So I guess this subject has earned an update. We could discuss what exactly makes a save "great". The difficulty of its execution, the timing, the stature of the game and the players involved, those sound like good places to start. Under these criteria, I humbly submit the five plays below to the collective wisdom of rss as The Top Five Saves in World Cup History (in chronological order). Of course, feel free to add other criteria that should be considered, or other saves that you think deserve a mention too.

Gordon Banks vs Pelé, Brasil 1-0 England (1970 Group Stage) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx7DXUH9Ek8

This is probably the most famous one, always brought up whenever the subject comes around. You know the drill: Jairzinho beats an English defender down
the right wing, crosses into the penalty area, Pelé jumps and connects a perfect header. He raises his arms to celebrate what looks like a certain goal, but Banks gets to the ball in the last moment, punches it to corner
kick and is chastised by Bobby Moore: "you're getting old, you used to hold
on to them".

A very difficult reflex save indeed, made by the man who was probably the world's best goalkeeper at the time, from a header by the world's greatest player too. But the timing of the save and the stature of the game are its "weak" points: it was a first round game and, in the end, it only helped England avoid a 0-2 defeat instead of a 0-1 one. England would only need to draw their next group match to advance (and indeed they'd go on to win it),
so qualification to the next round wasn't in jeopardy either. Still an excellent highlight reel, nonetheless.

Ubaldo Fillol vs Johnny Rep, Argentina 3-1 Netherlands (1978 Final) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNaFYLDKFpk

By contrast, I don't think I've ever seen this one mentioned when the subject arises (admittedly I might not have been paying enough attention). Let's have
a look at it: Wim Jansen crosses from the right, two Argentinian defenders fail to clear the ball and Johnny Rep is gifted a free shot on target near
the penalty spot. He blasts it away but Fillol makes a fantastic point-blank reflex save, parrying it away for a corner kick.

It does rank high on difficulty, certainly. Stature of the players checks out as well: Fillol was arguably the last great goalkeeper Argentina had (here
I'm not counting Emi Martinez, it's probably too early to make such a call). They had several good ones since, but none of similar standing. Meanwhile,
Rep is the Netherlands' WC all time top goalscorer. This being the World Cup final, the stature of the game couldn't have been higher. As for timing, it was in the middle of the first half (25 minutes I think?) with the game still 0-0, but still, who knows how it would have unfolded had Fillol not reached that ball?

Dino Zoff vs Oscar, Brasil 2-3 Italy (1982 Second Round) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POraxTjnr0M

Though he didn't know it yet at the time, at this moment Dino Zoff clinched his World Cup winner medal 181 minutes in advance. Near the end of the game,
a free kick to Brasil. The Italian subs bench is already gesturing to Abraham Klein to end the game already. Eder swings it over the penalty area, Oscar rushes in and connects his header at the limit of the 6-yard box. Zoff dives and neither parries nor punches the ball away, but holds to it just as it is on the line, but not across it. Moments later, Klein blows final whistle and Italy is through to the semifinals.

This one seems to score strongly on all criteria, most of which the timing
and the stature of the game. It was the last play of the match and it meant the world for Italy, since they'd have no time to recover and would be out
of the Cup had it gone in. Zoff, an all-time great of his position, performed a miracle in what is one of the WC's all-time classics.

Iker Casillas vs Arjen Robben, Spain 1-0 Netherlands (2010 Final) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQdg64syobs

A memorable moment from a less-than-memorable final (historic as it was).
61st minute, scoreboard reads 0-0, a through ball finds Robben beating the Spanish defensive line, with only Casillas between himself and the goal. Casillas rushes out, dives and, at the last moment, his right shin touches
the ball and nudges it just wide enough of the post. A dejected Robben falls on his knees and holds his head in disbelief.

Another one that scores strongly on all criteria, if you ask me. Robben and Casillas scarcely need any introduction and the game was a WC final. Though there would be at least 30 further minutes of football, it could have been
a turning point of the match for the Dutch. Instead, it was for the Spanish, who dodged this bullet and lived on to get the job done in the end.

Emiliano Martínez vs Randal Kolo Muani, Argentina 3-3 France (2022 Final) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7itZLHcTctU

I guess this one is still pretty much fresh in everyone's memories, and will likely remain so down the ages. On an already amazing final, clock reads 120' plus 2:38 of the 3 minutes of time added on. A long ball by a French midfielder,
a missed clearance by an Argentinian defender and Kolo Muani is alone, right
in front of Martínez. He has enough time to let the ball bounce once and fire his shot just as it was almost touching the ball again. A strong effort that, unfortunately for him, finds Martínez's outstretched right leg, keeping it out of the net and denying France's title winning goal.

