The Goalies who became emergency solution in the Big Teams

 

Several goalkeepers have been signed to solve the goalkeeper crisis in the European elite sides.

Goalkeeper is one distinguished position in football, which has its own term. The man between the sticks tends to have a longer career compared to the other outfield players, commonly shines in the late 20s and early 30s, and has bigger competition to cement the place in the lineup.

The goalkeeping role has evolved too, following the introduction of the new back pass rule in 1992. The demand for goalies who are comfortable with the ball on their feet has been increasing, and the sweeper-keeper position is almost a must on the top team. The nature of this position, which is already hard to establish, has become even harder and more challenging.

When the shot stoppers suffer long-term injuries, their team tends to become more panicked and has to sign replacements from the limited available names in the pool. Some even have to lure the well-known retired figure to make an emergency return. Alternatively, they would seek a short loan deal for underrated or unknown names for the time being.

This season, Barcelona is one of the elite sides that have to experience such a situation. Their number one goalkeeper and captain, Marc Ter Stegen, had to be sidelined till the end of the season due to his serious injury. The Catalan side quickly signed the former Poland international, Wojciech Szczęsny, to be the understudy, as their boss, Hans Flick, had confidence in the second fiddle, Iñaki Peña.

Initially, it went well till the La Masia graduate form dipped in the crucial games, which cost their points and position on the table at the end of the year. In 2025, the former Bayern manager eventually turns to the experienced Szczesny to fill in the post. Despite some errors on the Poles, the 34-year-old shot stopper remains to keep his place due to his commanding nature and calmness in big games, something which Blaugrana needs at the moment.

Consequently, such frustrates Pena, who even considers his future to stay in Camp Nou. In addition, the top brass in Catalan might extend Szczesny’s loan spell, which should end this summer.

In the past few years and decade, some goalkeepers shared the same situation as the former Arsenal and Juventus shot stopper. Here are those names who had to go through the same experience to get a chance to be in the big team’s squad, although a few remained sitting on the bench without hitting the pitch.

Martin Dubravka and Jack Butland (Manchester United)

The Slovak international once had to spend a brief loan spell at Manchester United back in 2022 after he lost his place to Nick Pope. He was expected to be the more reliable second fiddle to David de Gea as the Red Devils lacked understudy depth in the squad for the shot stopper post. In the squad, only the veteran Tom Heaton and inexperienced Nathan Bishop were registered. Neither had convincing form for Erik Ten Hag.

The former Sparta Prague man did not feature in a single game in the Premier League with United but did get a nod in two EFL Cup matches against Aston Villa and Burnley in the earlier round. His stint in Old Trafford was cut short in January 2023 after his parent club, Newcastle United, recalled him to provide competition for Nick Pope, whose expected second fiddle, Loris Karius, did not seem to satisfy their boss, Eddie Howe.

Dubravka stole the spotlight when he helped his first club, MSK Zilina, qualify for the UCL group stage in the 2010/11 campaign. Although they suffered six losses in six games, Dubravka had a positive display when his club only lost 1-0 and 2-1 to Marseille and Chelsea, respectively, on the road.

He then moved to Sweden by joining Elfsborg in 2014 and helped them finish fourth and fifth before signing with Czechia’s Slovan Liberec and then Sparta Prague. They both only finished in the mid-table, and Dubravka initially switched to The Magpies on loan in January 2018 before eventually sealing his place. His EPL debut against Manchester United, when he kept a clean sheet to contribute to his team’s narrow 1-0 win. So far, the goalie, who also played for Slovakia in EURO 2020 and 2024, has made 177 appearances and kept clean sheets in 54 games.

Following Dubravka’s return, Manchester United opted to sign Jack Butland on loan for the rest of the season. The current Glasgow Rangers man was available from Crystal Palace in January 2023. Yet, he was only on the bench without making any appearances for the Red Devils. Butland eventually left Selhurst Park and moved up north with Gers in summer 2023.

The 31-year-old shot stopper rose to prominence while playing for Birmingham City in the 2011/12 campaign. He was the key man in the second-tier side before being sold to Stoke City to save them from financial difficulties. Although he did not initially play regularly, Butland slowly managed to cement his place there and stayed with The Potters from 2013 to 2020.

The former Leeds and Derby County man is the last English goalie to make an appearance in the Olympics, back in 2012. He helped the Great Britain U23 side beat the favourite Uruguay 1-0 before shockingly getting eliminated by South Korea on penalties in the quarterfinal. Butland has been capped nine times with the Three Lions senior team.

