René Higuita
Who was René Higuita?
Eccentric goalkeeper famous for his 'scorpion kick' save and flamboyant style who played 68 times for Colombia's national team.
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on René Higuita (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
José René Higuita Zapata, born on August 27, 1966, in Medellín, Colombia, was one of the most unique and unconventional goalkeepers in football history. He earned the nickname "El Loco" or "The Madman" for his flashy and risky playing style. Mostly playing for Atlético Nacional in Colombia and making 68 appearances for the Colombian national team, Higuita changed the goalkeeper role by often leaving the goal line to play like an extra outfield player and even scoring goals, which is rare for goalkeepers. Throughout his career, he scored about 41 goals, placing him among the highest-scoring goalkeepers in football history.
Before Fame
Higuita grew up in Medellín during a difficult time in Colombian history, a city with deep social inequalities and, by the 1980s, increasing violence from the drug trade. Football offered a way out and a chance to rise for young men in the city, and Higuita improved his skills through local football before joining Atlético Nacional, the club he became most associated with. His bold personality and natural athleticism caught attention early on, and his readiness to go against traditional goalkeeping norms made him stand out among his peers at the domestic level before gaining more widespread recognition.
Key Achievements
- Earned 68 caps for the Colombian national team, representing the country at the 1990 FIFA World Cup
- Scored approximately 41 career goals as a goalkeeper, ranking among the highest-scoring goalkeepers in football history
- Performed the scorpion kick save against England at Wembley in 1995, one of the most replayed moments in football history
- Won multiple Colombian league titles with Atlético Nacional, including the club's historic 1989 Copa Libertadores triumph
- Ranked eighth best South American goalkeeper of all time by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics
Did You Know?
- 01.Higuita's most famous moment came during a friendly match between Colombia and England at Wembley in September 1995, when he saved a Robbie Fowler shot by arching his back and flicking the ball away with both heels in a move that became universally known as the scorpion kick.
- 02.He was imprisoned in Colombia for several months in 1993 after it emerged he had acted as an intermediary in a kidnapping case involving a relative of drug lord Pablo Escobar, a scandal that temporarily derailed his international career.
- 03.Despite being a goalkeeper, Higuita scored directly from free kicks on multiple occasions during his club career and was sometimes used as an outfield player in the closing minutes of matches when his team needed a goal.
- 04.The IFFHS ranked Higuita as the eighth best South American goalkeeper in history, recognising the lasting regard in which the sport's official bodies held his contributions.
- 05.Higuita's sweeper-keeper style, first broadcast to a truly global audience at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, is widely credited with influencing a generation of goalkeepers to take a more active role in their team's build-up play.