Alisson Ramses Becker
Alisson Ramses Becker (Brazilian
Portuguese: [ˈalisõ ˈbɛkeɾ], born 2 October 1992), commonly known
as Alisson, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Liverpool and the Brazil national team. In 2019 he was
named The Best FIFA Goalkeeper and was also the
recipient of the inaugural Yashin Trophy.
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. The following
season he kept another clean sheet as Liverpool won the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup 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
Club career
Internacional
Alisson with Internacional in
2015
Born in Novo Hamburgo, Rio Grande do Sul, Alisson joined Internacional's
academy in 2002, aged ten. Having progressed
through the youth set-up, he featured regularly with the under-23 side, before
making his senior debut on 17 February 2013, starting in a 1–1 away draw
against Cruzeiro-RS in
the Campeonato Gaúcho championship. His Série A debut
followed on 25 August 2013 when he started in a 3–3 home draw against Goiás. A backup to his
brother Muriel and competing for second-choice
with Agenor, he
finished his first season with six
appearances.
The following year, Alisson found himself
competing with Brazilian legend Dida, who had joined
Internacional from Grêmio.
He earned a starting berth in October and finished the year with 11 league
appearances to his name. He was an
undisputed starter in the following year during which he
amassed 57 appearances across all competitions. On 4 February 2016, Alisson
signed a pre-contract with Italian club Roma, signing a five-year the deal for a €7.5 million fee. He played his last
game for Internacional on 15 May 2016, keeping a clean sheet in a 0–0 home draw
against Chapecoense. During his four
years with Internacional's senior side, Alisson made over 100 appearances
across all competitions and won the Campeonato Gaúcho title in each
season.
Roma
2016–17
season
Alisson officially completed his transfer to Italian Serie A side, Roma, in July 2016. He made his debut
for the club on 17 August 2016, starting in a 1–1 UEFA Champions League draw with FC Porto but spent the majority
of the season as understudy to Polish international Wojciech Szczęsny. He ultimately made
15 appearances across all competitions from the season but failed to feature in
any league fixtures. Szczęsny departed at the start of the following campaign
for Juventus, which saw Alisson
assume the number one jersey. He later revealed that
he would have considered leaving Roma had he not been guaranteed more
first-team football.
2017–18
season
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.
Liverpool
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.
2018–19
season
Alisson made his official debut for
Liverpool on 12 August, keeping a clean sheet in a 4–0 win over West Ham United. He received praise
for his subsequent performances in wins over Crystal Palace and Brighton which saw him keep
three consecutive clean sheets. In August 2018,
Alisson was shortlisted for UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper of the
Season, finishing in second
place. On 1 September, in
a 2–1 win over Leicester City, he received both praise and criticism for
his performance, making several vital saves but also contributing to the
opposition's goal. However, with
Alisson in goal, Liverpool went on a run of 20 games unbeaten in the league
from the start of the season which saw the Brazilian break Javier Mascherano's record for the longest such streak. Alisson also played
an important role in Liverpool's Champions League group stage campaign, making
a vital save late on in their final group game against Napoli as Liverpool won
1–0 to advance to the knockout stages.
On 4 March 2019, he kept his 17th Premier
League clean sheet for the season; the most by any Premier League goalkeeper in
his debut season since former Liverpool goalkeeper, Pepe Reina in 2006. At the end of the
season, Alisson kept a total of 21 clean sheets in Premier League and won
the Golden Glove. In the Champions
League knockout stages, meanwhile, Alisson played a starring role as Liverpool
advanced to their second consecutive final in the competition; in their
second-leg semi-final at home to Barcelona, he made a number of
impressive saves as Liverpool overturned a 3–0 first-leg deficit to advance
past their opponents with a 4–0 home win. In the final on 1 June 2019,
Alisson kept a clean sheet for Liverpool as they defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2–0,
making eight saves in the process, to win his first trophy with the club.
2019–20
season
Alisson with Liverpool in 2019
After spending his first season with the
designated squad number 13, it was announced that Alisson would be wearing the
number 1 shirt for the 2019–20 season, which had previously been occupied
by Loris
Karius.
Alisson started in the 2019 FA Community Shield against Manchester City on 4 August; after a 1–1 draw,
Manchester City ultimately won the title 5–4 on penalties. On 9 August 2019,
in the opening match of the 2019–20 Premier League season against
newly-promoted Norwich at Anfield, Alisson picked up a calf injury in
the first half and had to be replaced by new signing Adrián after
38 minutes. He was expected to
be out injured for a "few weeks". As a result, he was
ruled out of the 2019 UEFA Super Cup, which Liverpool won
5–4 on penalties on 14 August, following a 2–2 draw with Chelsea after
extra-time. Alisson was said to
be close to returning on 1 October 2019.
He officially returned to the matchday
squad on 20 October, in a 1–1 draw with rivals Manchester United. On 30 November, in
a 2–1 win over Brighton, he was sent off for handling the ball outside his
designated area. On 21 December,
Alisson kept a clean sheet against Flamengo in
the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup Final with Liverpool
winning the trophy for the first time. On 19 January 2020,
Alisson assisted Mohamed Salah's 93rd-minute goal, in a
2–0 home win against Manchester United in the league.
International career
Alisson with Brazil at
the 2018 FIFA World Cup
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.
Style of play
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 the 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 the 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 believed he has the "same mentality as
Messi" and the similar 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.
Personal life
Alisson's elder brother Muriel is also a goalkeeper and was
developed at Internacional. The family are of
German descent, with his father and grandmother speaking the language fluently and while
at Roma, he was nicknamed "The German." In addition to his
native Portuguese, Alisson also speaks English. In May 2019, he was
appointed a goodwill ambassador by the World Health Organization. In 2015, Alisson married
Natalia Loewe, a physician from Brazil. They have a daughter named Helena, born
in April 2017 and a son, Matteo, born on 14 June 2019.
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