René Higuita

José René Higuita Zapata (; 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.

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

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.

International career Higuita's first major tournament was the 1987 Copa América, where the team was knocked out in the semi-finals. 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". As a result of such behaviour, Higuita was nicknamed El Loco ("The Madman").

Due to his imprisonment in 1993, Higuita was not deemed fit to be picked for Colombia's 1994 FIFA World Cup squad.

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.

Player profile 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.

Reception Considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, as well as one of the best Colombian and South American goalkeepers of all time, IFFHS ranked Higuita the eighth-best South American goalkeeper of the 20th century.

Scorpion kick In addition to his role in revolutionising the goalkeeping position, 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. Higuita had the idea for a scorpion kick after watching a similar kick by a child while filming an advertisement. Higuita's most notable use 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.

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.

He joined Al Nassr FC in Saudi Arabia in 2011, and was the club goalkeeper coach for about 5 years, until 2016.

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".

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.

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

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."

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.

Because of the term in prison, Higuita was deemed unfit to play in 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.

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. Higuita has expressed the wish to become more politically active.

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.

Career statistics

Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Higuita goal. +List of international goals scored by René Higuita ,1997

Individual South American Team of the Year: 1989, 1990 Best goalkeeper in South America: 1989 ACORD Colombia|Deportista del Año: 1989 Golden Foot Legends Award: 2009 South American Footballer of the Year: 3rd place, 1989, 1990 As goalkeeping coach Saudi Pro League: 2014 Crown Prince's Cup: 2014