Antti Niemi pays Hearts star ultimate compliment as he ranks 'unbelievable' ace with Champions League winners
The former Hearts keeper has paid a huge compliment to a current Jambo he holds in high regard.
Antti Niemi has paid a current Hearts star one huge compliment as he continues to shine for the Jambos.
The former Finnish stopper featured at Tynecastle between 1999-2002 and also played at clubs like Rangers, Southampton and Fulham during a stellar playing career. During his time at the Jambos, a young man named Craig Gordon was coming through the ranks hoping to be the club’s number one at some stage.
Some 22-and-a-half years or so on from his debut in 2002 against Livingston, Gordon is still the man between the sticks for the club. In his second spell, the now 42-year-old is also Scotland number one and Niemi has played the best goalkeeper union card Gordon could hope to earn from the ex-stopper.
As part of his best ever XI made up of players who have won the Champions League like Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Sammi Hyypia, Niemi reserves the spot between the sticks not for him, but for Gordon.
He wrote in Four Four Two: “An up and coming young keeper when I was at Hearts. He was mentally strong and trained hard. It was obvious he had talent. Craig suffered a fair share of injuries but the saves he pulled off at his peak was unbelievable.”
Niemi told the Evening News earlier this season of the current Hearts goalkeeping situation with Gordon as number one and Zander Clark in deputy position: “I think Hearts are very lucky to have two goalkeepers of that calibre, so it's not the worst problem to have in the world. It's up to the goalkeeping coach and the manager to decide who plays, but Craig Gordon isn't a young boy anymore yet he's still doing the job at the highest level.
“Normally, you have a No.1 and then maybe a more experienced No.2, or even a promising talent coming through the ranks. But they are both No.1s. I couldn't comment exactly on what separates them in detail, but what I would say is that playing either of them wouldn't be an issue. Hearts are very lucky to have two top, top goalkeepers.
“I used to think years ago that it's better for everyone to have your clear No.1 and stick with him, unless he gets injured, or form dictates you give your No.2 a shot. I certainly thought this when I was a player years ago. But to be fair, it depends so much on the club and what sort of goalkeeper you have. It depends on so many things, like: What is the standard of the second-choice keeper? Will this player perform better against a certain level of opposition who play a certain way, etc?
“Sometimes it is better to have a clear No.1, sometimes if you have goalkeepers who are equally good, it might be best to switch things up quite regularly. At least it keeps both of them on their toes and hopefully pushes them. It's a difficult question to answer.”