Is Victor Valdés the most under rated goalkeeper in world football?

After watching Valdés pull off a world class stage in the dying moments of Barcelona's thrashing of Villarreal, Editor Dean Mears looked at Victor's career and asks the question, just why isn't he regarded as the best?


Being a goalkeeper for a top club is totally different than being a normal goalkeeper. 80% of the game is mental, can you stay alert for 90 minutes even though your not active? Only 20% of the game is making saves. Anyone who watched Barcelona vs. Villarreal would have seen Barcelona dominate, yet in the closing moments Valdés was forced to make a world class save from Rossi.


The example I use to make this point is the England goalkeeping situation before Joe Hart. Paul Robinson, David James, Scott Carson, Ben Foster and Robert Green all played for clubs were 80% of their game was making saves where as 20% was staying mentally concentrated. When they stepped into the England team, they would find their team dominating and they didn't have a lot to do, as they were not used to this they would lose concentration and often make silly mistakes. A top level goalkeeper can stay focused for 90 minutes, and even if they haven't made a save all game can still be alert in the last seconds.


Playing for Barcelona, Valdés is more like a sweeper than a goalkeeper for Barcelona. The team dominate so many teams that he can act like a sweeper, comfortable in possession of a football, and has a good eye for a pass. Barca's defenders know they can roll the ball back to him, safe in the knowledge, he can recycle possession, like they would expect the outfield players to do.


Every 'keeper makes mistakes, but I struggled to think of a time when Valdés has made a mistake. I don't watch Spanish football too often but I may be wrong with this, but I searched in Google for Valdés mistake, and it only returned with a mistake from the 2007 season. I did the same for Iker Casillas and found a lot more. Valdés doesn't get the recognition he deserves for his consistent performances, nor does he get a sniff at international level.

Valdés only made his Spain debut last year and was third choice goalkeeper at the World Cup behind Casillas and Reina. In the past three season's Barcelona have conceded just 80 goals, compared to Madrid's 120, while second choice Reina's Liverpool hadn't even been playing Champions League football. Now you may counter that point with a fact about defenses. But many say they're only two teams in La Liga, so the quality they are playing against is the same, Real just concede more.


I can't think of a goalkeeper with more medals than Valdés but with so little praise. Valdes has 5 La Liga crowns, 1 Spanish Cup, 3 Champions Leagues, 5 Spanish Supercups, 2 UEFA Supercups and 1 FIFA World Club Cup. Casillas' honours don't match up to this, yet many regard Casillas as the better goalkeeper. 

Valdés has 3 Champions League winners medals.

It may be that Valdés' career passes without the recognition it deserves. Yet he is, and always will be a Barca legend. He has made more appearances than any other goalkeeper in Barcelona's history. You may think that because he plays behind that Barcelona team and defense, he doesn't have to play a big role in the games, but one Valdés save in the 90th minute is just as important than 6 or 7 Casillas saves throughout the course of a game. It shows he has the right mental attribute needed to be a world class goalkeeper at a world class club, he can act like an outfield player for 89 minutes, but in the 90th he can instantly turn back into a goalkeeper, saving his side three points or his defense a clean sheet bonus. For my money, there's not many better than Valdés in the history of football, and almost certainly none greater today.