ELG SPORTS: Keylor Navas nominated CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Goalkeeper 2017/18

Keylor Navas has been named UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season for 2017/18. The Real Madrid keeper picked up the award on stage in Monaco during the 2018/19 group stage draw.

The accolade capped a memorable campaign for the 31-year-old, who played all but two games of Madrid’s third straight UEFA Champions League triumph.

 He had started the season with wins in the UEFA Super Cup and Spanish Super Cup, and ended it between the posts with Costa Rica at the FIFA World Cup.

Costa Rica’s goalkeeper Keylor Navas (R) saves the ball ahead of Serbia’s forward Filip Kostic (L) during the Russia 2018 World Cup Group E football match between Costa Rica and Serbia at the Samara Arena in Samara on June 17, 2018.

/ AFP PHOTO / Goalkeeper of the Season top ten Watch Keylor Navas in action last season 1 Keylor Navas (Real Madrid) – 222 points 2 Alisson Becker (Liverpool/Roma) – 197 points 3 Gianluigi Buffon
(Paris/Juventus) – 92 points 4 Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona) – 47 points Costa Rica’s goalkeeper Keylor Navas (R) saves the ball ahead of Serbia’s forward Filip Kostic (L) during the Russia 2018 World Cup Group E football match between Costa Rica and Serbia at the Samara Arena in Samara on June 17, 2018.

 / AFP PHOTO / Goalkeeper of the Season top ten Watch Keylor Navas in action last season 1 Keylor Navas (Real Madrid) – 222 points 2 Alisson Becker (Liverpool/Roma) – 197 points 3 Gianluigi Buffon (Paris/Juventus) – 92 points 4 Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona) – 47 points 5 Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea, now Real Madrid) – 28 points 6 Ederson (Manchester City) – 26 points 7 Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) – 18 points 8 Jan Oblak (Atlético) – 16 points 9 David de Gea (Manchester United) – 7 points 10 Sven Ulreich (Bayern) – 5 points Navas’ season in numbers Honours: UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup Individual accolades: UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season, UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season Navas is entering his fifth season at Madrid Navas is entering his fifth season at Madrid ©AFP/Getty Images Champions League Appearances: 11 Minutes: 990 Clean sheets: 2 Goals conceded: 13 Navas testimonials “Keepers stand up to be counted in big games like these. It was a difficult second leg and he gave us so much; he gave us life.” Former coach Zinédine Zidane after Madrid beat Bayern in last season’s semi-finals

“He’s a keeper that I love. He’s won three consecutive Champions League titles, earned us lots of points and ensured we win games – but above all I’d praise him as a person.” 

Team-mate Dani Carvajal How Navas was chosen Navas lifts the trophy in Kyiv in May Navas lifts the trophy in Kyiv in May ©AFP/Getty Images These awards were introduced last year to recognise the season’s best player in each position in Europe’s premier club competition. The jury comprised the coaches of the 32 clubs in the 2017/18 UEFA
Champions League group stage, together with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, representing each of UEFA’s member associations.
Coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own teams. Jury members chose their top three players per position, with the first receiving five points, the second three and the third one.
The three players who got the most points in each category made up the final shortlist. Buffon was named Goalkeeper of the Season for 2016/17.