René Higuita

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José René Higuita Zapata (Script error: No such module "IPA".; born 27 August 1966) is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was nicknamed El Loco ("The Madman") for his high-risk 'sweeper-keeper' playing style and his flair for the dramatic, and sometimes even scoring goals despite being a goalkeeper.

Higuita's style of play, which was first shown to a global audience during the 1990 FIFA World Cup, was pioneering in influencing goalkeepers to take more responsibility for situations farther from the goal.[1]

IFFHS ranked Higuita the 8th best South American keeper in history.[2] He is also ranked as one of the 10 highest-scoring goalkeepers in history, with 41 goals overall.[3]

Early life

Higuita was born in Castilla, a middle-low class neighborhood in the city of Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia to Jorge Zapata and María Dioselina Higuita. His father left the family when Higuita was a child, so he was raised by his mother. His mother later died when he was very young, so he was taken care of by his grandmother Ana Felisa.[4]

Club career

Higuita started his playing career with Millonarios and transferred to Atlético Nacional in 1986. He played the majority of his club career with the Colombian side where he helped the team win the Colombian League on two occasions as well as the Copa Libertadores and Copa Interamericana, both in 1989. The Copa Libertadores final went to a penalty shoot-out in which Higuita made four saves and scored one penalty himself. After leaving Atlético, he moved to Spain to play with Real Valladolid for one season, before going back to Atletico Nacional for four years. He then left for Mexico to play for Veracruz before returning to the Colombian league to play for Atletico's city rivals, Independiente Medellín.

He briefly retired in 2005 after failing a drug test while playing for Aucas.

He came out of retirement on 21 July 2007 to sign for Venezuelan club Guaros FC. In January 2008, aged 41, he signed for Colombian second-division team Deportivo Rionegro. In June 2008 he signed for another Colombia team, Deportivo Pereira, and finally retired on 25 January 2010.[5]

International career

Higuita's first major tournament was the 1987 Copa América, where the team was knocked out in the first round. In the 1990 FIFA World Cup, he played an important part to lead the country into the round of 16 for the first time. However, Higuita's unorthodox playing style caused a mistake by him that knocked Colombia out of the World Cup, when he tried to feint Cameroon striker Roger Milla but failed, and Milla dispossessed him and scored, which put Cameroon through to the quarter-finals. Higuita described it as "a mistake as big as a house".[6] As a result of such behaviour, Higuita was nicknamed El Loco ("The Madman").[7]

He played in the 1991 Copa América where the team finished fourth. His last call-up for the national team was for the 1999 Copa América.

Higuita often took set-pieces for the Colombia national team, in all, he scored three goals in his 68 international appearances.

Style of play

On the pitch, Higuita was known for his dramatic flair, composure under pressure, and eccentric playing style, often taking unnecessary risks and actively coming out of his area to anticipate opponents, play the ball out to defenders, undertake individual dribbling runs, and attempt to score goals, which led him to be described as a 'sweeper-keeper'; he was, therefore, a pioneer in influencing other goalkeepers to take more responsibility for situations farther from the goal.[1] Although he was a goalkeeper, Higuita also became known for scoring directly from free-kicks, as well as penalties.[8]

IFFHS ranked Higuita the 8th best keeper in South American history.

Scorpion kick

Furthermore, Higuita reportedly invented the scorpion kick, a movement which involves the player jumping forward, positioning their legs over their head, and in doing so, kicking the ball away with their heels; one of Higuita's most notable uses of the scorpion was when he performed it while clearing a cross from Jamie Redknapp during a friendly against England at Wembley Stadium on 6 September 1995, earning him considerable media attention.[7] It ranked 94th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments in 2002.[9]

Coaching career

Higuita has expressed a wish to coach the Colombia national team and in December 2008 he got the job of goalkeeper coach for his former club Real Valladolid.[10]

He joined Al Nassr FC in Saudi Arabia in 2011, and was the club goalkeeper coach for about 5 years, until 2016.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

He rejoined Atletico Nacional on 28 June 2017 after receiving a coaching job as the goalkeeping coach. Upon rejoining, he said "the dream of my life was to return to Atletico Nacional".[11]

Personal life

René Higuita's wife is Magnolia, and they have two children, Andrés and Pamela. He is also the father of Cindy Carolina, the daughter of his deceased first wife. He is also the grandfather of two girls and a boy.[12]

Higuita was friends with Diego Maradona and played in the Argentine's farewell match in 2001.[13]

