Thibaut Courtois

[Hamilton 2,118]

Courtois is Belgians sportman of the year 2014.

It's the first time that a footballer wins the trophy.

[pHaRaOn 2,131]

Courtois is Belgians sportman of the year 2014.

It's the first time that a footballer wins the trophy.

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

I understand that Neur has a better claim to the Ballon D'or than Courtois since he's won his domestic championship and the world cup. But the reality is also this:

- Neur plays in a league with practically zero competition where his club owns a monopoly. His achievements domestically (record of cleansheets, etc.) are thus massively overrated. On the other hand, Courtois and his club challenged and beat the domination of arguably the 2 best clubs in the world Barcelona and Madrid. Courtois can say he had a tremendous contribution in his team's hard road to the title. Neur can't say that because there never was a hard road.

- Neur was raped 4-0 against Real Madrid, meanwhile Courtois was credited man of the match when Atletico eliminated Barcelona in the Champions league. He then went on the reach the final. Also, he was credited multiple times throughout the season as the savior in League and Cup games against Madrid and Barcelona. This is because, unlike Bayern which plays possession, Atletico's strategy was to park the bus which meant tremendous hard work for the keeper.

- Neur played with the strongest team in the world cup. The ONLY team that gave Germany a semi-hard time was Argentina in the final and they only had 2 or 3 dangerous chances, where Neur didn't do anything Courtois wouldn't have done.

- Neur benefits from the fact that Germany has no other star that can be marketed as best in the world (because that star would have to be judged on the standards set by Cristiano and Messi) and the same happens with Bayern, which originally and ridiculously tried to promote Ribery as best in the world, which failed horribly, and now tries to promote Neur because it's not possible to compare him to Cristiano and Messi.

In sum: Neur is a wonderful goalkeeper, but not much better than Courtois. He benefits from a privileged position at club and country level which makes him, in my opinion, overrated. Overrated when people compare him to Buffon and overrated when people try to claim he's worthy of the Ballon D'or.

Agree. If you compare Neuer and Courtois head to head personal ability, they are almost on the same level already imo. Yes I might agree that at the moment Neuer might be better, but it is because he is much older and have more experience, while Courtois still very young.

And I don't like to include their respective club and country achievement when comparing both.

[HD3D 1,038]

I swear his arm must be more than half the size of my whole body

[TheOneChan95 225]

Agree. If you compare Neuer and Courtois head to head personal ability, they are almost on the same level already imo. Yes I might agree that at the moment Neuer might be better, but it is because he is much older and have more experience, while Courtois still very young.

And I don't like to include their respective club and country achievement when comparing both.

Inside the box both are equally competent. However, Neuer is excellent outside it as well which slightly edges out Courtois imo

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Inside the box both are equally competent. However, Neuer is excellent outside it as well which slightly edges out Courtois imo

Yes, they have their own strength and weakness, the same case also applied if we include Cech in comparison. That's why they are in a top 5 (if not in top 3), and people still couldn't decide whom are in which position in a top 3, because there will be so many factors to consider. And if anyone could decide, usually they are mostly used their personal opinion to make an assessment.

[pHaRaOn 2,131]

Courtois: "Is Neuer the best goalkeeper in the world? I think, mainly, he attracted attention with his dribbling".

[pHaRaOn 2,131]

Thibaut Pollock

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Surely, he should be available for Stoke match, no?

[pHaRaOn 2,131]

Surely, he should be available for Stoke match, no?

I think so. He should return for training tomorrow.

[MrBlueGuy 1,552]

For all the talk about De Gea's wonderful performances recently this guy has been consistently good since the beginning of this season. Also he isn't forced into spectacular saves a lot like De Gea because our defence is among the best in the world compared with MU's defence. When dangerous crosses...etc come in he makes them look so easy that is why no one notices it.

[DaddysHobby 60]

I understand that Neur has a better claim to the Ballon D'or than Courtois since he's won his domestic championship and the world cup. But the reality is also this:

- Neur plays in a league with practically zero competition where his club owns a monopoly. His achievements domestically (record of cleansheets, etc.) are thus massively overrated. On the other hand, Courtois and his club challenged and beat the domination of arguably the 2 best clubs in the world Barcelona and Madrid. Courtois can say he had a tremendous contribution in his team's hard road to the title. Neur can't say that because there never was a hard road.

- Neur was raped 4-0 against Real Madrid, meanwhile Courtois was credited man of the match when Atletico eliminated Barcelona in the Champions league. He then went on the reach the final. Also, he was credited multiple times throughout the season as the savior in League and Cup games against Madrid and Barcelona. This is because, unlike Bayern which plays possession, Atletico's strategy was to park the bus which meant tremendous hard work for the keeper.

- Neur played with the strongest team in the world cup. The ONLY team that gave Germany a semi-hard time was Argentina in the final and they only had 2 or 3 dangerous chances, where Neur didn't do anything Courtois wouldn't have done.

