Goalkeeper 1
Alisson Becker is currently the first-choice goalkeeper of Liverpool FC and the Brazilian national team. He joined Liverpool in the summer of 2018 after an incredible UEFA Champions League performance with AS Roma.
Alisson was born on the 2nd of October 1992, in Novo Hamburgo, Brazil. His passion for the game started at a very young age; goalkeeping actually runs in his family, as his elder brother Muriel Becker was also a goalkeeper.
The Brazilian goalie started his football journey in 2002 at just 10 years old, after he joined SC Internacional’s academy, a club located in the southern part of Brazil, where he pushed through the ranks before being promoted to the club’s senior side in 2013.
He was featured more in the U23 side before making his senior debut on 17 February 2017, where he started in the game against Cruzeiro-RS that ended in a 1:1 draw. He recorded just six (6) appearances in his first season, as he was a backup goalkeeper to his elder brother.
His second season at the club was more competitive, as he finished the season with 11 appearances, more minutes than the previous season. He became the first-choice goalkeeper in his third season, where he had 57 appearances across all competitions.
He spent four (4) years at Internacional’s senior side, where he won the Campeonato Gaúcho title in each season, setting him up as one of the brightest goalkeepers to pass through the club ranks. His shot-stopping abilities drew the attention of different scouts from European clubs.
Alisson signed a pre-contract with AS Roma on 4 February 2016, a five-year deal, which is stated to be worth about €7.5 million. The nature of the transfer was that he was to complete the season with the Internacional side before moving to Roma at the end of the 2015/2016 season.
He officially completed his transfer and moved to AS Roma in July 2016 as a backup goalkeeper to Wojciech Szczęsny. His official debut for the club was in a UEFA Champions League game against FC Porto on August 17, 2016, which ended in a 1:1 draw.
For his first season at the club, Alisson Becker made 15 appearances for Roma, but was not given an opportunity to feature in any Serie A game for the entire 2016/2017 season.
AS Roma’s first-choice goalkeeper at the time, Szczęsny, departed the club at the end of the season for Juventus, which gave Alisson the first-team shirt after his departure. According to sources, Alisson claims he had plans to leave Roma if first-team football was not guaranteed.
Alisson Becker kept a clean sheet on his Serie A debut, which was against Atalanta, a competitive game that ended in a 1:0 victory in favour of Roma. He played an important role for the Serie A side, making 49 appearances in all competitions and helping them reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
He was a solid wall behind the post, which led to Roma not conceding a goal at the Stadio Olimpico, their home stadium, in the Champions League until the semi-finals, where they conceded 2 goals against Liverpool and lost on aggregate to the Reds.
For the 2017/2018 season, he kept 22 clean sheets across all competitions, 17 in the Serie A and 5 in the UEFA Champions League.
Liverpool FC was intrigued by his performance and paid a record-breaking transfer fee of £66.8 million, which at that time was the highest amount to be paid for any goalkeeper. Eventually, the record was broken by Chelsea one week later, as they paid a reported fee of £71.6 million for Kepa Arrizabalaga.
On 12 August 2018, Alisson made his debut for Liverpool against West Ham United, where he kept a clean sheet in the Reds’ first match of the season. He went on to keep two consecutive clean sheets against Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace; clearly, this was a statement that he was the man for the job.
At the end of his first season, the Brazilian goalkeeper kept a total of 21 clean sheets, won the Premier League Golden Glove, helped Liverpool finish second in the Premier League table, and also had an Impressive Champion League run, which saw Liverpool win the trophy for the sixth time.
At the start of the 2019/2020 season, his shirt number was changed from No 13 to No 1, the number which was previously worn by Loris Karius. Shortly into the season, he picked up a calf injury after just 38 minutes in a game against the newly promoted side Norwich City.
He was out for a few weeks; however, he made his return on October 20, 2019, in the game against Manchester United. Despite his return from injury, he still proved to the Liverpool supporters that he was worth every pound spent on him.
On the 19th of January 2020, Alisson pulled off one of the greatest performances by a goalkeeper, as he delivered an assist to Mohammed Salah in the 93rd minute, to help Liverpool get a 2:0 victory over Manchester United.
He finished the 2019/2020 season with 37 appearances in all competitions, and helped Liverpool win the English Premier League title for the first time after 30 years.
In the 2020/2021 season, Alisson made the world stand on its toes as he became the savior of the club who was struggling for a UEFA Champions League spot for the next season. He scored the decisive goal in the 95th minute against West Bromwich Albion to help Liverpool qualify.
That particular goal was the first to be scored in a competitive game by a goalkeeper in the entire history of Liverpool Football Club. He made history and became the sixth goalkeeper to score a goal in the Premier League.
In Liverpool’s history, he will always be counted among the club’s greatest players and goalkeepers, who doesn’t just have clean sheets in his record but also goals and assists. Even after Liverpool signed the Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardsahvili, Alisson has still kept him on the sidelines.
PROFILE
Full Name: Álisson Ramsés Becker
Date of Birth: 2 October 1992
Nationality: Brazilian
Position: Goalkeeper
Preferred Foot: Right
Jersey Number: No 1
Current Club: Liverpool FC
Height: 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weekly wage: £150,000
CLUB TROPHIES
| Honours | Year |
|---|---|
| Premier League | 2019/2020, 2024/2025 |
| Champion League | 2019 |
| FIFA Club World Cup | 2019 |
| FA Cup | 2022 |
| Carabao Cup | 2022, 2024 |