Right after that it was Argentina's turn to almost score the 4-3 (on another counter attack that resulted in a cross from the right wing, which Lautaro Martínez headed wide), but Emi Martínez's save makes that look like a footnote.
The sheer weight of the cirumstances, manifested in the stature of the match and on the timing of the save, in my humble opinion, make this one outrank
all the above ones.

Again, I imagine there are a lot of other great saves that are mentionworthy too, as well as other considerations that should be taken into account, so by all means do bring them up!


Best regards,

Lléo

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On Tuesday, December 20, 2022 at 4:09:15 AM UTC-5, Lléo wrote:

So I guess this subject has earned an update.

Great post.

We could discuss what exactly
makes a save "great". The difficulty of its execution, the timing, the stature
of the game and the players involved, those sound like good places to start.

Agreed. But to me, some of those elements should count more than others.

Under these criteria, I humbly submit the five plays below to the collective wisdom of rss as The Top Five Saves in World Cup History (in chronological order).

Gordon Banks vs Pelé, Brasil 1-0 England (1970 Group Stage) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx7DXUH9Ek8

To me, context trumps everything. And the only thing this save has for context is that it was Banks against Pelé. Otherwise,
irrelevant save in an irrelevant match. Great athletic gesture, but there are a dime a dozen like that in every league every year.
Most overrated save of all time. I will die on this hill. (And I think the overrating comes from people that desperately wanted "proof" that Banks was one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time).

Ubaldo Fillol vs Johnny Rep, Argentina 3-1 Netherlands (1978 Final) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNaFYLDKFpk

This I wasn't familiar with, and it is indeed a great save. But at the 25th minute of the first half, I think it lacks a bit in the "dramatic, result/clinching" department.

Dino Zoff vs Oscar, Brasil 2-3 Italy (1982 Second Round) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POraxTjnr0M

Excellent choice. Not that I'm biased or anything. It would have been even better if the header had been by Zico or Socrates.

Iker Casillas vs Arjen Robben, Spain 1-0 Netherlands (2010 Final) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQdg64syobs

Another excellent choice, and this time I'm not even biased. Even though it was only the 62nd minute, the stature of the players involved, and the feeling that "no way Spain with its toothless attack would come back from this" put it very very high in
the ranking. the Legend of San Iker was born here.

A memorable moment from a less-than-memorable final (historic as it was). 61st minute, scoreboard reads 0-0, a through ball finds Robben beating the Spanish defensive line, with only Casillas between himself and the goal. Casillas rushes out, dives and, at the last moment, his right shin touches the ball and nudges it just wide enough of the post. A dejected Robben falls on his knees and holds his head in disbelief.

Robben's mistake is that he ran straight at Casillas. If he had done his signature "cut from the left and shoot" move, it surely would have been a goal! ;-)

Emiliano Martínez vs Randal Kolo Muani, Argentina 3-3 France (2022 Final) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7itZLHcTctU

Certainly the most dramatic, and ranking very high on degree of difficulty. Emi Martinez will not go down in history as one of the greatest goalkeepers ever, but he will go down in history as the key contributor to a WC victory. As for Kolo Muani...we'll
see. But at the very least he will go down in history as one of the leading protagonists of "the greatest save of all time"

Again, I imagine there are a lot of other great saves that are mentionworthy too, as well as other considerations that should be taken into account, so by
all means do bring them up!

Many Italian fans would submit this one to the list:

Gianluigi Buffon vs Zinedine Zidane, Italy-France (2006 Final) https://youtu.be/dC0RNx9ZVxc

We are in the 14th minute of first half extra-time, Zidane is doing his thing in midfield drawing all the Italian defenders on him before laying it off to Sagnol on the right. Zidane continues his run into the box, and for once the Italian defense does
not do its job: Cannavaro and Materazzi are marking Trezeguet and Wiltord, Pirlo ignores Zidane's run, Gattuso sees him but doesn't stay tight enough to him. Sagnol's cross is a beauty, and Zidane has an open header from the middle of the box (he had
already scored two headers in a WC final, and one more header was yet to be decisive...). It's a good, strong, header, but maybe too high and too central. Still, Buffon needs his best reflexes to tip it over the bar.

This maybe doesn't rise to the very top in terms of degree of difficulty (Buffon himself seems to imply in this video that his save against Podolski in the semifinal -- also in extra time -- was more difficult: https://youtu.be/uZHbF7pYOqc) but it sure
ranks with the very best in terms of the characters involved and the stature of the moment.

