Starting in goal then as we look at Portugal’s best XI and decide who in the national team is world class, and Rui Patricio. European champion. Most capped Portuguese goalkeeper in the history of the Seleção. One of the best in the modern game?
It may be somewhat controversial, but there is an argument to be had that Portugal have never had such a reliable ‘keeper in between the sticks, which is no small feat. It’s very much debatable, of course. Vitor Baia was an absolute star for both FC Porto and the Portugal national team, a legend on both counts, with a tremendous trophy cabinet to boot, including that exceptional Champions League winners medal from 2004. He, in many people’s eyes, remains the greatest Portugal have ever had, justifiably so.
But Rui Patricio is as consistent and reliable as any goalkeeper you could ask for, and you will be hard pushed to find as accomplished a shot-stopper as the former Sporting star.
Some of his best saves assembled into a single compilation video would make for tremendous viewing. In his Wolves career alone, there are at the very least 3 or 4 truly world class saves that those that have been tracking his career will be able to recall in vivid detail, and in some high profile matches too. But producing the odd world class save doesn’t make you a world class talent.
What does, however, is when that is followed up by consistency and reliability - and that is something that, generally speaking, Rui Patricio offers in abundance. A way to identify whether you have a top goalkeeper in your side is when you ask yourself: do I feel safe knowing he’s the man guarding the net? As a Portugal fan, it is with no hesitance, no doubt, when I say that there are incredibly few, if any, goalkeepers I’d rather have to rely on.
He has made mistakes, of course. Errors, ultimately, do happen even with the best of goalkeepers, and Rui Patricio has made a few throughout his career. But when it does happen, it always comes as a surprise, such is the reliability he so often demonstrates when he pulls on his goalkeeping jersey.
One mistake that stands out from recent memory was in the 91st minute of his last ever league outing for Sporting CP. Victory over Maritimo on 13th May 2018 would have assured Sporting a spot in the 2018-19 Champions League at the expense of Benfica.
Heading into stoppage time, it was 1-1, with Sporting attempting to secure a lucrative last-gasp goal. Cue Rui Patricio, who somehow let an extraordinarily tame shot bounce off him and trickle into the goal. It’s certainly one that came out of nowhere, and almost has to be seen to be believed.
He’s made a fair few with Wolves too, most often through his footwork more than any of the traditional howlers you’ll see from high-profile shot-stoppers. One quite humorous one was against Espanyol in the Europa League only a matter of weeks ago. Upon taking a swipe at the ball to kick it clear, Patricio ultimately failed to make any sort of significant connection with the ball - not once, but twice, within a matter of seconds.
His inability to deal with the lofty ball opened up the opportunity for Facundo Ferreyra, on loan from Benfica, to pull a goal back for Espanyol from a metre out, but Patricio’s stunning reflexes allowed him to pull off a truly sensational save and redeem himself instantly. You could say that single moment very much sums up the very best, and the very worst, in Rui Patricio.
But the odd mistake cannot be deemed sufficient to discount someone as being the very best in their profession; Ederson, Alisson, David de Gea are all supreme goalkeepers who have certainly made some high profile errors in their extraordinary careers.
The fact is, Rui Patricio is largely a criminally underrated goalkeeper. Well, by all except fans of the Portugal national team, perhaps. When discussing the top goalkeepers in the game outside his home country, Patricio’s name is very rarely brought up, and that in itself is rather unfortunate. We cannot, however, tip the scales too far in the opposite direction.
I have fallen into the trap of referring to Patricio as world class in the past. The following tweet was from just a matter of weeks after Patricio completed his move to Wolverhampton Wanderers. There was, perhaps, an element of bias in there. Having seen Patricio get next to no recognition during his time in Portugal, where he developed and blossomed into such an accomplished footballer over the years, that he was only now getting the praise he deserved from a global standpoint was frustrating, and the desire to emphasise that he has always been a top level goalkeeper led to him being brandished a world class talent. Which may well be true.
He is understandably beloved by fans of the national team, and he is one of the top goalkeepers in all of world football, but is that really sufficient to be considered world class?
I guess the argument is: what is world class, or what classifies as being world class? It is a moving goal post and it very much varies from position to position. You could have 40 world midfielders, for example, but only a handful of world class goalkeepers. Others may argue that there are dozens of world class players in every position. It really depends on how you define the term.
With regards to goalkeepers, Rui Patricio is undoubtedly a top-level goalkeeper - but there is an exclusive group of elite goalkeepers that are, in terms of ability, virtually indistinguishable from one another, but a level above the likes of Rui Patricio. Alisson, Ederson, Jan Oblak and Ter Stegen. This quartet surely make up the four most accomplished goalkeepers in the game right now, the elite level shot-stoppers who are at least a level above everyone in the chasing pack.
Rui Patricio is therefore a top level goalkeeper, but alongside other oustanding, potentially world class goalkeepers in David de Gea, Courtois, Neuer, Keylor Navas, is short of being considered amongst the elite cluster of shot-stoppers, which makes it more challenging to justify referring to him as a truly world-class talent.
Ederson is a good comparison. He, like Patricio, played in Portugal, and is a player that I would have considered world class even whilst playing for Benfica, even if the rest of the world didn’t quite realise it yet. The Brazilian, for me, is just that bit above Patricio, that little bit extra that pushed him up into that very top tier.
Is he world class? Patricio is not within the elite group of goalkeepers, but is undoubtedly far superior to the majority of other top-level goalkeepers currently plying their trade in the game we love. Indeed, I would argue that he is a top 20 goalkeeper which, for many people, would be sufficient to make him world class. For me, though, from an objective standpoint, if there is a group, even if a tiny group, of athletes within the same discipline that are a step ahead, you are just short of being considered truly world class.