Super Eagles Vice captain and Lille of France
safe hands, Vincent Enyeama, has been picked
as the best goalkeeper in the major leagues
across Europe in the 2013/14 football season.
Research by supersport.com showed that the
ratio of saves made to goals conceded by the
Nigerian is by far and away the most
impressive, compared to any goalkeeper at any
football club in any of Europe’s top leagues this
season.
The 31-year-old conceded eight goals in 19
league appearances for Lille OSC this season
and was voted best player in Ligue 1 on two
consecutive occasions ahead of stellar
individuals like Thiago Silva, Edinson Cavani,
Mathieu Valbuena, Radamel Falcao and Zlatan
Ibrahimovic.
Enyeama’s saves made to goals conceded
ratio stands at seven, well ahead those of
established goalkeepers like Victor Valdés (FC
Barcelona), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich),
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus) and Morgan de
Sanctis (AS Roma).
Valdés’ saves made to goals conceded ratio in
the 13 league games he played for FC
Barcelona this season stands at 4.4 while
Neuer’s in his 16 Bundesliga games this season
was pegged at 3.9. Italy, the land famous for
tight defences, catenaccio and legendary
goalkeepers produced the fourth and fifth best
stoppers using statistics in the first half of the
2013/13 season as the yardstick.
Veteran Juventus man, Buffon’s figures as far
as the ratio of goals conceded to saves made
stood at 2.3 while De Sanctis who has been in
supreme form for AS Roma managed 2.2.
Buffon has made 16 league appearances for La
Vecchia Signora this season while De Sanctis
has made 17 Serie A appearances for the
Giallorossi this term.
Enyeama’s recent accomplishments have
attracted words of adulation from Nigeria’s
goalkeeper trainer, Ike Shorunmu who believes
the former Enyimba star has had a
barnstorming season. “I work with (Enyeama)
whenever he’s back on international duty so
this news brings a smile to my face.
He is making us proud and more importantly
the fact that these things are happening during
the season leading to the World Cup is
fantastic,” Shorunmu said yesterday. Enyeama
made his debut for Nigeria in 2002 and has
been capped 88 times by the Super Eagles.
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