So putting everything together:

Difficulty Characters Moment Total
9 10 1 20 Banks
7 7 7 21 Fillol
7 8 9 24 Zoff
7 9 8 24 Casillas
9 6 10 25 Martinez
5 10 9 24 Buffon

Yep, Martinez's save on Kolo Muani is the greatest save of all time.


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On Tuesday, December 20, 2022 at 2:35:46 PM UTC+1, Futbolmetrix wrote:

On Tuesday, December 20, 2022 at 4:09:15 AM UTC-5, Lléo wrote:

So I guess this subject has earned an update.

Great post.

We could discuss what exactly
makes a save "great". The difficulty of its execution, the timing, the stature
of the game and the players involved, those sound like good places to start.

Agreed. But to me, some of those elements should count more than others.

Not top of the list, but this one ranks quite high in German football lore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmo6o0NU2iU


Ciao,
Werner

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On 2022-12-20 06:35, Futbolmetrix wrote:

On Tuesday, December 20, 2022 at 4:09:15 AM UTC-5, Lléo wrote:

So I guess this subject has earned an update.

Great post.

We could discuss what exactly
makes a save "great". The difficulty of its execution, the timing, the stature
of the game and the players involved, those sound like good places to start.

Agreed. But to me, some of those elements should count more than others.

Iker Casillas vs Arjen Robben, Spain 1-0 Netherlands (2010 Final)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQdg64syobs

Another excellent choice, and this time I'm not even biased. Even though it was only the 62nd minute, the stature of the players involved, and the feeling that "no way Spain with its toothless attack would come back from this" put it very very high in

the ranking. the Legend of San Iker was born here.

I would argue it was born earlier, perhaps in the 2008 QF vs. Italy. I
recall at least one key save in the game, and then the ones in the
penalty shoot-out.




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Again, another kind of World Cup, but there is this:

https://globoplay.globo.com/v/8597738/
(Clemer vs. Deco)

Tchau!
Jesus Petry

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Just one quick comment on the first of those saves: In 1974 in a
break from the WC, Bobby Charlton showed the Banks save. The play
begins with Carlos Alberto hitting a long, high pass of Jairzinho off
the outside of his right foot. It goes around Terry Cooper, the left
back. Charlton then commented that he thought that was the first time
the English players had ever seen a player bend a ball to get it
around a defender. He then pointed to a number of examples of that in
the ongoing 1974 tournament--led by Cruyff.

David K

On Tue, 20 Dec 2022 01:09:13 -0800 (PST), Lléo <llb.moura@gmail.com>
wrote:

So I guess this subject has earned an update. We could discuss what exactly >makes a save "great". The difficulty of its execution, the timing, the stature >of the game and the players involved, those sound like good places to start. >Under these criteria, I humbly submit the five plays below to the collective >wisdom of rss as The Top Five Saves in World Cup History (in chronological >order). Of course, feel free to add other criteria that should be considered, >or other saves that you think deserve a mention too.

Gordon Banks vs Pelé, Brasil 1-0 England (1970 Group Stage) >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx7DXUH9Ek8

This is probably the most famous one, always brought up whenever the subject >comes around. You know the drill: Jairzinho beats an English defender down >the right wing, crosses into the penalty area, Pelé jumps and connects a >perfect header. He raises his arms to celebrate what looks like a certain >goal, but Banks gets to the ball in the last moment, punches it to corner >kick and is chastised by Bobby Moore: "you're getting old, you used to hold >on to them".

A very difficult reflex save indeed, made by the man who was probably the >world's best goalkeeper at the time, from a header by the world's greatest >player too. But the timing of the save and the stature of the game are its >"weak" points: it was a first round game and, in the end, it only helped >England avoid a 0-2 defeat instead of a 0-1 one. England would only need to >draw their next group match to advance (and indeed they'd go on to win it), >so qualification to the next round wasn't in jeopardy either. Still an >excellent highlight reel, nonetheless.

Ubaldo Fillol vs Johnny Rep, Argentina 3-1 Netherlands (1978 Final) >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNaFYLDKFpk

By contrast, I don't think I've ever seen this one mentioned when the subject >arises (admittedly I might not have been paying enough attention). Let's have >a look at it: Wim Jansen crosses from the right, two Argentinian defenders >fail to clear the ball and Johnny Rep is gifted a free shot on target near >the penalty spot. He blasts it away but Fillol makes a fantastic point-blank >reflex save, parrying it away for a corner kick.

