Skip to main content

The First four Foreign Goalkeepers in the Premier League

Image
By


Remembering the first four foreign goalkeepers in the Premier League, which was previously dominated by players from the United Kingdom and Ireland.


The Premier League 2024/25 is set to begin this weekend. The league, which is regarded as the best and most competitive in the world, has attracted top elite goalkeepers from all over the world. In fact, in recent years, the best FIFA custodian has come from the Premier League. Manchester City’s Ederson, Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez, Liverpool’s Alisson Brecker, the former Chelsea shot stopper, Eduard Mendy were the ones awarded such accolades since 2019. Only Manuel Neuer disrupted their dominance when he helped Bayern win the treble in2020.

This season, 15 of 20 teams rely on foreign names between the sticks as their first choice. Only Newcastle United, Everton, Southampton, Leicester City, and Crystal Palace rely on 'local' figures from the British Isles. Quite the opposite occurred during the Premier League's early years. In fact, in its inaugural season in 1992/93, only four foreign goalies were available in the first team. Here are the so-called trailblazers of English top flight.

 Jan Stejskal (Czechia)

The former Czechoslovakian international was part of the QPR squad from 1990 to 1994. He was the number one goalie for his country in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, in which he helped them reach the quarterfinals before losing to the eventual champion, (West) Germany 1-0. He earned 31 caps on the international stage. 

The former goalie who is also a qualified mechanic signed for QPR at the age of 28. During his stint at Loftus Road, he was instrumental in helping QPR finish fifth in the EPL's inaugural season and ninth in the 1993/94 campaign, which was his last one in England. Stejskal then moved back to his home soil and joined Slavia Prague and then Viktoria Zizkov before retiring. 

Career in EPL and national team

Matches

Clean sheets

Notable Games

QPR

134

31

vs Leeds Utd 3-2 (debut in Oct 1990)

vs Leeds Utd 0-4 (final game in England in April 1994)

Czechoslovakia

29 + 2 (in Czechia)

10

vs Iceland 2-1 (debut May 1986)

vs Germany 0-1 (quarterfinal in 1990 World Cup, making at least three clinical saves)

vs Lithuania 5-3 (last game in Feb 1994)


Hans Segers (Netherlands)

The former Dutch goalkeeper had moved to England long before the EPL's inaugural season. Segers joined Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest in 1984 and was initially the first choice before losing his place in the 1985–86 season. He had to move on loan several times to lower-division teams, including Stoke City and Sheffield United, before saving his career in 1988 by signing for Wimbledon. He stayed with the London side for eight seasons and helped them finish sixth in 1993/94. The former PSV Eindhoven shot stopper once stumbled in a match fixing and betting regulations case in the late 1990s alongside Liverpool’s legend, Bruce Grobbelaar. He played for Wolverhampton and Spurs as a reserve goalie before he retired.

Career in EPL and national team

Matches

Clean sheets

Notable Games

Nottingham Forest, Wimbledon, Wolverhampton, Tottenham

355

114

vs Coventry 3-1 (debut in Nov 1984)

vs Brentford 3-2 (League Cup - his final game in England in Sep 1998)

Netherlands

-

-

 

 Craig Forrest (Canada)

The former Canada international had been playing in England from the beginning of his playing career. In fact, Forrest only played in England with Ipswich Town and West Ham United from 1985 to 2002, with two loan spells at Colchester United (1987) and Chelsea (1997). In the EPL's inaugural season, he had already been the first choice between the sticks. Meanwhile, his career with the Canadian national team was notable too, with 56 caps. Despite having no chance to play in the FIFA World Cup, he was an integral part of the team when Canada won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2000.

