Vincent Enyeama Has Been Named Europe’s Best Goalkeeper

Super Eagles Vice captain and Lille of France safe
hands, Vincent Enyeama, has been picked as the
best goalkeeper in the major leagues across Europe
in the 2013/14 football season.
Research by supersport.com showed that the ratio
of saves made to goals conceded by the Nigerian is
by far and away the most impressive, compared to
any goalkeeper at any football club in any of
Europe’s top leagues this season.
The 31-year-old conceded eight goals in 19 league
appearances for Lille OSC this season and was
voted best player in Ligue 1 on two consecutive
occasions ahead of stellar individuals like Thiago
Silva, Edinson Cavani, Mathieu Valbuena, Radamel
Falcao and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Enyeama’s saves made to goals conceded ratio
stands at seven, well ahead those of established
goalkeepers like Victor Valdés (FC Barcelona),
Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Gianluigi Buffon
(Juventus) and Morgan de Sanctis (AS Roma).
Valdés’ saves made to goals conceded ratio in the
13 league games he played for FC Barcelona this
season stands at 4.4 while Neuer’s in his 16
Bundesliga games this season was pegged at 3.9.
Italy, the land famous for tight defences, catenaccio
and legendary goalkeepers produced the fourth and
fifth best stoppers using statistics in the first half of
the 2013/13 season as the yardstick.
Veteran Juventus man, Buffon’s figures as far as
the ratio of goals conceded to saves made stood at
2.3 while De Sanctis who has been in supreme
form for AS Roma managed 2.2.
Buffon has made 16 league appearances for La
Vecchia Signora this season while De Sanctis has
made 17 Serie A appearances for the Giallorossi
this term.
Enyeama’s recent accomplishments have attracted
words of adulation from Nigeria’s goalkeeper
trainer, Ike Shorunmu who believes the former
Enyimba star has had a barnstorming season. “I
work with (Enyeama) whenever he’s back on
international duty so this news brings a smile to my
face.
He is making us proud and more importantly the
fact that these things are happening during the
season leading to the World Cup is fantastic,”
Shorunmu said yesterday. Enyeama made his debut
for Nigeria in 2002 and has been capped 88 times
by the Super Eagles.