Month: November 2020

Ex Arsenal and German international goalkeeper, Jens Lehmann celebrates his 51st birthday today.

FC Schalke

Lehmann started his professional career at Bundesliga 2 side FC Schalke in 1988.

During his 10 year stint at Schalke he won the German second division in 1991 securing promotion to the top flight, and also a UEFA cup in 1997.

AC Milan

After a successful decade in Germany, Jens moved on to a new challenge in the Serie A for AC Milan.

His time in Italy was short lived though, making only 6 appearances before being dropped from the team.

After only signing for Milan in the summer, the German keeper left less than 6 months later in the Winter transfer window.

Borussia Dortmund

In 1999, Lehmann signed for Borussia Dortmund where he eventually managed to regain his form.

3 years later he would go on to star in a title winning season for Dortmund winning their first Bundesliga since 1996.

During his time at the German club he also became notorious for his wild antics where he earned the record for the most red cards for a Bundesliga goalkeeper.

Arsenal

The next chapter of his career saw him join Arsenal replacing legendary goalkeeper David Seaman.

Lehmann was an instant hit in North London where he earned invincible status after Arsenals undefeated Premier League campaign.

The German shot-stopper played every minute in the 2003/04 title winning season in what was a ground-breaking year for English football.

In his time at the Gunners he also won the Community Shield in 2004 and the FA Cup in 2005.

VfB Stuttgart

The year of 2008 would see Lehmann return to home soil signing a one year contract at Stuttgart.

He made 90 appearances for the German side over the course of two seasons and announced that he would retire in 2010.

Arsenal (loan)

Due to an injury crisis at Arsenal, Lehmann was forced out of retirement to sign for his former club on an emergency loan deal.

Lehmann was called into Premier League action for the last time against Blackpool in 2011,after Almunia sustained an injury in the warmup.

Jens bowed out on a 3-1 victory allowing him to retire for good.

The invincible goalkeeper retired with over 750 appearances and 7 major honours for his respective clubs.

Happy Birthday Jens!

Shop all the latest goalkeeper gloves from all the major brands, at Just Keepers. We offer the best range of goalkeeper gloves, goalkeeper clothing and goalkeeper essentials anywhere in the world.

All of our products are hand picked to offer you all the products you need all in one place.

Remember we are the original online goalkeeper specialists…
Just Keepers – The Number Ones Number One

Newcastle keeper Karl Darlow has not been included included in England’s 29 man squad despite a good run of form in the Premier League.

Gareth Southgate remained faithful in goalkeeper trio Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope & Dean Henderson this time around.

Although the selection of goalkeepers remained unchanged from the last squad, many three lions fans have been left surprised by Southgate’s decision.

Pickford and Pope have been unable to match previous form so far this season, whilst Henderson has struggled to get a run of matches since returning to Manchester.

This has resulted in supporters calling for chances to be given elsewhere.

One of the names that has been at the forefront of discussion is Newcastle United’s Karl Darlow.

The Englishman has been in excellent form so far this season appearing in all 8 of the Magpies fixtures.

He currently has the 3rd best save success rate in the league (73.6%), only behind Chelsea’s Édouard Mendy & Arsenal’s Bernd Leno.

Darlows introduction to the starting line-up was only as a result of an injury to Martin Dúbravka.

Dúbravka held the number 1 position for the entirety of the 2019/20 season but was ruled out of the start of this campaign with a heel injury.

The Slovakian international may have a job on his hands to get back into the team after Darlow’s impressive start to the season.

Karl Darlow outlined his intentions of making it on the international stage for England in a recent interview with The Mail:

“There would be no bigger achievement [than to be picked for England] and I just want to leave the window open for it to happen.

“I know I have ability and, if I can get a good run of games and get on some good form, then there is potential for that to happen. I would love nothing more.”

If the Newcastle keeper carries on his recent form he will surely give Southgate something to think about in his next squad selection.

Glove Spotting: Karl Darlow

Darlow was donning a pair of SELLS Revolve Elite Climate gloves this weekend.

Shop all the latest goalkeeper gloves from Sells and all the major brands, at Just Keepers. We offer the best range of goalkeeper gloves, goalkeeper clothing and goalkeeper essentials anywhere in the world.

All of our products are hand picked to offer you all the products you need all in one place. Remember we are the original online goalkeeper specialists…

Just Keepers – The Number Ones Number One

Gareth Southgate has showed his faith in Jordan Pickford, naming the Everton goalkeeper as his number one.

The England gaffer released his list of squad members for the forthcoming fixtures, yesterday afternoon.

