Ranked: Gianluigi Buffon, Iker Casillas and the greatest goalkeepers of all time

When it comes to longevity, no top goalkeeper can compare with Peter Shilton, who spent just over three decades in between the sticks. Indeed, he was still England's first-choice goalkeeper at Italia '90, even though he was 40 at the time.

These days, he's probably best known for remaining very bitter about being beaten by Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' but that simply should not overshadow the fact that, at the peak of his powers, Shilton was a truly exceptional shot-stopper, the last line of defence in the Nottingham Forest side that won back-to-back European Cups, in 1979 and 1980.

Shilton remained at the pinnacle of his profession though the 1980s and only called time on his incredible career in 1997, some 31 years after he'd broken into the Leicester City team.

Despite his height (6'5''/1.97m), Edwin van der Sar was one of the first of a new breed of goalkeepers who were excellent with the ball at their feet. Indeed, Manuel Neuer subsequently admitted that he was inspired by the Dutchman's daring distribution of the ball.

Van der Sar was a part of the wonderful Ajax team that won the Champions League in 1995 and even though a subsequent switch to Juventus did not work out well, he resurrected his career at Fulham before then moving to Manchester United, with whom he tasted further Champions League glory in 2008.

Indeed, it was Van der Sar who decided the final in the Red Devils' favour by stopping Nicolas Anelka's penalty in the shootout, after making several crucial saves in open play that deservedly earned him the player of the match award.

The former Netherlands international would go on to become the oldest player to win the Premier League, at the age of 40, in 2011.

A prodigious talent with wonderful reflexes that Manuel Almunia once likened to those of a cat, Iker Casillas broke into the Real Madrid starting line-up at just 18 years of age, and he was still only 19 when he helped Los Blancos win the 2000 Champions League final.

The Spaniard would go on to become a regular for both club and country for over a decade, becoming the captain of the greatest international side the game has ever seen, which helped him win the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award for five successive years between 2008 and 2012.

Casillas led La Roja to two European Championships and one World Cup, and by the time he left Madrid for Porto in 2015, he had won another two Champions Leagues, thus confirming his status as one of the game's greatest ever goalkeepers.

As Buffon said of his great rival, "Honestly, I don't have to use up many words to say how good he is, the results are there for all to see."

A goalkeeper of incredible size, strength and agility, Peter Schmeichel was a nightmare for attackers - who struggled to find a way past the giant Dane and his trademark 'star jumps' - and an inspiration for all young goalkeepers. Indeed, Casillas cites Schmeichel as his role model.

The Manchester United legend was also renowned for his long, accurate throws, which he used to launch counter-attacks to devastating effect, as well as his organisational skills. Schmeichel never shied away from letting his defenders know if they were out of position!

Love him or loathe him, though (Roy Keane thought his former United team-mate was a "a poser"!), Schmeichel was a pure winner. He claimed 15 trophies during his time at Old Trafford but his greatest feat was helping Denmark stun the footballing world in 1992 by winning the European Championship in Sweden.

The man responsible for arguably the most famous save in football history, Gordon Banks was a goalkeeper of incredible agility and athleticism.

This was most memorably illustrated by the way in which the World Cup winner not only managed to keep out a downward, goal-bound header from Pele during an epic contest between England and Brazil in Mexico in 1970, but actually turn it over the bar.

Pele, who had even started celebrating, later admitted, "I couldn't believe what I had seen."

Banks was named FIFA goalkeeper of the year six times in a row between 1966 and 1971 before his time at the top was cruelly cut short by the loss of sight in his right eye following a car accident.

Sepp Maier was the undisputed No.1 for both Bayern Munich and West Germany during the most successful spells in their respective histories.

The Bavarian won both the 1972 European Championship and 1974 World Cup with his country, as well as lifting three successive European Cups with his club side between 1974 and 1976.

Maier wasn't just a winning machine, though, he was also a player of real personality, a larger-than-life character who was both respected and loved by his team-mates for his passion and sense of humour.

While Manuel Neuer may not have invented the role of 'sweeper-keeper', he is arguably its greatest exponent.

With his wonderful exploits for both Bayern Munich and Germany, Neuer completely changed the entire perception of shot-stopper by essentially serving as an extra man in defence and a key distributor of the ball from the back.

Whereas once goalkeepers were overlooked when it came to individual accolades, Neuer was widely lauded for inspiring a new generation of goalkeepers, as underlined by the fact that he finished third in the 2014 Ballon d'Or voting after winning the World Cup in Brazil.

The oldest man ever to have won the World Cup, Dino Zoff was 40 when he captained Italy to victory at the 1982 tournament in Spain, which is testament to both his professionalism and excellent positioning.

It was the crowning moment of a sensational career, in which the Italian legend also lifted the European Championship, on home soil in 1968, as well as six Serie A titles with Juventus.

A quiet, unassuming character who led by example, Zoff was nonetheless an excellent organiser who was renowned for his attention to detail and coolness under pressure, and revered for his sense of sportsmanship.

"He was a level-headed goalkeeper," former Italy coach Enzo Bearzot said, "capable of staying calm during the toughest and the most exhilarating moments. But he always held back both out of modesty and respect for his opponents."

The only goalkeeper to have ever won the Ballon d'Or, Lev Yashin was a true pioneer of his position. At a time when goalkeepers were expected to remain rooted to their line, the Russian became renowned for his bravery in charging out of his goal to claim crosses and close down onrushing forwards.

Yashin, who was named goalkeeper of the 20th century by the IFFHS, was beloved for his showmanship, wowing crowds with his spectacular, acrobatic saves, as well as his iconic all-black strip, which, coupled with the illusion of having extra limbs, earned him the nickname 'The Black Spider'.

A revolutionary in terms of punching the ball away and short throw-outs, Yashin became the standard by which all other goalkeepers were judged and it is only fitting that, since 1994, the best goalkeeper at any World Cup is presented the 'Lev Yashin Award'.

"Everything he did was top class. He was the model for goalkeeping for the next 10 to 15 years. Even though I was already playing at the highest level, I used to learn from him," Banks later admitted.

From his famous Serie A debut against AC Milan as a teenager to helping Juventus claim a historic eight consecutive scudetti, Gianluigi Buffon achieved a level of sustained excellence that is simply unrivalled. As his great rival Casillas said, "It's impossible to find any weaknesses in his game."

As well as being a national icon for the role he played in Italy's 2006 World Cup triumph – when he was beaten only by an own goal and a penalty – Buffon is a legend at Juve for having stayed with the club in spite of their relegation to Serie B that same year, and also at Parma, whom he rejoined for the final two years of a remarkable career.

The one major title missing from his CV is the Champions League but its absence does nothing to detract from his standing within the game. Indeed, he bows out as one of the few universally loved figures in football.