The problem with goalkeepers is that they are a nostalgic breed.
I say “the problem” – of course there are many problems with goalkeepers. But here’s one. Most goalkeepers seem to be suckers for a bit of nostalgia.
Those were the days!
Thanks to The Goalkeepers Union for a great image
And that’s the thing about goalkeeper glove makes like Reusch and uhlsport. Almost every goalie has at some point owned a pair of these fine goalkeeping brands, as a kid or a serious player, and most of us can remember our favourite goalkeepers wearing the things in classic matches.
But unless you look back specifically and deliberately, it’s easy to overlook just how many top keepers down the years have been joined by wearing Reusch gloves. If I had ever made it as a goalkeeper (yes yes, funny idea!), I think Reusch might have been the gloves I’d be wearing. Although I suppose if some other brand came and offered me a million to wear them…
Anyway – back to the point.
Let’s have a quick think about goalkeepers that have turned out in Reusch.
Sepp Maier.
Well the first was the great Sepp Maier, the German legend. He a bit of a goalkeeper glove pioneer by all accounts, and worked closely with Reusch in developing their early gloves. He was playing professionally in Reusch goalkeeper gloves as early as 1974 – at a time when most goalkeepers were still wearing nothing, or random gloves that we don’t have much recollection of today.
It still baffles me that more isn’t made of instances like Gordon Banks’ ‘save of the century’ in the Mexico World Cup of 1970. There are loads of videos of this watched by keepers every day, but nobody seems to comment that much on the fact that Banksy seems to be wearing gloves resembling his granny’s white gardening mittens. Just what ARE those? Definitely not purpose built goalkeeper gloves, surely? There’s a great shot of them at 0.35 in the vid below actually.
Back to Reusch – had a quick look for some footage of him in his early Reusch gloves but it isn’t available so…
On to some other Reusch greats!
Claudio Taffarel!
David Seaman!
Sergio Goycochea!
Chris Woods!
(The Great) Neville Southall!
Steve Sutton – great keeper in the late 80s!
Wow – who wasn’t wearing Reusch in the late 80s and early 90s!
adidas, Nike, Puma and all those big brands came along a little after that (in the early to mid 90s?) and started sponsoring the top players to wear their stuff , so it probably got a bit harder for Reusch, uhlsport and Sondico to get every goalkeeper to wear their goalkeeper gloves.
Reusch seem to have gone a bit more continental of late, and their big keeper is that Brazilian fellow Cesar.
What a goalkeeper by the way.
Still thirsty for more?
OK.
Bodo Illgner! (You might have seen his special Reusch goalkeeper gloves in the Reusch poster at the top of the page).
Nelson Dida.
Christian Abbiati.
Manninger.
Muslera.
Rost.
Kopke.
Ah, you get the point.
And there a far more that I have left out! Additional entries on a postcard pls…!!
Goalkeeper Stuff... And Stuff 