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Golden Years: Brilliant Banks, the Polish 'clown', Shilton and Jennings



They say goalkeepers are a breed apart and there's certainly always been something a bit special about those that traditionally wear the No 1 shirt.

Football's history is littered with memorable keepers, not to mention some incredible saves in big matches.


And with Petr Cech's glorious save to deny Javier Hernandez in the FA Cup sixth round replay between Chelsea and Manchester United fresh in the memory, the latest in our Golden Years series features the keepers.

We've taken a look through the archives to bring you a selection of images - there are famous saves from Gordon Banks and Jim Montgomery, some of the all-time greats from both this country and abroad, and a few of the genuine eccentrics to have played in goal.

As ever, we'd love to hear your thoughts, particularly if these pictures help to bring back specific memories of a match, moment or player. Use the comments section below this article.

And we'll be back again next Wednesday with more images in this nostalgic series.




It wouldn't have felt right not to lead with this picture. Here, England goalkeeper Gordon Banks dives to make his incredible save from Pele's header during the clash between Brazil and England at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Brazil won the match 1-0, with two images remaining iconic - Pele and England captain Bobby Moore embracing and this Banks save, which many still regard as the finest in football history. Speaking last month about it, Banks recalled that the Guadalajara pitch was so hard that 'it was like diving on a main road'.





One of the greatest goalkeepers in British football history is Peter Shilton. He still holds the record for most England caps, with 125, and the longevity of his career was extraordinary. He made his debut for Leicester in 1966 and was still playing for Leyton Orient in 1997. During that time, he clocked up 1,000 Football League appearances. In this picture, Shilton makes a save for Leicester during an FA Cup sixth round tie against Arsenal at Highbury in 1971







Manchester City's German goalkeeper Bert Trautmann is helped from the field after playing in the 1956 FA Cup final against Birmingham, a game City won 3-1 at Wembley. But that only tells half the story. With 17 minutes of the match remaining, Trautmann suffered a serious injury after diving at the feet of Birmingham's Peter Murphy but carried on. Three days after the match, an X-ray revealed he had played on with a broken neck




Neville Southall is considered to be the finest goalkeeper of his generation and one of the best to have graced the British game. Here he is saving a shot from Sheffield Wednesday's Brian Marwood in 1985. This match took place at the end of a triumphant season for Everton as they won the league title and European Cup-Winners' Cup and only an FA Cup final defeat by Manchester United prevented Howard Kendall's men winning a treble




At around the same time Peter Shilton was playing there was another brilliant England goalkeeper, Ray Clemence. Clemence spent 14 of his 23 years of club football at Liverpool, helping them to some of their greatest triumphs. Here is Clemence with the European Cup after Liverpool had won it for the first time, beating Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 in the 1977 final in Rome




The 1970s was a golden decade for goalkeeping in Britain. Pat Jennings is another all-time great and will be best remembered for his 13-year spell with Tottenham, from 1964 to 1977 - before he joined their great rivals Arsenal. This picture shows Jennings pouncing on the ball to save an effort from Johnny Giles during an FA Cup sixth round tie between Leeds and Spurs at Elland Road in 1972





Here is a picture of Manchester City and England goalkeeper Frank Swift during training in 1948. Swift was with City for 16 years, between 1933 and 1949 - but for much of that time there was no football due to the Second World War. He helped City to FA Cup glory in 1934 and to the club's first league title in 1937. After his playing career, Swift became a journalist. He was one of the 23 people killed in the Munich Air Disaster of 1958, having flown to cover Manchester United's European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade for the News of the World



A good indicator of how spoilt the England national team were for top goalkeepers in the 1970s is that Manchester City favourite Joe Corrigan only played for his country nine times. Corrigan made nearly 500 appearances in a 16-year spell with City and would have certainly had made more international appearances were it not for Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence. Here is a picture of Corrigan before a friendly between England and Brazil at Wembley in 1978. The game finished in a 1-1 draw, with Kevin Keegan scoring England's goal








It has become one of football's most famous quotes - Brian Clough, working as a television pundit, famously labelling Poland's goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski 'a clown' before a crucial World Cup qualifier between England and the Poles at Wembley in 1973. The last laugh was very much on England, however, as Tomaszewski, seen here in action that night, made a string of glorious saves - and had more than a bit of fortune too - as England were held to a 1-1 draw. The result meant England had missed out on qualifying for the 1974 World Cup in West Germany




