial role in Argentina winning their first World Cup title and was named in the World Cup All-Star Team.
He was named Argentina’s Footballer of the Year in 1977, becoming the first goalkeeper to win the award. Fillol was also recognized as South America’s third-best goalkeeper of the 20th century by the IFFHS and was included in the Argentine Football Association’s all-time team in 2015.
3. GYLMAR DOS SANTOS NEVES (BRAZIL, CORINTHIANS / SANTOS, 1951 – 1969)
In the history of the FIFA World Cup, only one goalkeeper has ever won two World Cups as their country’s main goalkeeper. That goalkeeper is Gylmar dos Santos Neves from Brazil. He played a crucial role in Brazil’s first two World Cup victories, in 1958 and 1962.
In 1958, Gylmar only let in four goals and kept four clean sheets. He didn’t concede any goals in Brazil’s first four matches — three group stage games and one quarter-final — as Brazil won their first World Cup title.
Four years later, Gylmar was instrumental again. Gylmar allowed five goals and kept two clean sheets in six games as Brazil won consecutive World Cups, making him the first and only goalkeeper to achieve two World Cup wins as a starter for his country. (Before him, Gianpiero Combi and Aldo Olivieri were Italy’s starting goalkeepers in the 1930s.)
Gylmar, nicknamed ‘Pelé’s goalkeeper’ for his close ties with the legendary Brazilian player, joined Santos FC after a decade at Corinthians. At Santos, he played a pivotal role in winning five Brasileirão Série A titles and five Paulistão titles from 1961 to 1969. He also won two Copa Libertadores championships with Santos in 1962 and 1965, marking a first for Brazilian club football.
Gylmar retired in 1969 after earning 94 international caps for Brazil. He remains the second most capped Brazilian goalkeeper of all time, even attending the 1966 World Cup as a reserve goalkeeper.
2. JOSÉ LUIS CHILAVERT (PARAGUAY, MULTIPLE CLUBS, 1982 – 2004)
José Luis Chilavert, nicknamed the ‘Bulldog’, earned the title of the world’s best goalkeeper three times by IFFHS. Despite not playing for one of the continent’s major national teams, many consider him one of South America’s top goalkeepers.
Chilavert started his professional career in 1982 with Sportivo Luqueño when he was a teenager. He mostly played for clubs in Paraguay and Argentina, with some stints in Spain, France, and Uruguay.
His best years were with Vélez Sarsfield in Argentina from 1991 to 2001. During his 10 seasons there, he played over 340 games and won nine trophies, including four Argentine Primera División titles and a Copa Libertadores-Intercontinental Cup double in 1994.
Chilavert made his international debut in 1989 and played for Paraguay in 74 matches by the end of his career in 2003. He played in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, marking Paraguay’s return to the World Cup after 12 years.
Beyond his goalkeeping skills, Chilavert was known for scoring goals. He scored a total of 67 goals in his career, the second most by any goalkeeper in history. Eight of these goals were in international matches, a record for goalkeepers. He even scored four goals during Paraguay’s 2002 World Cup qualifiers.
Chilavert was famous for his set-piece ability and became the first goalkeeper to score a hat-trick in a match, achieving this feat with three penalties in a 1999 Argentine league game against Ferro Carril Oeste.
In 1999, IFFHS ranked Chilavert as the second-best South American goalkeeper of the 20th century and the sixth-best goalkeeper worldwide, ahead of notable figures like Peter Schmeichel and Peter Shilton.
1. AMADEO CARRIZO (ARGENTINA, RIVER PLATE / ALIANZA LIMA / MILLONARIOS, 1945 – 1970)
South America has produced some of football’s most unique goalkeepers. Before names like José Luis Chilavert, René Higuita, and Hugo Gatti became famous for their daring styles, there was Amadeo Carrizo.
Carrizo, known as ‘Tarzan,’ pioneered goalkeeping alongside greats like Lev Yashin and Gyula Grosics. He dominated as South America’s top goalkeeper in the 1950s and 1960s, spending most of his career with River Plate in Buenos Aires. Carrizo played over 510 games for River Plate, winning seven league titles and two Copa Aldao championships. His career highlights include setting records for most appearances in the Argentine Primera División (521) and the longest streak without conceding a goal (769 minutes).
Carrizo, with just 20 appearances for Argentina, gained global respect. Yashin honored him with his gloves after a 1968 friendly match. The IFFHS named Carrizo South America’s best goalkeeper of the 20th century for innovations like venturing out of his goal area to defend and using goal kicks strategically.
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