Jan Oblak As One of the Best Goalkeepers in the World
There’s no denying that Jan Oblak is incredible when it comes to catching. This is unfortunately not as obvious as it should be which could be one of the primary reasons why most fans neglect to talk about the goalkeeper as much as they should. It could also be one of the main reasons why you don’t see much of him as his hands seem to deny opportunities for double-saves and drama.
In an era of follow-up shots and fisted crosses, Oblak provides no fuss and no flash because he is a man who tends to grab the ball and hold on to it every time. He is someone that starts behind the goal as opposed to in front of it where he dives around in sync with his father, shadowing his dad’s every football move who was a Slovenian goalkeeper for the third division.
Jan Oblak’s Career
Jan Oblak decided to leave the capital city of Ljubljana when he was only 10 years old and was cycling around 60 kilometres every single day for training. When he was 16 years old, he reached the first division and at 17 he was at Benfica. By the time he was 21, Oblak played in a European Cup final and at age 25, he is ranked as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
However, there’s not many that seem to talk about him because he refuses to go on about himself. There’s no grand gestures, no grandstanding, only a handful of interviews, no talk, and certainly no Twitter account. Instead of being spectacular, Oblak is secure. Until he decides to take off which actually only occurs when he needs to, ensuring the ball doesn’t pass him in crucial moments.
The goalkeeper for Atletico Madrid is spectacular, to say the least, agile, fast, and with phenomenal reach which he utilises to ensure the ball doesn’t pass him on a regular basis.
Jan Oblak’s Statistics
Oblak’s statistics are truly remarkable. For three consecutive seasons, which started at the age of 22, he managed to win the Zamora award for letting in the fewest goals within the Spanish league. He recently also achieved his 100th clean sheet which took him a mere 178 matches. To give you an idea of how incredible this is, it took Manual Neuer a total of 188 matches to reach the same clean sheet record and 217 matches for Victor Valdes. Iker Casillas took 306 matches to reach his 100th clean sheet and 222 matches for Gigi Buffon.
In the previous season, Oblak had a clean sheet in 56.2% of his matches. In case you were wondering, Keylor Navas was at 32.4%, while Marc-Andre ter Stegen was at 40.8%. However, when the votes came in for the best goalkeeper of the season, Oblak didn’t even feature in the top 5. Atletico Madrid is sitting with the best goalkeeper in the world and no one is taking note. Hopefully, this will change in the near future.