Career in EPL and national team

Matches

Clean sheets

Notable Games

Ipswich, Chelsea, West Ham

142

37

vs Aston Villa 1-1 (debut in Aug 1992)

vs Coventry 1-1 (final game in England in Feb 2001)

Canada

56

19

vs Chile 1-0 (debut in May 1988)

vs Colombia 2-0 (CONCACAF Gold Cup final 2000)

vs Cameroon 0-2 (last game in June 2001)

Peter Schmeichel (Denmark)

He was probably one of the most well-known goalkeepers in Premier League history. Schmeichel joined Manchester United in 1991 and thrived from 1992/93 to 1999, when he enjoyed the treble winners. That was the time when Manchester United tickets were in huge demand. The former Danish international also played for Manchester City and Aston Villa before his retirement.

On the international stage, the ‘Great Dane’ also played a key role in Denmark’s unlikely success in winning EURO 1992, reaching the quarterfinals of the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and qualifying for EURO 1996. The former Sporting Lisbon and Brondby man earned 129 caps and even scored one goal in a friendly match against Belgium prior to EURO 2000.

Career in EPL and national team

Matches

Clean sheets

Notable Games

Manchester United, Aston Villa Manchester City

455

199

vs Athinaikos 0-0 (debut in Sep 1991)

vs Southampton 0-1 (his final game in England in May 2003)

Denmark

121 (1 goal)

51

vs Hungary 2-2 (debut in May 1988)

vs Germany 2-0 (EURO 1992 final )

vs Slovenia 3-0 (last game in April 2001)

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Best England-born Scottish International in the World Cup

By
  A few Scottish internationals have been actually England -born and managed to shine in the FIFA World Cup. Scotland finally returns to the FIFA World Cup ending their 28-year wait this year. The Tartan Army boss, Steve Clarke , knows they have to improve their team before the kick off to end their negative record in the final round. Scotland has never been able to progress from the group stage in their world cup campaign. This year they hope to do things differently. Unfortunately, Scott McTominay and Co are seeded in a fairly tough group with Morocco , Haiti and Brazil.  Steve Clarke’s men are in need of more prolific forwards in the squad following the not-so-satisfactory form of their attacking lines. Che Adams just scored two goals in the qualifiers while Lyndon Dykes or Lawrence Shankland only netted once each. Such a disappointing record if they aim to advance further in North America later. Thus, when Newcastle’s Harvey Barnes was eligible to switch sides to Scotla...
Post a Comment
Read more

The European Elite Teams’ Banter Era in Modern Football

By
  Each of Europe's elite teams has their own 'banter era' in modern football, during which they failed to win any prestigious titles. The 'Banter Era' is defined as a period in which a football team goes through difficult years without winning a notable top title, such as a league title or a continental top flight championship. In this era, teams consistently underperform, producing disappointing results and campaigns. In Europe, almost all elite sides and the powerhouses in the top five league, have experienced such a ‘dark age’, except perhaps Bayern Munich. Some clubs managed to end it before deteriorating , whereas others had to struggle for years before finally putting an end to their misery. Recently, more than one elite clubs have found themselves in the midst of such an unwanted era. Italian giant, Juventus, French side, Olympique Marseille, the Dutch powerhouse, Ajax Amsterdam and last but not least, the once great side, Manchester United. Among those...
Post a Comment
Read more

Top El Classicos with Englishman as the Protagonist

By
  A few El Clásico games have been decided by English players in the matches’ history, especially during modern times. El Classico 2025 is set to be held this weekend on Sunday, October 26. This would be the first time ever when two sides have English players in the same season. Both teams have a long history with Englishmen, but they belong to different eras and seasons. In the past, prior to World War II, Barcelona had 10 Englishmen in the squad, with Jack Greenwell as one of the most notable ones, whereas their archrival in the capital only had one name. However, things went the opposite in the modern era. Los Blancos went ahead and became more English-friendly with seven players since the 1980s, while their Catalan counterparts have only had two names ever since. The Englishmen in Madrid were even top names in the era, especially in the 2000s when the superstars David Beckham and Michael Owen joined the Los Galacticos after Laurie Cunningham in the 1980s and Steve ...
Post a Comment
Read more