Alisson Becker
Alisson Ramses Becker, known as Alisson Becker or simply Alisson, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for the Brazil national team. He has been praised for his crucial saves, positioning and distribution, and is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and by some as the best shot-stopper in the Premier League. Alisson began his career at Internacional, where he made over 100 appearances and won the Campeonato Gaúcho in each of his four seasons at the club. In 2016, he completed a €7.5 million transfer to Roma where he initially served as understudy to Wojciech Szczęsny before breaking into the starting line-up. In July 2018, Alisson signed for Liverpool for an initial fee of €62.5 million (£56m), which could rise to €72 million (£66.8 million); a world record fee for a goalkeeper at the time. In his first season at the club he received the Premier League Golden Glove for most clean sheets in the league (21), and kept another clean sheet as Liverpool won the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final. Alisson represented Brazil at various youth levels before making his senior international debut in 2015 whereafter he represented the nation at the Copa América Centenario in 2016, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the 2019 Copa América, winning the latter tournament, while also being named the best goalkeeper.
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This shirt was worn by Alisson Becker in the first half of the Serie A game between Roma and Benevento which took place in Roma, “Stadio Olimpico”, on February 11th 2018. Roma defeated Benevento 5-2. Alisson finally made his Serie A debut on the opening weekend of the 2017–18 Serie A campaign, starting in a 1–0 win over Atalanta. He then made his first appearance in the Derby della Capitale on 18 November, starting in a 2–1 win over local rivals Lazio. He was praised for his performances in the UEFA Champions League, and played a key role in the club’s campaign in which they reached the semi-finals. The club didn’t concede a single goal at the Stadio Olimpico in the Champions League, until the match against Liverpool in the semi-finals on 2 May 2018, which they won 4–2 on the night, but lost 7–6 on aggregate. Alisson received praise for his performances throughout the 2017–18 season. He kept a total of 22 clean sheets across the 2017–18 season, keeping 17 clean sheets in the league and 5 clean sheets in the UEFA Champions League. On 19 July 2018, Liverpool officially confirmed the signing of Alisson for a fee of £66.8 million (€72.5 million), making him the most expensive goalkeeper of all time, surpassing the transfers of Ederson (most expensive in pound sterling) and Gianluigi Buffon (most expensive in Euros). However, the fee was broken just four weeks later when Chelsea signed Kepa Arrizabalaga for a reported £71.6 million (€80 million) from Athletic Bilbao. On 10 August, Liverpool confirmed via their official website that he would wear the vacant number 13 shirt in the 2018–19 season.
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After representing Brazil at under-17 and under-20 levels, Alisson was called up to the main squad by manager Dunga for the first two matches of the 2018 World Cup qualification campaign against Chile and Venezuela. He made his debut against the latter on 13 October, starting in a 3–1 win at the Castelão. On 5 May 2016, Alisson was named to Brazil’s 23-man squad for the Copa América Centenario. In the team’s first match, a goalless draw against Ecuador, he fumbled a Miller Bolaños shot into his own goal that was waved off because the ball had gone out of play beforehand. He conceded a total of two goals in three matches as Brazil were eliminated in the group stage. In May 2018, Alisson was selected in the final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He was ever-present as Brazil made it to the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Belgium. In May 2019, he was included by manager Tite in Brazil’s 23-man squad for the 2019 Copa América on home soil. Throughout the tournament, he only conceded one goal in six matches, as Brazil went on to win the title. The only match in which Alisson failed to keep a clean sheet was the 3–1 final victory against Peru on 7 July, at the Maracanã Stadium, in which he was beaten by a Paolo Guerrero penalty. Following the tournament, Alisson was honoured with the Best Goalkeeper Award for his performances. Alisson’s elder brother Muriel is also a goalkeeper and was developed at Internacional. The family are of German descent. He is a Catholic. In addition to his native Portuguese, Alisson also speaks English. In May 2019, he was appointed a goodwill ambassador by the World Health Organization. Alisson married Natalia Loewe in 2015, having been together since 2012. They have a daughter called Helena, born in April 2017. Their son, Matteo, was born on 14 June 2019. On June 1st 2019, after he kept a clean sheet for Liverpool as they defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 in the Champions League 2019 final, making eight saves in the process, to win his first trophy with the club, after joining his team-mates on stage to receive his winners’ medal and lift the Champions League trophy, Alisson then made sure to involve his wife and child in proceedings. He video called them from the pitch, putting the medal in his mouth as he showed off his family to the world. Alisson Becker’s wife, Natalia Loewe, didn’t travel to the game because she is pregnant with the couple’s next child.
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Alisson has been praised for his crucial saves, positioning, distribution and consistency, and is widely regarded as the best shot-stopper in the Premier League, and by some as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Alisson cites former Barcelona goalkeeper Víctor Valdés as an inspiration, due to his ability to play out from the back, as well as Manuel Neuer, for his ‘sweeper keeper’ style. Alisson is also known for his speed and timing when rushing off his line, as well as his ability to clear or challenge for the ball with his feet outside the area; moreover, due to his distribution, he is capable of playing the ball out from the back quickly with his hands as well as his feet, and also has the ability to launch attacks, or pick out midfielders with his long goal kicks. His skills with the ball at his feet and composure in possession have even seen him take on opponents on occasion, when put under pressure. Despite his height (standing at 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)), strength, size, and his large, powerful physique, he is also an agile and athletic goalkeeper. Alisson possesses good reflexes and excellent shot-stopping abilities, as well as the capacity to produce spectacular and instinctive reaction saves when necessary, which earned him the nickname O Goleiro Gato (“The Cat-like Goalkeeper,” in Portuguese) in the Brazilian media, but he is predominantly known for his efficient style of goalkeeping, courtesy of his anticipation, consistency, composure, intelligence, positional sense, and goalkeeping technique, which enables him to read the game, cover the goal well, and stop shots without having to resort to histrionics. Furthermore, he also known for his handling, and is effective at dealing with high balls, which enables him to come out and claim crosses and command his area well. Ex-Roma goalkeeping coach Roberto Negrisolo has praised Alisson by calling him the ‘Messi of goalkeepers’, as he has the ‘same mentality as Messi’ and the ability to ‘mark an era’. Furthermore, Negrisolo also compared him to former Italy goalkeeper Dino Zoff and Belgian goalkeeper Michel Preud’homme. His playing style has also drawn comparisons with compatriots Júlio César, Muriel Becker, and Claudio Taffarel in the media. The moniker “The Pelé of goalkeepers” has also been attached to him.
