Hello, everyone. In this series, I will share my XI of players that I view as underrated. This list will mainly include players I have seen before, so I won't be picking some random player who played alongside Pele or Maradona. This list will focus on players I have seen or I am very well-versed about along with the case of why they were picked. So, without further ado, let's get into today's players.

Jan Oblak

Jan Oblak is a goalkeeper we might all admit to be a great goalkeeper. This is not about him making great saves and winning his team matches since the day he was signed, nor is it about the number of Zamora trophies. There isn't a way to use clean sheets as a clear indicator of who the best goalkeeper is as much of it depends on the strength of the time the keeper might be playing for.

In fact, Oblak might be one of the few keepers whose team is highly respected among top teams and who plays defensively. That in fact is an advantage Oblak has. However, I view Oblak as a goalkeeper who never got the respect he deserves because he doesn't play for a popular team, at least not outside of Spain.

Oblak's problem, which kept him underrated, isn't his lack of charisma but the way that charisma manifests itself. 90% of Oblak's charisma is his cold and calm demeanour. That's not a surprise as even his teammates often spoke of his calmness against tough situations. Atletico Madrid, due to the team's playstyle, always has tough and close matches in the UEFA Champions League, still, Oblak is the only keeper who never seems to have a bad match.

Oblak never loses focus and is always up to the occasion, as evidenced by Atletico Madrid's match against Liverpool in 2020 where the Spanish team qualified, a game that saw Oblak make a record-breaking 9 saves in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage.

Another point that goes to Oblak is the way he saves balls. Not only is Oblak constantly great at saving his goal, but the way he handles the ball is also brilliant. People might not notice this or don't care for it much, but Oblak holds the ball more often than other keepers. So, instead of just punching the ball away, he actually takes hold of the ball. That makes it look easier on screen when it is actually the hardest thing to do in most situations. But, holding the ball doesn't look as nice in front of the camera as punching the ball does as it doesn't portray the dangerous situation properly.

In addition, his holding the ball more often than just punching it is useful for his team defensively and offensively as not only does it deprive opponents of the ball but it actually makes counter-attacking much easier and faster.

Since 2014 and until 2020 Oblak faced 537 shots, of which he saved 431. Just amazing numbers all around. That is higher than any other goalkeeper in Europe throughout the same period.

This is why, Jan Oblak is easily my pick as goalkeeper for my most underrated XI.