Amongst the subplots of Manchester’s biggest footballing rivalry is a battle between two of the world’s best goalkeepers.
In the red corner stands David De Gea. At the tender age of just 22 the Manchester United goalkeeper is an up and coming star and has the potential to be stopping shots at Old Trafford for years to come.
In the blue corner is his cross-city rival: Joe Hart. The Manchester City goalkeeper was outstanding for the Blues during their title winning campaign while his counterpart was struggling to adapt to life in England’s rough and tumble top league.
However, last season saw a seismic shift in the performances of the two goalkeepers; and, after a high profile blunder against Scotland last week it seems that Joe Hart’s inconsistent form is not temporary.
In June 2011, Sir Alex Ferguson raised eyebrows by paying Atlético Madrid £18million for Spanish under-21 International David de Gea.
Meanwhile, in the other half of Manchester, Joe Hart had just finished winning the FA Cup with Manchester City and claimed the Premier League’s Golden Gloves award.
When the season began all eyes were on de Gea to prove he could live up to his pricey transfer fee: it did not start well.
United’s new signing was awarded his competitive debut in the Community shield against City and the Spaniard made two glaring errors leaving his side with the mammoth task of overhauling a two-goal deficit.
Luckily for de Gea United were outstanding and won 3-2 but the knives were already out for the young Spaniard who was widely criticized.
This marked the start of a difficult first season with the Red Devils. De Gea was under extreme scrutiny for the entire season, receiving a constant media bombardment about his ability to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League.
As a 20-year-old in a foreign country, the task of replacing the Dutch legend Edwin van der Sar at one of the world biggest clubs was huge.
Across the city Hart was going about his business in the usual composed manner. High level performances and key saves helped the Blues to win their first league title since 1968.
While Hart was lauded by critics David de Gea was dropped for poor performances by Sir Alex Ferguson.
However, de Gea was not ostracized for long and, after returning to the first team he showed a marked improvement in all aspects of his game.
Criticism of the Spaniard came about because of his mistakes on the pitch but also because he didn’t fit the mould of what fans perceive a Premier League goalkeeper to look like and perform.
He never appeared the most commanding, on the pitch he was relatively quiet compared with loud-mouths such as Hart who barks orders at his defenders and dictates where he wants players.
However, over the season the United keeper proved that, beyond his top level shot stopping, he had an all-round game that could rival the best.
Unfortunately for City fans Hart didn’t start the 2012/2013 campaign with the same success.
The Manchester City keeper’s campaign followed a fairly a constant theme of underperformance.
This deterioration was made most evident through errors against Spurs, Sunderland and Southampton to name a few – but doesn’t even include the handful of blunders he has made for England.
Even after improving towards the back end of the 11/12 season David de Gea’s campaign began surrounded by rumours that United had lost faith in his ability and were seeking to replace the youngster.
De Gea was unfazed and started the campaign focussed and quickly quashed any speculation.
The Spanish under-21 had a sensational season between the sticks for Sir Alex Ferguson as they snatched the Premier League trophy from their rivals.
One performance that illuminated the talent that United had unearthed was at the Bernabeu stadium where United faced off against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
De Gea made a string of world class saves and kept his composure at the highest level. Critics suddenly turned to adorers as the young keeper demonstrated why Sir Alex splashed the cash on such an inexperienced player.
Where previously de Gea looked nervy he now looked assertive. His claiming of crosses, for example, had become more decisive, and he appeared more confident to issue instructions.
The extraordinarily quick reaction saves that he has always possessed are similar to the frequent Schmeichel-esque saves the Stretford-end have become accustomed to and he has brought his own flair by showcasing unorthodox saves with his feet.
On the back of frequent outstanding performances throughout the season de Gea hushed all doubters after as his peers voted him in goal for the PFA Team of the season.
Joe Hart finished the season with the Golden Gloves award so making the accusation that his form has dropped is difficult. However, to any observer it is clear that Hart is not the same commanding presence he once was.
His blunder against Scotland last week is indicative of a wider problem that has seeped into Hart’s game.
James Morrison’s shot was a decent strike but there is no way that it should have squirmed past him.
Hart is clearly still an excellent keeper, but there is a growing momentum to the idea that De Gea might well now be better than the England number one.
David de Gea has always been a quality goalkeeper but equipped with determination to win over the Stretford-End and with an outrageous repertoire of stops now under his belt de Gea is starting to turn heads around the world.
If Hart wants to win back the title of Manchester’s best goalkeeper then he must put the errors behind him and show the mental strength that propelled de Gea to the number one spot.
Image courtesy of ITV Sport via Youtube, with thanks
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