50 Goalkeeper Quotes For Protecting What Matters

By Clifton Sankofa

School Leader, Language Arts Expert & Master Quote Curator

Published July 15, 2023

Feel the passion with our goalkeeper quotes.

If you are a football/soccer fan, you certainly know the importance of the goalkeeper.

If you are unfamiliar with the goalkeeper’s vital nature, we have the perfect quote selections to teach you all about it.

Check out our goalkeeper quotes below.

What is a goalkeeper?

A goalkeeper is a player who defends in goal in a sport.

Games such as lacrosse, hockey, and soccer all have goalkeepers.

Goalkeepers are essential to the team’s success.

Below is a list of the top soccer goalkeepers of all time:

Lev Yashin
Iker Casillas
Gianluigi Buffon

What does a goalkeeper do?

A goalkeeper is essential to a team’s success.

The goalkeeper’s job is to block or deny the opposing team’s attempts to score.

Goalkeepers are also responsible for setting up the offense after the other team attempts a shot.

There is a saying that goes, “All goalkeepers are mad.”

While this phrase has become cliche among soccer fans, there is truth to it.

Goalkeeping is one of the most specialized positions in professional sports.

It is not a position everyone can play; it involves high physical and mental excellence.

Why is goalkeeping so hard?

Goalkeeping is a difficult position for many reasons.

Everyone on the field makes mistakes, but everyone notices when a goalkeeper makes a mistake.

There is a sense of isolation and solitude guarding the goal.

A goalie must possess elite physical strength and speed while keeping a strong mind and short memory.

Making it as a professional goalkeeper requires hours of practice and dedication, even for those with a natural talent for the position.

Who is the best U.S. goalkeeper?

The title of “best” is a subjective one.

Many exceptional goalkeepers have come from the United States.

Tim Howard might be the most well-known and successful professional men’s soccer goalkeeper.

Check out our goalkeeper quotes below to learn more about this coveted position.

Short goalkeeper quotes about winning at all costs

Any professional footballer will tell you the key to success is a quality goalkeeper.

1. “I choose to be a goalkeeper.” — Loris Karius

2. “No one goalkeeper is like the next.” — Rui Patricio

3. “What goalkeeper doesn’t like a little action?” — Karen Bardsley

4. “If we win 1-0, I don’t care if the goalkeeper scores.” — Dimitar Berbatov

5. “Year in, year out, the best goalkeeper wins the League.” — Tony Adams

6. “The weakest point is between the legs for a goalkeeper.” — Thibaut Courtois

7. “You can’t win any trophies unless you’ve got a top goalkeeper.” — Graeme Souness

8. “It is part of being a goalkeeper: there is nobody behind to save you.” — Hugo Lloris

9. “Paolo Maldini never won, but he was the best defender in the world.” — Gianluigi 10. “When a goalkeeper makes a mistake, there is no one to save the goal.” — Ederson

The best goalkeeper quotes for blocking out what does not belong

These quotes remind us why goalkeepers are wonderful analogies for stopping negativity from reaching us.

11. “When you are a goalkeeper, you know the responsibility.” — Hugo Lloris

12. “Top of my wishlist is to play for a club that wants me to be their goalkeeper.” — Joe Hart

13. “If a team concedes a goal, then the first question is always of the goalkeeper.” — Petr Cech

14. “As a goalkeeper, you’ve got to have mental toughness, and that’s one thing I’m good at.” — Jordan Pickford

15. “I was a goalkeeper at Crewe as a kid but piled on pounds when I stopped training every day.” — Adrian Lewis

16. “The role of a goalkeeper is difficult to judge, above all if you haven’t been a goalkeeper.” — Gianluigi Buffon

17. “Buffon never won; he was the best goalkeeper in the world for many years. But this is the story of the Ballon d’Or.” — Antonio Conte

18. “When you are in a big team, the goalkeeper has to perform, to improve, to progress, but the proof is done by winning titles.” — Edouard Mendy

19. “The star-jump technique; that is a big part of being a handball goalkeeper, and I brought that move into football. It is a very effective way of saving a chance.” — Peter Schmeichel

20. “It’s like me giving an opinion on someone’s job without having had any experience in their sector. You start to realize how many stupid things are said and written about goalkeepers.” — Gianluigi Buffon

Goalkeeper quotes and sayings to live by

Here are some cool quotes from some of the most elite goalkeepers and others who love the game.