Andy Lonergan (Liverpool)

He is probably one of the few goalies in the big team who became an emergency solution in the big team but never played in the top flight before. Lonergan spent most of his career with the low-tier teams such as Preston, Leeds, Fulham, Wolverhampton, Stoke, and Middlesbrough before The Reds signed him in 2019. It was the only time he had a chance to play for a big team and lift two trophies, the UEFA Super Cup and Premier League, in 2020. Lonergan was signed by Liverpool due to the goalkeeper’s crisis ahead of the 2019/20 campaign. However, the 41-year-old shot stopper did not appear in a single game under Jurgen Klopp. He was only on the bench eight times during the 2019/20 season. The current Wigan man also joined the other Merseyside team, Everton, for two years in August 2021 and stayed till summer 2024.

Magnus Hedman (Chelsea)

The former Sweden international did the same thing as Szczesny did with Barcelona, as he was recruited by Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in 2006 to make a return from his retirement in summer 2005. Hedman was signed in November 2006 due to the lack of a fit goalkeeper in the Blues apart from the backup Henrique Hilario and the young shot stopper from the academy.

He was only registered for the bench in two games as the understudy but never really hit the pitch again. The former Celtic man was eventually released at the end of the season.

The Premier League was no stranger to him. Blagut was the shot stopper during the 2002 FIFA World Cup campaign when they eliminated the favourite Argentina at the group stage and spent five years in England with Coventry City, which was still competing at the top flight at that time. He joined the club in 1997 and stayed till 2002, including the hard time when they suffered relegation in 2001 after finishing in the mid-lower table for three consecutive seasons.

Hedman’s fine form in Japan-Korea 2002 led him to move to Scottish giant Celtic. However, he was not able to make any impact there as the first choice due to his injury. The ex-AIK goalie was even loaned out to Serie A minnow, Ancona in January 2004 and claimed to see in person the dark side of Italian football, bribery.

Kepa Arrizabalaga (Real Madrid)

The current Bournemouth goalkeeper was once an expected emergency solution in Real Madrid back in the 2023/24 season following the long-term injury of their first choice, Thibaut Courtois. Initially, he did feature regularly at the beginning of the season till early November 2023. That was when his nightmare began, as he took a knock and had to be sidelined for a few weeks. At the same time, his understudy, Andrey Lunin, rose to prominence and contributed heavily in the rest of the season until the Ukrainian himself suffered illness towards the end of their campaign.

Overall, Kepa only made 20 appearances in all competitions with nine clean sheets only for Los Blancos. The former Bilbao man returned to Chelsea last summer only to lose his place again to Robert Sanchez. Fortunately, Bournemouth came to salvage his career this season, as he helps the Cherries to compete for the European berth.

Kepa has been known for his mixed form in Chelsea. He was infamous for his rejection to be substituted in the EFL Cup final in 2019 ahead of penalties, which they lost to Manchester City. He was not the first choice either when Thomas Tuchel’s side won the Champions League in 2021. Yet, he was instrumental when Reece James and Co. clinched the UEFA Super Cup, as he saved two penalties against Villarreal and in the FIFA Club World Cup final in the same year.

Przemyslaw Tyton (Ajax)

Szczesny’s senior in the Poland national team was also signed by Ajax as an emergency solution back in the 2021/22 season. Tyton was signed on a free transfer in March 2022 after his spell with MLS side FC Cincinnati ended. At that time, the’ three goalkeepers in Der Amsterdammers, Marten Stekelenburg, Remko Pasveer, and Jay Gorter, were injured. His vast experience in European top leagues with VfB Stuttgart, Deportivo La Coruna, Elche, and two Eredivisie sides, PSV Eindhoven and Roda JC, was one of the reasons why Ajax secured his signature.

However, Tyton did not really manage to get a chance to play as he was only the second choice for Andre Onana. He remained on the sideline till the end of the campaign without a single minute on the pitch. The 38-year-old goalie was eventually released at the end of the season and joined Twente Enschede to reunite with his former boss in Cincinnati, Ron Jans.

Tyton had his peak years in the early 2010s when he was the first choice in Roda JC and then PSV Eindhoven. He won the KNVB Cup in 2012 with the latter. The Zamość-born shot-stopper had a memorable display in the opener of EURO 2012, when his country became the host. He helped Poland to hold 2004 champions, Greece, in a 1-1 draw and saved the penalty from their skipper, Giorgos Karagounis. He got a nod for the following two games as they took on Russia and Czechia but failed to help them progress further in the competition.