Apart from the reintroduction of Phil Foden, the squad remained relatively unchanged since England’s last outings.

His reasoning for proclaiming Pickford as number one was down to none of the other goalkeepers “challenging seriously to push him out of that position”.

Southgate will be hoping that his decision can give the Everton keeper a boost in confidence after enduring a tough period in recent times.

Pickford came under heavy criticism recently for an accidental challenge that left Liverpool defender Van Dijk out for the rest of the season.

He was also left out of the Everton line-up in their most recent match against Newcastle where they lost 2-1.

However, Ancelotti came out after the match insisting that it was only for rotational purposes and that Jordan would be back in the XI for the next game.

Both at club and international level, Jordan Pickford has received a vote of confidence from his gaffers who have publicly put their trust in him.

Nonetheless, Southgate’s comments are likely to spur Nick Pope and Dean Henderson on to provide some healthy competition for Pickford.

The Three Lions will face the Republic of Ireland in a friendly on the 12th of November followed by UEFA Nations league fixtures against Belgium and Iceland.

All of the matches will take place over the course of just 6 days which may allow Southgate a chance for rotation in the goalkeeper department.

Glove Spotting: Jordan Pickford

Last time out for England, Pickford had on the Puma ONE GRIP 1’s.

Shop all the latest goalkeeper gloves from Puma and all the major brands, at Just Keepers. We offer the best range of goalkeeper gloves, goalkeeper clothing and goalkeeper essentials anywhere in the world.

All of our products are hand picked to offer you all the products you need all in one place. Remember we are the original online goalkeeper specialists…

Just Keepers – The Number Ones Number One

Leicester City goalkeeper and Premier League winner, Kasper Schmeichel turns 34 years old today after starting his professional career over 15 years ago.

Schmeichel started off at Manchester City but would have 4 loan spells at Darlington, Bury, Falkirk and Cardiff before making his debut for the Citizens in 2007.

After another loan spell at Coventry, Kasper signed for Notts County in 2009 on a permanent deal for what was a club record fee at the time.

He would only spend one season at the East Midlands club as his contract was mutually terminated at the end of the season, after lifting the League 2 trophy with the Magpies.

This allowed Schmeichel to join Championship side Leeds on a free transfer, spending only a season at the club before catching the eye of Leicester City.

Leicester confirmed the signing of Kasper Schmeichel in 2011 allowing him to be reunited with former Notts County boss Sven-Göran Eriksson.

This would prove to be the start of Schmeichel’s most successful chapter in his playing career. After cementing his position as number one in the Leicester squad, Kasper earned his first call up to the Denmark national team in 2013.

Two years later, the Danish shot stopper etched his name into the history books as Leicester defied all the odds to win their first Premier League title in 2016.

Schmeichel played every minute in what was one of the most famous Premier League campaigns of all time, and a true underdog tale that inspired the world.

The following season saw Leicester take to the European stage as they reached the Champions League Quarter Finals narrowly losing out to Atletico Madrid.

Kasper Schmeichel currently sits at over 600 appearances for both club and country. He also won Denmark’s player of the year in 2016 & 2019 and is of course the proud owner of a Premier League winners medal.

The Foxes take on Sporting Braga tonight in the Europa League group stages and a victory will no doubt be the perfect gift for the Leicester keeper.

Happy Birthday Kasper!

Shop all the latest goalkeeper gloves from Adidas and all the major brands, at Just Keepers. We offer the best range of goalkeeper gloves, goalkeeper clothing and goalkeeper essentials anywhere in the world.

All of our products are hand picked to offer you all the products you need all in one place. Remember we are the original online goalkeeper specialists…

Just Keepers – The Number Ones Number One

Marc-André ter Stegen is set to return to action tonight as Barcelona face Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League group stages.

Ter Stegen was ruled out for several months in August following a knee injury which had been causing him trouble since the start of the year.

His last match for Barcelona was in the quarter final of the Champions League as the Catalan giants faced off against Bayern Munich at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League after a devastating 8-2 loss at the hands of Hansi Flick’s Bayern.

The German shot stopper will be keen to avenge this loss and end the clubs 5 year drought in the hunt for a Champions League title.

Brazilian international, Neto has took the reigns during Ter Stegen’s absence making 8 appearances so far this season.

Whilst Barcelona’s form has been well below par in La Liga, their performances in the Champions league have been faultless.

Barca are currently two wins from two in this seasons competition after beating Hungarian side Ferencvárosi in the opener and Pirlo’s Juventus just last week.