It does rank high on difficulty, certainly. Stature of the players checks out >as well: Fillol was arguably the last great goalkeeper Argentina had (here >I'm not counting Emi Martinez, it's probably too early to make such a call). >They had several good ones since, but none of similar standing. Meanwhile, >Rep is the Netherlands' WC all time top goalscorer. This being the World Cup >final, the stature of the game couldn't have been higher. As for timing, it >was in the middle of the first half (25 minutes I think?) with the game still >0-0, but still, who knows how it would have unfolded had Fillol not reached >that ball?

Dino Zoff vs Oscar, Brasil 2-3 Italy (1982 Second Round) >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POraxTjnr0M

Though he didn't know it yet at the time, at this moment Dino Zoff clinched >his World Cup winner medal 181 minutes in advance. Near the end of the game, >a free kick to Brasil. The Italian subs bench is already gesturing to Abraham >Klein to end the game already. Eder swings it over the penalty area, Oscar >rushes in and connects his header at the limit of the 6-yard box. Zoff dives >and neither parries nor punches the ball away, but holds to it just as it is >on the line, but not across it. Moments later, Klein blows final whistle and >Italy is through to the semifinals.

This one seems to score strongly on all criteria, most of which the timing >and the stature of the game. It was the last play of the match and it meant >the world for Italy, since they'd have no time to recover and would be out
of the Cup had it gone in. Zoff, an all-time great of his position, performed >a miracle in what is one of the WC's all-time classics.

Iker Casillas vs Arjen Robben, Spain 1-0 Netherlands (2010 Final) >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQdg64syobs

A memorable moment from a less-than-memorable final (historic as it was). >61st minute, scoreboard reads 0-0, a through ball finds Robben beating the >Spanish defensive line, with only Casillas between himself and the goal. >Casillas rushes out, dives and, at the last moment, his right shin touches >the ball and nudges it just wide enough of the post. A dejected Robben falls >on his knees and holds his head in disbelief.

Another one that scores strongly on all criteria, if you ask me. Robben and >Casillas scarcely need any introduction and the game was a WC final. Though >there would be at least 30 further minutes of football, it could have been
a turning point of the match for the Dutch. Instead, it was for the Spanish, >who dodged this bullet and lived on to get the job done in the end.

Emiliano Martínez vs Randal Kolo Muani, Argentina 3-3 France (2022 Final) >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7itZLHcTctU

I guess this one is still pretty much fresh in everyone's memories, and will >likely remain so down the ages. On an already amazing final, clock reads 120' >plus 2:38 of the 3 minutes of time added on. A long ball by a French midfielder,
a missed clearance by an Argentinian defender and Kolo Muani is alone, right >in front of Martínez. He has enough time to let the ball bounce once and fire >his shot just as it was almost touching the ball again. A strong effort that, >unfortunately for him, finds Martínez's outstretched right leg, keeping it >out of the net and denying France's title winning goal.

Right after that it was Argentina's turn to almost score the 4-3 (on another >counter attack that resulted in a cross from the right wing, which Lautaro >Martínez headed wide), but Emi Martínez's save makes that look like a footnote.
The sheer weight of the cirumstances, manifested in the stature of the match >and on the timing of the save, in my humble opinion, make this one outrank >all the above ones.

Again, I imagine there are a lot of other great saves that are mentionworthy >too, as well as other considerations that should be taken into account, so by >all means do bring them up!

Best regards,

Lléo

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Em terça-feira, 20 de dezembro de 2022 às 10:35:46 UTC-3, Futbolmetrix escreveu:

On Tuesday, December 20, 2022 at 4:09:15 AM UTC-5, Lléo wrote:

Again, I imagine there are a lot of other great saves that are mentionworthy
too, as well as other considerations that should be taken into account, so by
all means do bring them up!

Many Italian fans would submit this one to the list:

Gianluigi Buffon vs Zinedine Zidane, Italy-France (2006 Final) https://youtu.be/dC0RNx9ZVxc

We are in the 14th minute of first half extra-time, Zidane is doing his
thing in midfield drawing all the Italian defenders on him before laying
it off to Sagnol on the right. Zidane continues his run into the box, and
for once the Italian defense does not do its job: Cannavaro and Materazzi
are marking Trezeguet and Wiltord, Pirlo ignores Zidane's run, Gattuso sees him but doesn't stay tight enough to him. Sagnol's cross is a beauty, and Zidane has an open header from the middle of the box (he had already scored two headers in a WC final, and one more header was yet to be decisive...). It's a good, strong, header, but maybe too high and too central. Still, Buffon needs his best reflexes to tip it over the bar.

This maybe doesn't rise to the very top in terms of degree of difficulty (Buffon himself seems to imply in this video that his save against Podolski in the semifinal -- also in extra time -- was more difficult: https://youtu.be/uZHbF7pYOqc)
but it sure ranks with the very best in terms of the characters involved
and the stature of the moment.

