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The goalkeeping role is possibly one of the most important in modern day soccer.
All attacking impetus begins from the back, as the number one position is tasked with accurately distributing the ball to midfielders and forward players.
But a goalkeeper’s core responsibilities heavily revolve around shot stopping, as they’re largely required to parry and punch soccer balls away from danger.
Without a good set of gloves, even the very best professional goalkeepers in the world can struggle to put in positive performances.
At the highest level of the sport, players need every ounce of an advantage they can get, as results that have massive financial implications are on the line,
So, this is partly why clubs ensure that their stars get the very best soccer gear.
In this article, I’ll be examining the sort of gloves that professional goalkeepers wear, because their choices can reliably inform your own decision making when it comes to a pair of gloves that you’d want to purchase for yourself.
Let’s begin then!
What goalkeeper gloves do pros wear?
Now, I could go on and list every possible option.
But that wouldn’t really help you as the reader because you’ll be overwhelmed with so many possibilities.
That’s why I’m only going to discuss a handful of solutions, starting with…
1. Adidas Predator Pro gloves
- PRED GL PRO HYB
Adidas have definitely created a masterpiece with these goalkeeper gloves.
For starters, the blue and red colour combination is really striking to the eye.
But looking beyond their visual appearance, these gloves have a lot of performance benefits to offer goalkeepers.
To begin with, the backhand and finger areas have silicone elements that have been knitted into the fabric.
What this does is give goalkeepers a safety cushion to go all out when making those punched clearances.
You get much more distance and greater ball control on those punches because the adaptive knitting sort of digs into the structure of the soccer ball once contact is made.
Another plus point is the unrivaled grip – referred to as URG 2.0 – that the rubber foam coated palms provide.
Catching a soccer ball and holding onto it becomes a breeze, as the rubber foam prevents basic slippages.
With all that said, which goalkeepers wear Adidas Predator Pro gloves?
Well for starters, an absolute legend of the game who plays for the German side Bayern Munich uses them.
You guessed right!
Manuel Neuer wears Adidas Predator Pro gloves and has done so for a while now.
Here’s some photo evidence of that:
This image was taken in a recent fixture where Neuer successfully eclipsed the retired goalkeeper Oliver Khan’s record of most Bundesliga wins.
Bayern Munich and Germany’s captain arrived at a tally of 311 victories in his 460th match.
Super impressive if you ask me!
On a separate note, what’s quite interesting is that Neuer’s German compatriot – Marc-Andre ter Stegen – also uses the same pair!
Here’s a tweet that the Barcelona man put out after his side sensationally put 4 goals past their biggest rivals Real Madrid in an El Clasico derby that took place on the 20th of March, 2022:
If you’re convinced that you need to get your wallet out of your pocket for these gloves, then you’ve got two great buying choices.
You can either pick them up for a great price on Amazon or opt for another online soccer store called ProSoccer.com.
2. PUMA Ultra Grip 1 Hybrid Pro gloves
- Gunn/negative-mixed palm cut provides additional grip and improved fit
- PUMA exclusive GRDKXN punching zone provides Ideal ball control when punching
- Twin-wrap thumb and latex gussets maximise latex-to-ball contact even when fingers are twisted
There’s so many things to like about these gloves I honestly feel as though I can write an entire book about them!
You see, PUMA set their sights on achieving some sort of environmental sustainability when it came to their production.
The company opted to use a latex composed almost entirely of renewable materials.
So, when you buy these you can kind of rest easy knowing that you’re not really contributing to environmental degradation.
And there’s also the fact that the latex itself is quite good at its job, offering wearers supreme grip in all sorts of weather conditions.
These gloves are also fitted with a “GRDKXN punching zone” that provides the men in between the posts with a solid silicone platform to punch away soccer balls that are whipped in towards the penalty area from open-play crosses and other set pieces.
Now, I’m sure you’re probably curious which professional goalkeepers walk onto the soccer pitch with these gloves in hand.
Don’t worry, I won’t draw out the brief moment of suspense any further!
Everton and England’s first choice goalkeeper – Jordan Pickford – wears these gloves during matches.
Pickford signed an exclusive sponsorship deal with the PUMA brand in 2020, with the company even going ahead later on in the next year to unveil a limited edition pair of golden Ultra Grip 1 hybrid Pro goalkeeper gloves in honor of his performances at Euro 2020, where he kept the highest number of clean sheets.
And Gianluigi Buffon is another massive player who wears these PUMA Ultra Grip gloves.
The Italian has been a servant of the game for close to three decades, having begun his career at Parma in 1995.
With his career trajectory coming full circle, it’s great to see the 44 year old still has enough energy in the tank:
What gloves do Premier League goalkeepers use?
Soccer’s most widely watched professional league gets a huge amount of eyeballs.
That means a lot of the players come under media spotlight for their performances, as well as the less trivial matters such as the sort of the equipment they wear or carry with them to games.
You certainly can’t fault people for wanting to dress exactly like the pros!
So, let’s answer the question above.
To get the ball rolling on this, Ederson Moraes wears PUMA Future Z 2 gloves.
If you’re not aware who Ederson is, I’d highly suggest you go and check out some match footage of him in action on YouTube.
He’s a goalkeeper who plays for Manchester City, and he’s played a pivotal role in the domestic success of that club ever since he was signed from Benfica.
Another goalkeeping stalwart is Alisson Becker, who plays for Liverpool.
Alisson uses Nike Vapor Grip3 goalkeeper gloves that look fantastic, especially when combined with his Liverpool branded shorts and goalkeeper jersey.
Third up is the French goalkeeper from Tottenham Hotspur – Hugo Lloris.
Lloris wears Reusch Fit Control Pro G3 Fusion goalkeeper gloves that offer an interesting blend of comfort, breathability and grip in all-weather playing environments.
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