The die is cast with some of the world’s best soccer goalkeepers set to slug it out for the coveted 2024 Yashin Trophy, a category of the Ballon d’Or award for the best goalkeepers in the sport.
Argentina and Aston Villa shot-stopper Emiliano Martinez won the trophy in 2023 after a brilliant Premier League campaign with Aston Villa, including a prolific sail with Argentina on the international scene.
The World Cup and Copa America champion has made the cut again among the goalkeepers nominated for the prestigious award.
2024 Yashin Trophy award: Serie A and La Liga goalkeepers dominate nominees’ list
Notably, players in the Italian and Spanish leagues dominate the 10-man nominees’ list for the award. Leading the list of nominees from Serie A are French and AC Milan goalie Mike Maignan.
Maignan played all of France’s Euro 2024 matches and put up a series of spectacular performances.
However, he underperformed with AC Milan. He ranked 7th on the Serie A list of goalkeepers with the most clean sheets, managing 11 out of 29 matches.
Another Serie A goalkeeper who has made the cut is Switzerland international Yann Sommer. The Inter Milan shot-stopper won the 2023-24 Serie A Golden Glove after a league-leading 19 clean sheets in 34 league matches. He also kept the sticks for Switzerland in 2024 Euros.
La Liga Goalkeepers Nominated for the 2024 Yashin Trophy
La Liga has the most number of representatives nominated for the award. Champions League-winning goalkeeper Andriy Lunin of Real Madrid has made the list. After Unai Simon of Athletic Bilbao and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen of Barcelona, Andriy Lunin had the third-highest percentage of clean sheets in the 2023-24 La Liga season.
He kept 10 clean sheets in 21 games but was ninth on the ladder of goalkeepers with the most clean sheets. However, he played a great role in Real Madrid’s run-up to the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League triumph.
Unai Simon is another top challenger for this award after winning the 2023-24 La Liga Golden Glove with 18 clean sheets in 38 La Liga matches. He also won the 2024 Euro Championship with Spain and kept the sticks in six of Spain’s seven matches in the tournament.
Another La Liga goalkeeper who has made the cut is Georgia and Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. Mamardashvili played in all four of Georgia’s Euro 2024 matches. He kept 13 clean sheets for Valencia in the 2023-24 season, finishing fourth on the ladder of La Liga goalkeepers with the most clean sheets.
Other Goalkeepers Nominated for 2024 Yashin Trophy
Apart from Serie A and La Liga goalkeepers, some names from other leagues have made the list. The most notable is Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Rowen Williams.
The South Africa goalie made waves during the 2023 AFCON when he became the first goalkeeper in football history to save four penalties in the shoutouts. Williams’ penalty heroics saw South Africa scrape past Cape Verde in the quarterfinals of the tournament. He is the first goalkeeper playing in Africa to make the award nominees’ list
Other goalkeepers’ on the list are PSG and Italy goalie Gianluigi Donnarumma, Switzerland international and Borussia Dortmund shot-stopper Gregor Koebel, and Porto and Portugal goalkeeper
Diogo Costa.
Who is likely to win the 2024 Yashin Trophy?
Emiliano Martinez, who won the trophy last year, is not likely to defend it this summer. Despite the 2024 Copa America victory, he managed only nine clean sheets in the Premier League and was down to fifth position on the ladder. Andriy Lunin played a great role in Real Madrid’s Champions League triumph, but his national team, Ukraine, did not qualify for the 2024 Euros.
Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Koebel reached the Champions League final with Dortmund but was down the pecking order in the Bundesliga with just seven clean sheets from 27 Bundesliga games. Unai Simon seems to be a clear favourite after he won the 2024 Euros with Spain, including the La Liga Golden Glove.