Great one (both actually, but I mean the one with Zidane). Thanks for
bringing it up, I should have added it too. About the difficulty, I think
it's that tricky gray zone, where it doesn't look that hard, but indeed
demands the keeper's best efforts.

So putting everything together:

Difficulty Characters Moment Total
9 10 1 20 Banks
7 7 7 21 Fillol
7 8 9 24 Zoff
7 9 8 24 Casillas
9 6 10 25 Martinez
5 10 9 24 Buffon

Yep, Martinez's save on Kolo Muani is the greatest save of all time.

Looks like a fair ranking. Werner's clip about the 1954 final was cool too, indeed it reminded me a lot of Fillol's effort, down to the timing of the
save.


--
Lléo

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On Friday, December 23, 2022 at 5:55:49 PM UTC, Lléo wrote:

Em terça-feira, 20 de dezembro de 2022 às 10:35:46 UTC-3, Futbolmetrix escreveu:

On Tuesday, December 20, 2022 at 4:09:15 AM UTC-5, Lléo wrote:

Again, I imagine there are a lot of other great saves that are mentionworthy
too, as well as other considerations that should be taken into account, so by
all means do bring them up!

Many Italian fans would submit this one to the list:

Gianluigi Buffon vs Zinedine Zidane, Italy-France (2006 Final) https://youtu.be/dC0RNx9ZVxc

We are in the 14th minute of first half extra-time, Zidane is doing his thing in midfield drawing all the Italian defenders on him before laying it off to Sagnol on the right. Zidane continues his run into the box, and for once the Italian defense does not do its job: Cannavaro and Materazzi are marking Trezeguet and Wiltord, Pirlo ignores Zidane's run, Gattuso sees
him but doesn't stay tight enough to him. Sagnol's cross is a beauty, and Zidane has an open header from the middle of the box (he had already scored
two headers in a WC final, and one more header was yet to be decisive...). It's a good, strong, header, but maybe too high and too central. Still, Buffon needs his best reflexes to tip it over the bar.

This maybe doesn't rise to the very top in terms of degree of difficulty (Buffon himself seems to imply in this video that his save against Podolski
in the semifinal -- also in extra time -- was more difficult: https://youtu.be/uZHbF7pYOqc)
but it sure ranks with the very best in terms of the characters involved and the stature of the moment.

Great one (both actually, but I mean the one with Zidane). Thanks for bringing it up, I should have added it too. About the difficulty, I think it's that tricky gray zone, where it doesn't look that hard, but indeed demands the keeper's best efforts.

So putting everything together:

Difficulty Characters Moment Total
9 10 1 20 Banks
7 7 7 21 Fillol
7 8 9 24 Zoff
7 9 8 24 Casillas
9 6 10 25 Martinez
5 10 9 24 Buffon

Yep, Martinez's save on Kolo Muani is the greatest save of all time.

Looks like a fair ranking. Werner's clip about the 1954 final was cool too, indeed it reminded me a lot of Fillol's effort, down to the timing of the save.

--
Lléo

Judging by the youtube videos in this thread, my vote goes to Dino Zoff's save in 1982 against Brazil.

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On 2022-12-20, Futbolmetrix <daniele.paserman@gmail.com> wrote:

Dino Zoff vs Oscar, Brasil 2-3 Italy (1982 Second Round)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POraxTjnr0M

This is one of my choices, for the reasons you give. I've seen the
2010 Italian review of this game many times. Main point for me is
that he had to cover ground to get there and it was right at the end
of a late-stage KO.

Iker Casillas vs Arjen Robben, Spain 1-0 Netherlands (2010 Final)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQdg64syobs

For me, this is more Robben's miss than the big save...

Emiliano Martínez vs Randal Kolo Muani, Argentina 3-3 France (2022 Final) >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7itZLHcTctU

Same comment here. Only the speed of it was extraordinary. As they
say with Maier's save off Johnny Rep, he stood gold-richtig, aber so
muss er auch stehen. (You get the idea, it's more cumbersome in
English :-))


I might add Neuer's save off Benzema in 2014. It was around 90+3 in
a 1-0 match, where Neuer had to get his hand up with gunslinger speed
to make a one-handed save to preserve the quarter-final victory.

--
ciao, Bruce

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On 2022-12-20, Werner Pichler <wpichler@gmail.com> wrote:

Not top of the list, but this one ranks quite high in German football lore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmo6o0NU2iU

On this, he had to get his arm up into the right position in a split
second, so it's more than just holding his ground.

--
ciao, Bruce

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