Top European Goalkeepers of the 1920s & 1930s

The 1920s and 1930s saw the emergence of some top class goalkeepers across Europe.
They were still vulnerable to physical assault through rushes and charges, and the emphasis, even with the advent of the 3 back game, was still very much on attack.
Here we will look at the international records of 6 notable goalkeepers.

1. Ricardo Zamora - Spain (1920-36)



   




















2. Harry Hibbs - England (1929-36)

3. Josef/ Rudolf Hiden - Austria (1928-33)*

4.Gianpiero Combi - Italy (1924-34)

5. František Plánička - Czechoslovakia (1926-38)

6. Sigge Lindberg - Sweden (1921-30)

								Clean sheets
	P	W	D	L	%W	GA	GAPG	#	%
Zamora	46	31	6	9	67.39	42	0.91	20	43.47
Hibbs	25	16	4	5	64	26	1.04	10	40
Hiden*	20	12	4	4	60	25	1.25	5	20
Combi	47	28	10	9	59.57	65	1.38	12	25.53
Plánička	73	35	16	22	47.94	120	1.64	11	15.06
Lindberg	49	23	12	14	46.93	85	1.73	10	20.4

Zamora comes out on top. His win percentage, goals against per game and percentage of clean sheets are all superior. 

*Hiden played one game for France in 1940 which is not included in these figures. 

Imports

Hiden

In 1930 Herbert Chapman was very keen on signing Rudolf Hiden for Arsenal. 

We have seen how Glasgow Rangers had imported Karl Pekarna (sadly the Scottish public did not witness the full extent of his undoubted talents) and Tottenham Hotspur had flirted with the recruitment of the French goalkeeper Pierre Chayriguès from Red Star in 1913.
Hiden was probably the best goalkeeper in the World. In May 1930 the 21 year old had impressed in a 0-0 draw with England in Vienna.  Chapman, ever the progressive, had strong connections with Hugo Meisl and the sophisticated world of Danubian coffee house football culture. 
The transfer of Hiden to Arsenal from Wiener Athletiksportclub was opposed by both the players' union and the Football League. They lobbied the Ministry of Labour to prevent the deal, based on the argument that for Arsenal to employ Hiden would be a simple case of taking a job from an Englishman and giving it to a foreigner. 
The combined forces of the Football Association, The Football League, the player's union and the Ministry of Labour ensured that the Hiden transfer was never completed. Hiden moved to Racing (Paris) in 1933. His first name became Rodolphe and he earned 1 cap for France in 1940.
On 1 June 1931 the  FA Council approved the following:
A professional player who is not a British-born subject is not eligible to take part in any competition under the jurisdiction of this Association unless he possesses a two-year residential qualification within the jurisdiction of the Association.
This move reflected the attutude expressed by senior FA councillor and Football League Management Committee member  Charles Sutcliffe in August 1930 ; The idea of bringing foreigners to play in league football is repulsive to the clubs, offensive to British players and a terrible confession of weakness in the management of a club. It will be a bad day for club managers when they have to cultivate team spirit in a team of players where some would not understand a word said to them.

In the 1930-31 season Arsenal did feature a foreign goalkeeper-Gerrit Keizer of the Netherlands. 
Keizer had joined Ajax as a 16 year old. He moved to England to study the language in 1930, playing as an amateur for Margate Town (he was registered with Milwall but never turned out  for the Lions). Keizer's status as an amateur seems to have diffused any protests regarding his playing in England.  Chapman signed Keizer for Arsenal, but the extent of his first team career was 12 matches from August to October 1930. The following season he appeared 17 times for Charlton Athletic in Division 2 . Before moving back to Ajax (he was first choice goalkeeper for 15 years, making over 300 appearances) he was briefly on the books at Queen's Park Rangers. 

Keizer

Goalkeepers' Attire

Foulke- Bradford City

Doig- Sunderland*

Looking at pictures of 19th and early 20th century football matches one thing that is noticeable is that the goalkeepers wore the same colours as the outfield players. This must have led to considerable confusion during goalmouth scrambles.
It was decided at the annual meeting of the Football League in June 1909, that the goalkeeper must play in distinctive colours (they prescribed scarlet, royal blue, or white) in order to assist the referee. Royal (?) green was added in 1912. From June 1921 all goalkeepers in international matches were to wear jerseys of deep yellow.

Goalkeepers today might suffer the trials of wearing particularly lurid kit. In days gone by, with the selection of knitwear and headgear at their disposal, goalkeepers could emphasize their alleged eccentricity via their onfield attire.
Here are some great custodians who also happened to cut a spectacular dash:

 Ricardo Zamora (Spain)

Rudolf Hiden (Austria)

Leigh Richmond Roose (Wales)

Gianpierro Combi (Italy)

Elisha Scott (Ireland)

 Harry Linacre (Nottingham Forest)

Américo Tesoriere (Argentina)

* Many sources assert that wearing of gloves was pioneered in the 1950's and only became common in the 1970s. However, early images show goalkeepers from many lands wearing a selection of gloves, and surely not only for keeping their hands warm.