Iker Casillas SPA (08-12) >>>> Ronnie Simpson (My toughest pick yet. Mainly because there is no compiled footage of Ronnie playing. I even tried watching the 67 European Cup final, but because Inter spent 90% of the match camped in their own half it was fairly useless. So I'm going purely off what I can find written about him. According to Billy McNeill, "Ronnie was as much a footballer as he was a goalkeeper. Anything that went behind the defenders, Ronnie would come out and deal with it.". From his wiki - "Simpson was small in stature for a goalkeeper, at just 5 feet 10 inches. He compensated for this with an unorthodox style of shot-stopping, using his elbows and shoulders to block shots. He also had top-class foot movement and ball distribution skills." From a Celtic blog - "really agile and alert, always quick off his line, always well positioned to claim aerial balls." All the modern era keepers with unconventional styles feel too crazy (e.g. Rene Higuita). So I'm focusing on his aerial ability, shot stopping, and comfort with the ball at his feet. All of which Iker was tops at. He also wasn't the tallest for a modern day keeper and was known to use his head fairly often, which semi ticks the unconventional box. Done!
