David De Gea turns 33 today. For the first time in his adult life, he will be celebrating his birthday free of work commitments. As mystifying as it would have seemed during his decade-long reign as one of the finest goalkeepers in the Premier League, De Gea is without a club. This chapter in the career of the Spain international has made it easy to forget just how good a goalkeeper De Gea is.
One doesn’t even have to reach that far back for evidence. De Gea won the Premier League Golden Glove last season with Manchester United, keeping the most clean sheets in the league. But Red Devils supporters had grown tired of his occasional howlers and poor distribution. While still a supreme shot-stopper, De Gea’s overall game had not moved with the times.
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But recency bias has perhaps caused us to forget what a game it was during his pomp. Before Alisson and Ederson brought their sweeper-keeper brilliance to the English top flight, De Gea was pulling off superhuman feats between the United posts.
A true bridge between the Red Devils’ glorious past and uncertain future, De Gea made 28 league appearances as United collected the 2012/13 Premier League title. It remains the club’s last top flight title a decade later.
In the ensuing years, De Gea propped up a faltering institution at times. He may have left the club with less medals than predecessors like Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar. But that legendary pair weren’t asked to play for five different permanent managers. They weren’t asked to hold the line while expensive new signings faltered in front of them. Edwin and Peter never had to help guide Manchester United through an era in which they lost their confidence and identity.
In a relatively fallow period for team achievements at Old Trafford, De Gea’s personal haul tells its own story. Named five times in the PFA Team of the Year. Two Golden Glove awards. One appearance each in the FIFPro World XI and the Europa League Squad of the Season. Most tellingly, he won four Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year awards and five Manchester United Player’s Player of the Season gongs. De Gea was consistently the best individual in his team, a fact recognised by his teammates as well as those outside Old Trafford.
De Gea’s sad end at United, his contract running out before he was replaced with passing-focused Andre Onana, should not spoil what went before. The 33-year-old deserves his place in the pantheon of Red Devils goalkeeping greats. A title-winner while still in his early 20s, A steadying presence in a fluctuating team during his prime years. An elder statesman who, even in the face of intense scrutiny, still managed to scoop an EFL Cup triumph and a Golden Glove on his way out of the door. De Gea was all this and more to Manchester United. His birthday seems as good a time as any to remember that.
