Diogo Costa is the best Portuguese goalkeeper of all time | OneFootball

Gil Nunes is a football commentator based in Gaia, Portugal. He a resident commentator of “O Jogo” Sunday edition. Gil is also a well-known voice of Portuguese football in Russia and the Middle East. You can read his work on his substack.

Dinis Pinto’s shot looked destined for the back of the net, but Diogo Costa, once again and as naturally as breathing, saved FC Porto and secured another three points for the Dragons. It was far from the high point of his career. But what is impressive is the sheer naturalness with which such an episode unfolded. So much so that few people even comment on it.

Many still remember a time when goalkeepers couldn’t play with their feet. And when they had no specific training. Goalkeeping coach? An utter utopia. Today, times have changed, and the goalkeeper, beyond his natural role as the “saviour of the nation,” is also a key reference point in building play from the back and the commencement of attacking movements. The paradigm has shifted: making impossible saves, in itself, is the hallmark of an average goalkeeper. It is no longer enough.

If the debate over who is the greatest of all time can never be a consensual one – and democratically speaking, that is a good thing – this particular debate has two clearly defined sides. On one hand are historic names such as Bento, Damas and Costa Pereira who, despite being outstanding in every aspect of agility and presence in goal, fall short when compared with the other side of the divide, where names such as Ricardo, Vítor Baía and Rui Patrício belong. Particularly the latter two.

Elegant even when conceding goals, Vítor Baía’s presence extended to an ability to read the game and a sense of timing when coming off his line that, even today, remains without equal. Then there is the fact that he is the most decorated player of all time. Ten national league titles, a UEFA Cup, a Champions League and an International Cup, and that little collection with the application of a filter to highlight the most prestigious trophies.

As for Rui Patrício, there is almost unanimous agreement that he belongs among the greats, largely because he provided stability in the Portuguese goalkeeping position in the post-Ricardo era and, above all, because he was the goalkeeper who emerged when the nation needed him most: an extraordinary performance in the Euro 2016 final, the one that brought such joy to Portugal. Which leads to a simple conclusion: his limitations, particularly when it came to playing with his feet, prevented him from going further in his career, but everyone should doff their cap to a goalkeeper who never faltered when it mattered most. He is part of history. 10 July 2016: Portugal had a great goalkeeper.

The 2022 World Cup qualifier against Serbia, in which the visitors’ high press ultimately condemned Portugal to defeat, exposed the decisive fault line: Portugal could no longer have as their first-choice goalkeeper someone who was so limited with his feet, particularly at a time when a youngster was already proving his undeniable credentials in a demanding club environment. FC Porto. And Diogo Costa.

Five years on, Diogo Costa has become a world-class reference point. Because he is so complete. In Portuguese terms, the most complete goalkeeper there has ever been and, logically, also the greatest. With no obvious weaknesses – perhaps he could be more aggressive when dealing with crosses to the far post, but that is hardly a deficiency – the young goalkeeper is the prototype of the modern goalkeeper: offensive-minded, capable of reading the game and fully involved in the team’s attacking dynamics.

Diogo Costa, here saving Jure Balkovec’s spot kick during the EURO 2024 shootout against Slovenia, is a penalty saving specialist (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

Then there is his ability to make the difference consistently: whether against Moreirense (among others), Bayer Leverkusen, Slovenia at Euro 2024 or Spain in the 2025 Nations League final. The last three examples showcase his penalty-saving prowess. Diogo Costa has developed the mettle to remain calm in decisive moments, consigning perhaps the most difficult moment of his career to the dustbin of history – the goal conceded against Morocco at the 2022 World Cup. Because there is no doubt: the best Portuguese goalkeeper has to come from this second paradigm. And no one has commanded as much unanimous approval as the FC Porto goalkeeper. The greatest Portuguese goalkeeper of all time is the one playing today. Period.

Yes, perhaps Diogo Costa staying at the club was André Villas-Boas’s greatest victory in a transfer window that was otherwise highly productive for the Dragons. If the blue-and-whites can, at certain moments of a match, operate in very deep areas because they know their goalkeeper is a genuine outfield player and that, as a result, they are effectively always playing with eleven outfield players, then there is nothing better than preserving their most valuable asset. He will not remain at the Estádio do Dragão forever, but while he is there, there will be the certainty that the goal will not waver. And that is priceless: amid all the tactics, all the ideas about how to play, all the philosophies and all the mind games at press conferences, there is no greater treasure than the constant assurance that the goal is safe.