The third-choice goalkeeper

Goalkeepers were always considered better around the age of 30, and for a long time Bundesliga coaches stubbornly stuck to this age preference rather than offering an opportunity to a younger keeper. A look at the Bundesliga squads of 20 years ago reveals one thing: the older goalkeeper was always between the posts while the younger talent had to patiently watch on from the bench.

For example, in the 1994/95 season Uwe Kamps made 34 appearances between the sticks for Borussia Mönchengladbach. Youngster Dimo Wache, who would later be a starting goalkeeper at Mainz, didn't play one game. In Kaiserslautern's squad, the near 30-year-old Georg Koch was still favored as the number one, leaving a young Roman Weidenfeller to warm the bench.

A rule wouldn't be a rule without exceptions though. For a while a young Stefan Klos was favored over Wolfgang de Beer, five years his senior, and took the number one jersey at Borussia Dortmund.

The other thing about goalkeepers back then: whoever was picked as number one, stayed number one, whatever happened. The only reasons to replace a goalkeeper were a red card or an injury. Only then did the second-choice shot stopper get his chance, but even then that only lasted as long as the first-choice was out. The moment he was ready to play again, he was back in goal.

Two number ones

Choosing and sticking with a goalkeeper is also standard procedure for Bundesliga teams of today too. It seems that this helps the player play more confidently, as he knows he isn't going to lose his job after just one mistake.

It wasn't too long ago that it was trendy for Bundesliga clubs to have two strong goalkeepers, as used to be the case for a few years in Germany's national team. The choice of goalkeeper depended on form, training performances and the opposition's tactics. In the 2011/12 season, Schalke had three goalkeepers - Timo Hildebrand, Lars Unnerstall and Ralf Fährmann - who could have been considered number ones. Hoffenheim had Tim Wiese (once a good goalkeeper), Koen Casteels and Heurelho Gomes, while Mainz had Heinz Müller and Christian Wetklo battle it out for the jersey.

These days though: the new trend is leaning towards picking younger players as the main goalkeeper. Bernd Leno (Leverkusen), Marc-André ter Stegen (Gladbach), Kevin Trapp (Frankfurt) and Loris Karius (Mainz) have all been starting goalies despite the fact they were only 20-years-old or younger when they debuted.

Just before retirement

This latest goalkeeper trend has been brought to light by the continued presence of Hildebrand, Müller and Wetklo in the league, despite their lack of playing time. In the case of an injured starting goalkeeper and no suitably experienced replacement, Bundesliga clubs have started signing goalkeepers well over the age of 30, and perhaps already over the hill in career terms.

Wetklo (pictured up the top of this article) didn't have his contract renewed at Mainz and was at Darmstadt before being signed by Schalke after the injury to the club's number two, Fabian Giefer. Hildebrand, after being released by Schalke, is now on the bench at Eintracht Frankfurt after first-choice Kevin Trapp suffered a lengthy injury. And as of this week, Heinz Müller has been training at Bayern Munich as both back-up goalkeepers Tom Starke and Pepe Reina are out.

The trend has meant that well-known faces are still a fixture on the Bundesliga's substitute benches. It helps the respective club president's blood pressure stay below unhealthy heights too, if a first-choice goalkeeper goes down injured. On top of that, the goalkeepers themselves earn a tidy sum just before it's time to hang up their boots.

Bearing that in mind, it's only a matter of time before Tim Wiese is signed as a back-up goalkeeper for a Bundesliga side. Whoever does sign him though, will have to take his new Herculean muscle mass into account. That could well mean space for two on the bench.