In doing so Ronald Koeman’s side have only conceded 1 goal which came as a penalty in a 5-1 victory against Ferencvárosi.

Due to Neto’s impressive start in the European campaign it is unknown whether or not Ter Stegen will start tonight against Dynamo Kyiv.

Nonetheless, Barcelona have confirmed that the German international is in the squad for the fixture, with Ter Stegen posting on Instagram that he was ready to return.

Glove Spotting: Marc-André ter Stegen

Last time out, ter Stegen was wearing the Adidas PREDATOR PRO’s in the white colourway.

Shop all the latest goalkeeper gloves from Adidas and all the major brands, at Just Keepers. We offer the best range of goalkeeper gloves, goalkeeper clothing and goalkeeper essentials anywhere in the world.

All of our products are hand picked to offer you all the products you need all in one place. Remember we are the original online goalkeeper specialists…

Just Keepers – The Number Ones Number One

It was a memorable night for Alphonse Areola as Fulham gained their first victory and clean sheet of the Premier League campaign.

The Monday evening fixture saw Fulham take on West Brom at Craven Cottage in what was already being dubbed as a relegation scrap.

Fulham sat rock bottom of the Premier League prior to last nights bout, but a 2-0 victory would see them rise to 17th in the table.

Alphonse Areola was at the heart of a solid team performance for Scott Parkers side, who will have been delighted to get his first 3 points in the top division as a manager.

Areola arrives in the capital on a season long loan from Paris Saint-Germain after Fulham gained promotion last season from the Championship.

He comes boasting experience for some of Europe’s top teams appearing 9 times for Real Madrid and over 100 times for Paris Saint-Germain.

As well as an astounding 13 honours at club level, he was also part of the France national side that won the World cup in 2018.

There is no doubt that the French international brings a plethora of experience to Fulham’s goalkeeper position in what is an important season for The Cottagers.

Fulham have a short journey to West Ham on Saturday as Alphonse Areola’s side will be hoping to make it 2 wins on the bounce in the Premier League.

Glove Spotting: Alphonse Areola

Areola was wearing the Uhlsport Pure Alliance range as Fulham secured their first victory in England’s top flight since 2019.

Shop all the latest goalkeeper gloves from Uhlsport and all the major brands, at Just Keepers . We offer the best range of goalkeeper gloves, goalkeeper clothing and goalkeeper essentials anywhere in the world.

All of our products are hand picked to offer you all the products you need all in one place.

Remember we are the original online goalkeeper specialists…
Just Keepers – The Number Ones Number One

As a goalkeeper you would be lying if you said that you haven’t dreamed of scoring the winning goal in the dying moments of a match.

That’s just what Vinaròs CF keeper Carlos Aguayo Torres thought he had managed to do this weekend.

His side were up against Peñíscola in what was a local derby in the lower leagues of Spanish football.

Vinaròs CF were trailing by one goal to nil in the dying embers of the match, with the hope of getting any sort of result appearing to fade away.

In added time Vinaròs got what looked like their last chance of the game as they earned a freekick on the edge of the Peñíscola box.

The ball falls to goalkeeper Carlos Aguayo who has steamed forward to try and grab a late goal for Vinaròs in their last attack of the game.

With a swing of the leg, the ball somehow ends up beating the Peñíscola keeper and finding the far corner.

Whilst Carlos Aguayo’s technique was somewhat unorthodox, the ball still ended up in the net to the joy of Vinaròs players and fans.

All 10 Vinaròs players sprinted up the pitch in triumph to join their goalkeeper in celebration after he had seemingly rescued a point for his team.

But, before Carlos Aguayo could even get back to his goal line he turned round to be greeted by the ball sailing over his head after a quick shot from kick off.

Carlos Aguayo and his side were left devastated after having a point snatched from there grasp, with Peñíscola taking all three points in a 2-1 victory.

It was obvious that Carlos Aguayo was not familiar with that old saying in football “You’re at your most vulnerable when you’ve just scored”.

Watch the incredible ending to the Regional Preferente fixture below.

Absolutely incredible scenes over in Spain as a goalkeeper comes up and scores an equaliser in the last minute…only to concede directly from kick off

You love to see it 😂😂😂

pic.twitter.com/V9PgClIhqK

— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) November 2, 2020

Shop all the latest goalkeeper gloves from all the major brands, at Just Keepers. We offer the best range of goalkeeper gloves, goalkeeper clothing and goalkeeper essentials anywhere in the world.

All of our products are hand picked to offer you all the products you need all in one place.

Remember we are the original online goalkeeper specialists…
Just Keepers – The Number Ones Number One