Dependable keeper inches closer toward goalkeeping records and high achieving honours.



Barcelona's safest hands, Victor Valdes looks certain to rightfully emerge the new winner of the Zamora Trophy, the highest hounour for good goalkeeping in the Spanish League for the 2006/7 season.


Valdes has conceeded the least number of goals, less than any other keeper this season in the La Liga.

In all but the last two remaining matches in the Primera, Valdés has let in only 30 goals in 36 matches, which sums up to an average of 0.83 goals per match. His closest rival is his opposite number in Getafe, goalkeeper Abbondanzieri who has an average of 0.85 as he has conceeded 30 goals in 35 matches.


Should Valdes win the Zamora trophy, this will be the second time the Barcelona goalpost manager has won the award,having secured same in the 2004/5 season, in which he let in goal just 25 times in 35 matches, resulting in an average of 0.71 per game. This is the second best statistic in the last six seasons of the league, apart from Cañizares record in 2003/4 who had an average of 0.68 goals per match.


Valdes is following in the footsteps of Barcelona greats like Andoni Zubizarreta who won the award in the 1986/7 season and Salvador Sadurní who won the title thrice in 1969, 1974 and 1975 and also Antoni Ramallets who won the trophy five times in 1952, 1956, 1957, 1959 and 1960 respectively.