21. “As a goalkeeper, you like to be called upon.” — Manuel Neuer

22. “As a goalkeeper, you are only remembered for your last game.” — Simon Mignolet

23. “When I played in Holland, I always tried to lob the goalkeeper.” — Dennis Bergkamp

24. “I’m sorry, but until my last day as a coach, I will try to play from my goalkeeper.” — Pep Guardiola

25. “But I always knew that my particular skill set was more suited to being a goalkeeper.” — Kasper Schmeichel

26. “I think a goalkeeper has to participate at the back of the defense and come off the line to play.” — Thibaut Courtois

27. “It is important to have the attitude and self-confidence to be Barca’s goalkeeper, and that I’ve got.” — Marc-Andre ter Stegen

28. “When I first started, I wanted to play out of goal. But there was no goalkeeper, and the coach put me in goal.” — Manuel Neuer

29. “My mother was always taking out her sewing kit for the countless holes in my training pants. For a long time, I had to buy my own gear.” — Manuel Neuer

30. “People used to say, ‘Oh, you’re always only trying to make a nice goal.’ But I said, ‘Listen, if the goalie is a little bit off his line, how much space do you have on his left or right?’ It’s not a lot. ‘And how much space do you have above him?’” — Dennis Bergkamp

Famous goalkeeper quotes about life

31. “I would always like to be a goalkeeper.” — Cedi Osman

32. “People from outside don’t know how difficult it is to be goalkeeper.” — Marc-Andre ter Stegen

33. “I played handball up until I joined United, both as a goalkeeper and an outfield player.” — Peter Schmeichel

34. “Football is a fertility festival. Eleven sperm trying to get into the egg. I feel sorry for the goalkeeper.” — Bjork

35. “If you’re a goalkeeper, it doesn’t matter what you save the ball with – if you keep it out, it’s not a goal.” — Mark Lawrenson

36. “Everybody makes mistakes, but when goalkeepers make them, it is costly. That’s the nature of being a goalkeeper.” — Gary Speed

37. “As a goalkeeper, you have so much time back there where you’re alone, and you’re talking to yourself in your head.” — Zack Steffen

38. “Beyond remembering me as a good goalkeeper or a bad goalkeeper, I just hope that people remember me for being a good person.” — Iker Casillas

39. “I know I am coming to a big club with a very good goalkeeper. City already have a great goalkeeper in Joe Hart, but I will try and compete for the No. 1 spot.” — Willy Caballero

40. “You’ll always find that goalkeepers are a team within the team, and I’ve always had good relationships with the others, which is important because nobody understands the mindset of a goalkeeper like the other goalkeepers.” — Wojciech Szczesny

The top goalkeeper quotes for securing the win

It is difficult to win a match without a quality goalkeeper.

41. “Only a goalkeeper knows how it is.” — Ederson

42. “Every goalkeeper has their own strong points and qualities.” — David de Gea

43. A great goalkeeper is the difference between winning and losing.” — Lev Yashin

44. “When we are thinking in an attacking moment, I want the goalkeeper thinking, for that, he is the first.” — Unai Emery

45. “You need a midfield to work hard and track back, and I suppose you need a goalkeeper who makes saves once in a while.” — Edwin van der Sar

46. “I want our strikers to be thinking, ‘We need to protect the goalkeepers.’ I want those two moments to feel the same for all players.” — Unai Emery

47. “Pierluigi Gollini is a highly-rated goalkeeper in Italy. He’s young, a good shot-stopper, he comes for crosses, he’s good with his feet.” — Roberto Di Matteo

48. “As a goalkeeper, you want to be the best, but you can only get better by playing games, making saves, and putting in man-of-the-match performances.” — Jordan Pickford

49. “A second-choice goalkeeper can sometimes say: ‘Oh, it’s a lack of games; it’s different when you train compared to when you play.’ But there is no excuse if you do everything right.” — Emiliano Martinez

50. “As a goalkeeper, if you make ten world-class saves but then miss one shot, or you let in a pass, you’re there in the highlights afterwards – and, let’s be honest: that is what most people see.” — Marc-Andre ter Stegen