This fine camera view shows one of the most famous moments of any FA Cup final - Wimbledon goalkeeper Dave Beasant saving Liverpool striker John Aldridge's penalty in 1988. It was the first penalty missed in an FA Cup final and Beasant's heroics helped the London club to a fairytale 1-0 win. It also denied Liverpool the chance to win a second Double in three seasons




Another famous FA Cup final moment here, one that has made the phrase 'And Smith must score' a legendary one in Brighton. The words were actually spoken in commentary by radio's Peter Jones as Gordon Smith burst through with seconds left in extra-time of the 1983 final between the Seagulls and Manchester United. Smith wasted the chance to give Brighton a famous 3-2 win when he weakly shot straight at United goalkeeper Gary Bailey. The Reds would make no mistake in the replay five days later, winning 4-0 to claim their first trophy for six years










Dino Zoff's glittering career lasted for 22 years at club level and 15 years in an Italy shirt, but there's no doubt about his finest hour, captaining his country to World Cup glory in Spain in 1982 at the age of 40. Italy recovered from a slow start in the tournament to emerge victorious - here is Zoff proudly lifting the trophy after a 3-1 win over West Germany in the final at the Bernabeu. King Carlos applauds in the background.



In a glorious career, Peter Schmeichel established himself as one of the greatest goalkeepers to have ever played the game. During his eight years with Manchester United, they won five Premier League titles, three FA Cups and the European Cup in 1999, with the Dane's last game being the famous final win over Bayern Munich in Barcelona. Here is a picture of Schmeichel celebrating on his United debut, a 2-0 win over Notts County at Old Trafford in 1991





Lev Yashin is considered by many to be the best goalkeeper ever. Nicknamed 'the Black Spider', Yashin played for Dynamo Moscow for 20 years, between 1950 and 1970, and also played 78 times for the Soviet Union. In this picture, Yashin claims the ball under pressure from his own team-mate Valery Voronin, with Hungary's Florian Albert waiting to pounce on any mistakes, during a 1966 World Cup quarter-final. Some of you may recognise the stadium here, it's Sunderland's famous old Roker Park ground. The Soviet Union beat the Hungarians 2-1 that day but lost in the semi-finals to West Germany




One of the infamous moments of the 1982 World Cup in Spain came during extra-time in the semi-final clash between France and West Germany. German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher's terrible challenge on Patrick Battiston should surely have seen him sent off but the French weren't even awarded a free-kick. Battiston was knocked unconscious by the challenge and later slipped into a coma. Although he recovered, the French had every right to feel bitterly aggrieved, particularly as the match finished 3-3 and the Germans then won on penalties to reach the final




This fine picture from 101 years ago shows Britain's goalkeeper Ron Brebner making a save during the Olympic football final at the 1912 Stockholm Games. Britain beat Denmark 4-2 in the final at the Olympiastadion. It was a third success in four Games for Britain's football team but they haven't had any since this 1912 win - mainly because they didn't even take part at any Olympics between the 1960 Rome Games and last year in London







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One of the most popular characters in British football is former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson, who is probably best known to younger generations as a television presenter. Wilson spent 11 years playing for his beloved Gunners. Here is a picture of Wilson pushing away an effort from Peter Osgood during a Division One match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in 1970






One of the most colourful characters to have played in goal for a top club, Bruce Grobbelaar was with Liverpool from 1981 to 1994. The Liverpool supporters loved Grobbelaar during his 13 years at Anfield, enjoying both his superb performances and his eccentricity. Here, Grobbelaar jokes with fans during Liverpool's 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest in 1988. He had plenty of time to joke around on that evening a quarter of a century ago - so dominant were Liverpool that night that the watching Sir Tom Finney said: 'It was the finest exhibition I've seen the whole time I've played and watched the game'



This seems like a grand way to go out, with this picture showing the second half of an amazing double save from Sunderland's Jim Montgomery during the 1973 FA Cup final against Leeds. Here, Montgomery deflects an effort from Peter Lorimer onto the crossbar, when the ball seemed almost certain to fly into the net. A goal from Ian Porterfield gave Bob Stokoe's Second Division team a famous Wembley triumph 40 years ago

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