Bundesliga Preview: The league’s top goalkeepers

Welcome to the Bundesliga Preview for 2023/24, where we will be going position by position and ranking the top players that the league has to offer! Let’s waste no time and begin with the post between the posts: The goalkeepers.

20. Alexander Meyer (Borussia Dortmund)
The Dortmund backup is decent enough to crack the list after a few performances that were good enough last season.

19. Robin Zentner (FSV Mainz)
Zentner isn’t the best option for a team looking to break into Europe but has a few good games in him throughout the season.

18. Finn Dahmen (FC Augsburg)
Augsburg’s new signing Dahmen may prove sufficient but is not exactly top level.

17. Florian Müller (SC Freiburg)
Müller may end up being the starter for Freiburg after Mark Flekken’s departure and I think Freiburg should have looked to upgrade because he will not be good enough for a European run.

16. Alexander Schwolow (Union Berlin)
Union have snapped up one of the most inconsistent keepers in Germany over the last few years, but Schwolow on his day is unbeatable.

15. Sven Ulreich (Bayern Munich)
Ulreich is set to start for Bayern for the first few months of the season at least and will likely prove to be out of his depth, but he is still a good goalkeeper. Just not Bayern level.

14. Marvin Schwäbe (FC Köln)
Schwäbe has been a good servant to Köln over the years, and continues his reign between the sticks in Timo Horn’s wake.

13. Peter Gulácsi (RB Leipzig)
Gulácsi is still yet to return from injury, and as such is this low down the rankings despite being one of the top keepers in the league when he plays.

12. Jiři Pavlenka (Werder Bremen)
Pavlenka was one of the best shot-stoppers in the league a few years ago, and while he is no longer at his best he is still a great option for a club looking to finish mid-table.

11. Alexander Nübel (VfB Stuttgart)
The Bayern loanee had a fantastic season at AS Monaco last year and will aim to continue that form back home in Germany with Stuttgart.

10. Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg)
Another keeper who like Pavlenka is beyond his best years, but Casteels is still a top level shot-stopper when he’s on song.

9. Manuel Riemann (VfL Bochum)
Riemann has consistently saved Bochum throughout their time in the top division, with some otherworldly performances to keep them in the fight for survival. He will look to continue that form.

8. Jans Blaswich (RB Leipzig)
Originally just a stop-gap, Blaswich has proven himself to be more than just a backup option, but rather a top option for any top flight in Europe, with some great performances after being dragged into the spotlight after Leipzig lost their captain.

7. Oliver Baumann (TSG Hoffenheim)
Baumann has been an eternal pillar of the Bundesliga for anyone who started watching during the 2010s, never really letting go of the #1 spot at Hoffenheim for a good decade now. Baumann’s career still isn’t beginning to wind down at 33, as the German continues to churn in great performances and even found himself on Bayern’s shortlist this summer.

6. Lukás Hrádecky (Bayer Leverkusen)
Leverkusen can count their blessings for the amount of times Hrádecky has saved them from trouble since joining from Eintracht Frankfurt, and Hrádecky isn’t showing any signs of slowing down just yet.

5. Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Speaking of Frankfurt, they haven’t done badly for themselves either as Hrádecky’s successor is PSG alumnus Kevin Trapp, who has been magnificent for them, making a habit of turning up in big games and landing himself the #3 spot for the German national team behind two of the best keepers in the world.

4. Jonas Omlin (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
An alumnus of Mannschaft Planen prior to Bayern’s acquisition of Yann Sommer, Omlin has experienced a drop in performance since his Montpellier days at Gladbach but is still a top level keeper, and will surely come back to his best after settling properly in Germany.

3. Frederik Rønnow (Union Berlin)
Union’s starting keeper Rønnow is an unbelievable shot-stopper, coming up clutch for Union consistently when he really had no right to. A world class goalkeeper.

2. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
The injured captain of Bayern and Germany will surely come back to at least a world class level when he returns, but he is still on the sidelines and wasn’t at his best in his last few games.

1. Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund)

Photo by Marvin Ibo Guengoer - GES Sportfoto/Getty Images

The best keeper in the league and an elite keeper overall, Kobel has been simply massive for Dortmund since joining from Augsburg in 2021. The Swiss shot-stopper is set to take over Yann Sommer’s #1 spot in the national team and in my opinion has taken the crown from Neuer as the best keeper in Germany, although of course this is massively helped by Neuer’s injury.

What do you think of our picks? Is there any order you would’ve changed? Do you think Kobel has been better than Neuer the last couple years? Let us know in the discussion below.