- Neur benefits from the fact that Germany has no other star that can be marketed as best in the world (because that star would have to be judged on the standards set by Cristiano and Messi) and the same happens with Bayern, which originally and ridiculously tried to promote Ribery as best in the world, which failed horribly, and now tries to promote Neur because it's not possible to compare him to Cristiano and Messi.

In sum: Neur is a wonderful goalkeeper, but not much better than Courtois. He benefits from a privileged position at club and country level which makes him, in my opinion, overrated. Overrated when people compare him to Buffon and overrated when people try to claim he's worthy of the Ballon D'or.

You are entitled to your opinion and I respect it, but I don't think anyone can say Buffon is a better goalkeeper than Manuel Neuer. And of course he is worthy of the Ballon d'Or, he is one of the best players in world football. He isn't just a goalkeeper, he is a footballer. We'll agree to disagree, whilst you make some wonderful points regarding Courtois-Neuer, to then say he isn't worthwhile of being a nominee for World Player of the Year (most people seem to think that only goalscorers should be worthy of that commendation) and he isn't as good as Buffon is laughable, tbh.

Agree. If you compare Neuer and Courtois head to head personal ability, they are almost on the same level already imo. Yes I might agree that at the moment Neuer might be better, but it is because he is much older and have more experience, while Courtois still very young.

And I don't like to include their respective club and country achievement when comparing both.

When Courtois was about to reach the milestone of 100 clean sheets I stumbled upon an amazing comparison ... Cech only had 37 clean sheets before the age of 23, Neuer 60, Buffon 62 and Casillas comes closest with 71 clean sheets before the age of 23 ... the least you can say about Courtois is that he's ahead of the curve.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

When Courtois was about to reach the milestone of 100 clean sheets I stumbled upon an amazing comparison ... Cech only had 37 clean sheets before the age of 23, Neuer 60, Buffon 62 and Casillas comes closest with 71 clean sheets before the age of 23 ... the least you can say about Courtois is that he's ahead of the curve.

Granted. But look at the teams they were playing for... Casillas playing for Madrid and Buffon playing for Parma, who in the late 1990s were easily one of the best teams in Italy. Courtois played at Genk, yes, but then playing for arguably the best defensive side in world football. So whilst Buffon and Casillas have incredible records, they played for excellent sides at the time. Neuer's record is very impressive, though, as Schalke have never been the tightest team defensively. Courtois' record is amazing, though, already 112 clean sheets (I think?) and still another five months before he's 23.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Granted. But look at the teams they were playing for... Casillas playing for Madrid and Buffon playing for Parma, who in the late 1990s were easily one of the best teams in Italy. Courtois played at Genk, yes, but then playing for arguably the best defensive side in world football. So whilst Buffon and Casillas have incredible records, they played for excellent sides at the time. Neuer's record is very impressive, though, as Schalke have never been the tightest team defensively. Courtois' record is amazing, though, already 112 clean sheets (I think?) and still another five months before he's 23.

Yeah, it's like the whole Mourinho being quickest to get 400 points thing. When put in context of the teams and defences, it doesn't exactly show much.

[iseah100 5,612]

Granted. But look at the teams they were playing for... Casillas playing for Madrid and Buffon playing for Parma, who in the late 1990s were easily one of the best teams in Italy. Courtois played at Genk, yes, but then playing for arguably the best defensive side in world football. So whilst Buffon and Casillas have incredible records, they played for excellent sides at the time. Neuer's record is very impressive, though, as Schalke have never been the tightest team defensively. Courtois' record is amazing, though, already 112 clean sheets (I think?) and still another five months before he's 23.

Tibo isn't one of the reasons that side was so good defensively? It's incredible considering Casillas' s played for Real, of all teams. Give Tibo 2 years and he'll be the best keeper in the world.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Tibo isn't one of the reasons that side was so good defensively? It's incredible considering Casillas' s played for Real, of all teams. Give Tibo 2 years and he'll be the best keeper in the world.

FFS no-one is saying that. But when you're the GK for the best defence in world football life is considerably easier than it is playing for a defensively shit team such as Spurs.

[TheOneChan95 225]

For all the talk about De Gea's wonderful performances recently this guy has been consistently good since the beginning of this season. Also he isn't forced into spectacular saves a lot like De Gea because our defence is among the best in the world compared with MU's defence. When dangerous crosses...etc come in he makes them look so easy that is why no one notices it.

Agree with this. De Gea looks better with those highlight reel saves but Courtois and Cech rarely ever have to pull them off because of the way they play it. Our defence definitely helps too.

[iseah100 5,612]

FFS no-one is saying that. But when you're the GK for the best defence in world football life is considerably easier than it is playing for a defensively shit team such as Spurs.

Chill brah, chill.