Since joining Liverpool from AS Roma, Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker has become the epitome of the modern goalkeeper, not only in shot stopping, but also in jumping out to fill the space behind the high-lined final line and making quick but accurate long feeds.
The 31-year-old defender, who has also won the Champions League and Premier League and is in fierce regular competition with Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson for his country’s full national team, was a first-time winner of the Yasin Trophy but has rarely even made the top ten since.
The award, a goalkeeping version of the Ballon d’Or, was created by French football magazine France Football, but John Achterberg, goalkeeping coach at Liverpool until last season, said it was disrespectful to the fact that Alisson was not in the top ten and questioned the criteria for selection.
“Ali, you know, he has been the best in the world really for the last few years in my opinion. I can say that now because now I’m not his coach, but I look at it from the outside.”
“It’s probably a little bit disrespectful that the last two years he’s not really involved in the Yashin Trophy, and I know it might be done only on the Champions League, but in the first year [2022/23 season], he was definitely I think, in the Champions League and he was not even in the top 10.”
“I’m not sure who is in charge there, but probably they don’t have a clue about goalkeeping too much because I think it’s really disrespectful that he’s not even in the top five, but you know, that’s for other people to decide.”
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In recent years, they have failed to win the Premier League and even missed out on the Champions League last season. The Brazilian national team has also struggled to make the grade, and apart from impressive individual performances, the team has not been able to exceed expectations.
However, even looking at this year’s ten nominees, players such as Gianluigi Donnarumma, Yann Sommer, Gregor Kobel and Mike Maignan, who cannot be said to have achieved significant results as a team, remain obscure, even without considering whether Alisson gets in or not.
It is difficult to determine individual awards based on simple ability and performance alone, as popularity and politics play a part. In any case, we hope Alisson Becker will be remarkable enough to win the Yasin Trophy again and lead Liverpool to the title.