There isn't a single great football team throughout history that didn't have a world-class goalkeeper.
While the role of shot-stopper is often a thankless one, it's without question one of the most important on the field.
A top-quality goalkeeper improves a defence tenfold, which in turn makes the whole team a far more formidable proposition for an opponent.
Down the years, we've been blessed to watch some masters of the craft weave their magic between the posts.
Picking the very best of the bunch is, of course, near enough impossible and it's a question we will not be attempting to answer today.
Instead, we'll be looking over the 40 goalkeepers with the most clean sheets recorded for club and country, according to PopFoot.
Only one man has managed to surpass 500 and the percentage of games in which a clean sheet was kept is also available for each man.
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The 40 goalkeepers with the most clean sheets
40. David De Gea - 209 clean sheets (34%)
39. Andreas Isaksson - 210 clean sheets (36%)
38. Claudio Bravo - 211 clean sheets (37%)
37. Guillermo Ochoa - 217 clean sheets (28%)
36. Volkan Demirel - 218 clean sheets (37%)
35. Julio Cesar - 223 clean sheets (43%)
34. Yann Sommer - 228 clean sheets (33%)
33. Fernando Muslera - 229 clean sheets (34%)
32. Morgan de Sanctis - 229 clean sheets (36%)
31. Brad Friedel - 236 clean sheets (32%)
SUNDERLAND, UNITED KINGDOM - SEPTEMBER 29: Brad Friedel of Blackburn Rovers in action during the Barclays Premier League match between Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers at the Stadium of Light on September 29, 2007 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
30. Ulrich Rame - 238 clean sheets (39%)
29. Dida - 238 clean sheets (44%)
28. Shay Given - 240 clean sheets (32%)
27. Steve Mandanda - 240 clean sheets (33%)
26. Jan Oblak - 242 clean sheets (47%)
25. Jussi Jaaskelainen - 245 clean sheets (31%)
24. Mark Schwarzer - 246 clean sheets (32%)
23. Kasper Schmeichel - 251 clean sheets (34%)
22. Gregory Coupet - 251 clean sheets (37%)
21. Joe Hart - 254 clean sheets (37%)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 31: Joe Hart of Manchester City celeberate his team's first goal by Nicolas Otamendi during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and Norwich City at Etihad Stadium on October 31, 2015 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Getty Images)
20. Tim Howard - 256 clean sheets (32%)
19. Victor Valdes - 259 clean sheets (44%)
18. Thibaut Courtois - 270 clean sheets (43%)
17. Fabien Barthez - 273 clean sheets (41%)
16. Allan McGregor - 276 clean sheets (39%)
15. Samir Handanovic - 278 clean sheets (36%)
14. Andriy Pyatov - 285 clean sheets (46%)
13. Rui Patricio - 291 clean sheets (39%)
12. David James - 292 clean sheets (32%)
11. Hugo Lloris - 301 clean sheets (36%)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 17: Hugo Lloris of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates during the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final second leg match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at at Etihad Stadium on April 17, 2019 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
10. Jens Lehmann - 309 clean sheets (36%)
9. Mickael Landreau - 309 clean sheets (39%)
8. Oliver Kahn - 322 clean sheets (37%)
7. Igor Akinfeev - 346 clean sheets (42%)
6. Manuel Neuer - 353 clean sheets (45%)
5. Pepe Reina - 358 clean sheets (40%)
4. Petr Cech - 397 clean sheets (44%)
3. Iker Casillas - 440 clean sheets (42%)
2. Edwin van der Sar - 440 clean sheets (46%)
- Gianluigi Buffon - 501 clean sheets (44%)
TURIN, ENGLAND - MAY 05: Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus celebrates as Alvaro Morata of Juventus scores their first goal during the UEFA Champions League semi final first leg match between Juventus and Real Madrid CF at Juventus Arena on May 5, 2015 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
It's not even close at the top! Buffon's tally is simply out of this world and may not be equalled or surpassed for many years.
The Italian doesn't possess the best record when it comes to clean sheet percentage, though.
That honour belongs to Oblak, who has not conceded a goal in 47% of the matches in which he has played - outrageous stuff.