Out of all of Europe’s top five leagues, the Bundesliga is perhaps most famous for producing top-caliber goalkeepers. Aside from the most obvious star, Manuel Neuer, the league has produced great keepers in other leagues, such as Barcelona superstar Marc-André ter Stegen.
Neuer remains a star in goal for Bayern München, but is he No. 1 on our list of the best Bundesliga goalkeepers? And which players join him on the list? Because the Bundesliga’s keepers are about so much more than Neuer, as fans saw when Yann Sommer made sensational stops to help Switzerland upset France in the last Euros.
10. Péter Gulácsi, RB Leipzig
RB Leipzig will hope Péter Gulácsi returns to top form after recovering from an injury. The Hungarian goalkeeper was once viewed as a sure-fire, top-three player at the position, but his stock has slipped recently. Like some of his teammates, Gulásci did not have the greatest start to the 2022/23 season, though he did show signs of his star power in some matches.
Gulácsi is a good handler with strong reflexes. He produced his finest work back in 2018/19, saving a touch over 80 percent of the shots against him.
9. Koen Casteels, VfL Wolfsburg
Koen Casteels may play second fiddle to Thibaut Courtois on the Belgian national team, but the younger goalkeeper is a great shot-stopper in his own right. Courtois made headlines last season with penalty saves against the likes of PSG and Athletic Bilbao, but Casteels is actually the true master of stopping penalties.
The 30-year-old is one of the most underrated goalkeepers in Europe and has been an important leader for Wolfsburg over the past few seasons since replacing a Bundesliga icon, Diego Benaglio (one of many great Swiss keepers to ply their trade in the German top flight). Casteels rates highly among Bundesliga keepers in both save percentage and post-shot expected goals prevented.
8. Frederik Rønnow, Union Berlin
One of the breakout stars of the 2022/23 Bundesliga season, Frederik Rønnow is the latest example of Union Berlin’s unparalleled recruitment within the league. Rønnow is actually first among Bundesliga keepers in save percentage, turning aside 81.4 percent of the shots fired at him.
Kasper Schmeichel is deservedly a fixture in goal for the Danish national team, but he clearly has not been the better goalkeeper. Rønnow showed potential in previous seasons as a backup for Eintracht Frankfurt, Schalke, and Union. Now the main man between the sticks, Rønnow is making a case that he could be one of the five best Bundesliga goalkeepers in the future.
7. Rafał Gikiewicz, Augsburg
Rønnow was once the backup to Rafał Gikiewicz, who was a heroic figure for Union Berlin when they first became a fixture in the Bundesliga after their promotion for the 2019/20 season. The Polish international made headlines by frustrating countryman Robert Lewandowski, the world’s most lethal striker, on multiple occasions when Union went head-to-head with Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern München.
Now at Augsburg, Gikiewicz continues to make a difference in close matches for his club. Like Casteels, he rates highly in both post-shot expected goals allowed and save percentage. He has truly been one of the league’s top keepers these past few seasons and is particularly adept at using his legs to stop shots.
6. Mark Flekken, Freiburg
The best Dutch goalkeeper right now, Mark Flekken may have made an inexplicable error by dropping the ball into his own net against Borussia Dortmund, costing his team a win in a big-ticket Friday night match.
But Flekken has more than made up for that mistake with excellence in just about all of his other performances. The 29-year-old is at the peak of his powers, saving 78.1 percent of the shots he faces. Only Rønnow, Yann Sommer, and Manuel Neuer have better rates. Flekken is a strong keeper who is truly showing his quality in 2022/23 as one of the best Bundesliga goalkeepers.
5. Manuel Riemann, VfL Bochum
Kevin Trapp was widely viewed as the best goalkeeper in the Bundesliga last season, as Eintracht Frankfurt went on to win the Europa League. But if people looked at the league holistically and only focused on Bundesliga performances, then Manuel Riemann would have surely received more plaudits as the best in the league.
The newly-promoted shot-stopper played a huge role in Bochum sticking in the top flight against the odds. Nobody had to do more in a tougher situation. Now to be clear, Trapp deserved to be called the best keeper in the Bundesliga for 2021/22, but Riemann was not far off behind him despite not being a well-known player. Though he hasn’t been as good this season, he’s still safely been a top-10 keeper in the league.
4. Kevin Trapp, Eintracht Frankfurt
Compared to his usual standard, the former PSG standout has struggled a bit in 2022/23, even as Eintracht Frankfurt are soaring in the Bundesliga after a sub-standard domestic performance in 2022/23. Better yet, Kevin Trapp and the Eagles are through to the Champions League knockouts.
Trapp has been one of the best Bundesliga goalkeepers for years. In addition to being the absolute best man in 2021/22, he held that distinction in 2018/19 when Eintracht made it to the Europa League semifinals. Like Yann Sommer, Trapp often saves his top performances for nights against the Bavarian giants.
3. Manuel Neuer, Bayern München
It may seem like Manuel Neuer is a bit low on this list. When it comes to the big Champions League nights, there is still nobody better in the Bundesliga, but when it comes to the league itself, Neuer isn’t quite as impressive as some of his colleagues.
Make no mistake, he is still excellent, but it may also be that he does not have to make saves of the same difficulty as the other keepers. Neuer does sit third in the league in save percentage after 12 starts, and his return to health is huge for a Bayern side set to lock up another Bundesliga title.
It says a lot about Neuer’s quality that at 36, he remains arguably the best goalkeeper in the league and is certainly the most reliable. If someone were to rank Neuer first, there should be no complaints.
2. Yann Sommer, Borussia Mönchengladbach
Many fans will claim that Yann Sommer is the best goalkeeper in Germany’s top flight, and that would be a more than valid assertion. Sommer is one of the best in the business with the ball at his feet, and you only have to look at his YouTube highlights to see that he is capable of making jaw-dropping saves on the level of the likes of Thibaut Courtois, Marc-André ter Stegen, and the other world elite.
The problem with Sommer isn’t that he lacks quality, because on his day, he is legitimately as good as any keeper in this league. The problem is that Sommer isn’t on his day often enough. Though the consistency issues that once plagued him have been mitigated with experience, he will still make errors that frustrate and prevent him from being ranked above an even more promising Bundesliga keeper from the same country. Sommer vs. Kobel is a very tough debate, though, and anyone placing Sommer first would also be justified in doing so.
1. Gregor Kobel, Borussia Dortmund
Sommer deserves to be the Switzerland No. 1 for all he has accomplished for his country – and for Borussia Mönchengladbach – but Gregor Kobel may have already surpassed him.
The former Hoffenheim, Augsburg, and, most notably, VfB Stuttgart keeper has been quite the signing for Borussia Dortmund. There is a case to be made that Gregor Kobel is Dortmund’s most important player, though Jude Bellingham has likely since mooted that case.
But what remains valid is the fact that at 24, Kobel is one of the best young goalkeepers on the planet. He is already the best in the Bundesliga when accounting for the quality of saves he has to make and the number of shots he faces. There is serious pressure to perform at Dortmund – more than literally any other club in the league besides rivals Bayern. Kobel has to face this pressure without the same protection in front of him than any Bayern keeper would; Dortmund scarcely play defense.
Kobel is a special talent. Dortmund are not a small club, yet it feels like so much of Kobel’s brilliance goes underrated. He has a great case for being one of the top five goalkeepers in all of European football already. It is remarkable that he almost has a clean sheet every other match for Die Schwarzgelben so far in 2022/23, considering how uneven this team has been and how woeful their midfield often is.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.