Higuita was imprisoned in 1993 after getting involved in a kidnapping. Acting as a go-between for the drug barons Pablo Escobar and Carlos Molina, he was largely responsible for securing the release of Molina's daughter by delivering the ransom money. He received $64,000 for his services, which breaks Colombian law as it is an offence to profit from a kidnapping. He was incarcerated for seven months before being released without charge. Commenting on the case, he stated, "I'm a footballer, I didn't know anything about kidnapping laws."[4]

In the ESPN documentary "The Two Escobars", Higuita claimed that he was arrested for visiting Pablo during his time in prison with the desire to thank him for turning himself in, thus stabilizing Colombia for a short period. He supported this theory claiming that all he was asked during questioning was solely about Pablo Escobar himself and no kidnapping.[14]

Because of the term in prison, Higuita was not fit for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. In another scandal, he tested positive for cocaine on 23 November 2004 while playing for Aucas, an Ecuadorian football club.[15][16]

In 2005, Higuita participated in the reality TV program La Isla de Los famosos: Una Aventura Pirata ("The Island of the Famous: A Pirate Adventure"), a show similar to Survivor. Also in 2005, he underwent plastic surgery to completely change his appearance.[17] Higuita has expressed the wish to become more politically active.[18]

In July 2024, the international online casino and sportsbook company Betsson, which has a large presence in his native Colombia, announced Higuita as a brand ambassador.[19][20]

Career statistics

List of goals scored

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# Date Competition Opponent Type Score
Goals for Atlético Nacional (30)
1. 9 December 1987 Primera División Independiente Medellín Penalty kick 6–1
2. 20 March 1988 Penalty kick 2–1
3. 10 April 1988 Unión Magdalena Penalty kick 2–0
4. 1 May 1988 Millonarios Penalty kick 1–1
6. 17 July 1988 Atlético Bucaramanga Penalty kick 2–1
7. 13 August 1988 América de Cali Penalty kick 2–1
8. 31 August 1988 Sporting de Barranquilla Penalty kick 5–0
9. 3 September 1988 América de Cali Penalty kick 5–1
10. 13 October 1988 Once Caldas Penalty kick 2–0
11. 16 October 1988 Santa Fe Penalty kick 2–3
12. 30 October 1988 Deportivo Pereira Penalty kick 4–0
13. 8 December 1988 Deportes Quindío Penalty kick 3–0
14. 11 December 1988 América de Cali Penalty kick 1–0
16. 14 December 1988 Junior de Barranquilla Penalty kick 2–0
17. 15 February 1989 Copa Libertadores Millonarios Penalty kick 1–1
18. 24 February 1989 Deportivo Quito Penalty kick 1–1
20. 2 March 1989 Primera División Deportes Quindío Penalty kick 5–1
21. 19 March 1989 Deportivo Cali Penalty kick 2–1
22. 8 November 1989 América de Cali Penalty kick 2–2
23. 26 September 1990 Copa Libertadores Olimpia Penalty kick 3–2
24. 17 October 1990 Primera División Independiente Medellín Penalty kick 2–3
25. 11 March 1993 Copa Libertadores América de Cali Penalty kick 3–2
26. 6 April 1994 Primera División Cortuluá Penalty kick 1–0
27. 29 April 1994 Millonarios Penalty kick 1–1
28. 15 May 1994 Atlético Huila Penalty kick 1–3
29. 10 May 1995 Deportivo Pereira Free kick 3–1
30. 9 August 1995 Copa Libertadores River Plate Free kick 1–0
31. 7 October 1995 Primera División Independiente Medellín Penalty kick 2–1
32. 17 April 1996 Envigado Penalty kick 1–2
33. 9 April 1997 Deportivo Pereira Free kick 2–2
Goals for Veracruz (2)
34. 17 January 1998 Primera División América Penalty kick 2–5
35. 17 January 1998 Santos Laguna Penalty kick 5–1
Goals for Independiente Medellín (4)
36. 25 March 1999 Primera División Atlético Nacional Penalty kick 1–1
37. 2 May 1999 Santa Fe Free kick 4–2
38. 30 May 1999 Envigado Free kick 2–1
39. 18 June 1999 Atlético Nacional Free kick 1–1
Goals for Real Cartagena (2)
40. 28 May 2000 Primera División Santa Fe Penalty kick 2–0
41. 24 August 2000 Atlético Bucaramanga Penalty kick 1–2
Goals for Bajo Cauca (1)
42. 13 July 2003 Segunda División Pumas de Casanare Own penalty area 2–3
Goals for Deportivo Rionegro (1)
43. 28 March 2008 Segunda División Valledupar FC Free kick 4–1
International goals for Colombia (3)
5. 19 May 1988 Friendly {{ Template:Yesno alias = Finland flag alias = Flag of Finland.svg flag alias-grand duchy = Flag of Russia.svg flag alias-1809 = Flag of Russia.svg flag alias-1917 = Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg flag alias-1918 = Flag of Finland (1918-1920).svg flag alias-1920 = Flag of Finland.svg flag alias-state = Flag of Finland (state).svg flag alias-state-1918 = Flag of Finland 1918-1920 (State).svg flag alias-state-1920 = Flag of Finland 1920-1978 (State).svg flag alias-naval = Military Flag of Finland.svg border-naval = flag alias-naval-1918 = Flag of Finland 1918-1920 (Military).svg border-naval-1918 = flag alias-naval-1920 = Flag of Finland 1920-1978 (Military).svg border-naval-1920 = link alias-naval = Finnish Navy flag alias-navy = Naval Jack of Finland.svg link alias-navy = Finnish Navy link alias-air force = Finnish Air Force flag alias-military = Military flag of Finland.svg link alias-military = Finnish Defence Forces flag alias-army = Military flag of Finland.svg link alias-army = Finnish Army size = name = altlink = national football team variant =

