The Spanish Premier League may be played in Spain, but it is filled with talented players from all over the globe, especially the soccer-driven continent of South America.

South America is widely regarded as one of biggest soccer powerhouses in the world. Most known for their scorers like Lionel Messi and Neymar, South America is no stranger to excellent goalkeepers either. This La Liga season has been a standout year for goalies in a tough race for the Ricardo Zamora Trophy.

The two most successful goalkeepers this season are Claudio Bravo and Diego Alves.

Barcelona has allowed the fewest goals in the league this season thanks to Bravo. The Chilean net-minder has not missed a single minute of action playing in all 25 games with a 19-2-4 record. Messi and Neymar get by far the most notoriety in Barcelona, but Bravo has been tremendous this season.

So far this La Liga season, Bravo has the No. 1 ranked goals against average (0.60) and he has recorded the most shutouts with 14. Barcelona has won seven of their last eight games. In this Barcelona hot streak, Bravo has allowed just seven goals. You could make the case that Bravo is the primary reason that Barcelona is just two points behind Real Madrid in the standings.

The last South American-born goalkeeper to win the Ricardo Zamora Trophy was Roberto Abbondanzieri in 2007. Barcelona's last winner of the award was Victor Valdes, who won it five times. Interestingly, never before has a Chile-born goalkeeper won the award.

Over in Valencia, fans are watching the longest current win streak in the league. Valencia CF has won their last four consecutive games including just one loss in their last 12 matches. While Valencia does not have a powerful offense, they are still very much alive thanks to their outstanding goalkeeper.

Diego Alves has been nothing short of fantastic in net this season for Valencia. Alves ranks second (behind Bravo) with a 0.75 goals against average allowing 18 goals in his 24 starts. Alves may have six less shutouts than Bravo, but he does have tougher task because Barcelona has much superior defense. While Bravo has only faced 62 shots in his 25 starts, Alves has faced 82 shots in one less game.

It's also important to note that Alves doesn't benefit from a great supporting offense like Bravo. Valencia has scored 25 less goals than Barcelona this season.

Similar to Bravo, Alves has a chance to make history for his home country. Never before has there been a Brazilian-born winner of the Ricardo Zamora Trophy. Brazil is without a doubt one of the greatest soccer nations of all-time with big name scorers like Pele, Ronaldo and Jairzinho, but they currently have one of the best goalkeepers in La Liga as well. Alves will have his hands full against the defending champions Atletico Madrid next game.

There's still 13 exciting weeks remaining in this La Liga season with huge surprises left. While Real Madrid and Barcelona are fighting for first place, Valencia is quickly climbing up the standings. Even though South America is nearly 5,000 miles away from Spain, their soccer talent is heavily on display, especially in net.

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