}} || Penalty kick || 3–1

15. 3 February 1989 Copa Centenario de Armenia {{ Template:Yesno alias = Peru flag alias = Flag of Peru.svg flag alias-spain = Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg flag alias-1820 = Flag of Tacna Regiment (1820 proposal).svg flag alias-1821 = Flag of Peru (1821-1822).svg flag alias-1822 = Flag of Peru (1822).svg flag alias-1822a = Flag of Peru (1822–1825).svg flag alias-1825 = Flag of Peru (1825–1884).svg flag alias-confederation = Flag of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation.svg flag alias-north = Flag of Peru (1825–1884).svg link alias-north = North Peru flag alias-south = Flag of South Peru.svg link alias-south = South Peru flag alias-1884 = Flag of Peru (1884–1950).svg flag alias-state = Flag of Peru (state).svg flag alias-football = Flag of Peru.svg flag alias-army = Flag of the Peruvian Army.svg link alias-army = Peruvian Army flag alias-naval= Flag of the Peruvian Navy.svg link alias-naval = Peruvian Navy flag alias-air force= Flag of the Peruvian Air Force.svg link alias-air force = Peruvian Air Force flag alias-military=Flag of Peru (war).svg link alias-military=Peruvian Armed Forces flag alias-marines = Flag of the Peruvian Navy.svg link alias-marines = Peruvian Naval Infantry flag alias-navy = Flag of Peru (state).svg link alias-navy = Peruvian Navy size = name = altvar = football altlink = national football team variant =

}} || Penalty kick || 1–0

19. 3 July 1989 Copa América {{ Template:Yesno alias = Venezuela flag alias = Flag of Venezuela.svg flag alias-1810 = Flag of the First Republic of Venezuela.svg flag alias-1813 = Bandera de la Guerra a Muerte.svg flag alias-1817 = Bandera de Angostura (20 de noviembre de 1817).svg flag alias-1830 = Flag of Venezuela (1830-1836).svg flag alias-1836 = Flag of Venezuela (1836–1859).svg flag alias-1859 = Flag of Venezuela (1859–1863).svg flag alias-1863 = Flag of Venezuela (1863–1905).svg flag alias-1905 = Flag of Venezuela (1905–1930).svg flag alias-1930 = Flag of Venezuela (1930–1954).svg flag alias-1954 = Flag of Venezuela (1954–2006).svg flag alias-army=Flag of the Bolivarian Army (Venezuela).svg link alias-army= Venezuelan Army flag alias-air force = Flag of the Venezuelan Air Force.svg link alias-air force = Venezuelan Air Force flag alias-naval = Flag of Venezuela (state).svg link alias-naval = Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela flag alias-navy = Flag of the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela.svg link alias-navy = Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela flag alias-football = Flag of Venezuela (state).svg flag alias-beach soccer = Flag of Venezuela (state).svg flag alias-futsal = Flag of Venezuela (state).svg flag alias-state = Flag of Venezuela (state).svg size = name = altlink = national football team altvar = football variant =

}} || Penalty kick || 4–2

Honours

Atlético Nacional

Colombia

Individual

See also

References

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  1. ↑ a b Tim Vickery (10 February 2010). "The Legacy of Rene Higuita". BBC. Retrieved 11 June 2014
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  9. ↑ 100 Greatest sporting moments – results Channel 4. Retrieved 28 August 2014
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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External links

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