René Higuita

José René Higuita Zapata (Medellín, August 27, 1966) is a Colombian former soccer player and coach who worked as a goalkeeper.

His particular style of play, as a goalkeeper-player, and his peculiar personality, along the lines of José Eusebio Soriano, Hugo Gatti, made him an idol in his country during the 1980s and 1990s. He was chosen by the IFFHS as the eighth best South American Goalkeeper of the XX century in 2004.

Higuita's bold style of play was essential for a key change in soccer rules, since after his performance in the 1990 World Cup in Italy; with risky and spectacular plays outside the area very rarely seen in soccer matches by the goalkeeper and never before seen in the highest orbital soccer event, led to a technical congress in Coverciano in 1990 starting to talk about the goalkeeper -libero and it was concluded that it was necessary to promote the use of the feet in goalkeepers. This determined that FIFA established the norm whereby, if a footballer returns the ball to his goalkeeper partner with his feet, he cannot receive it or touch it with his hands, otherwise, an indirect free kick is sanctioned, which is also known as the Higuita Law.

Higuita is recognized as one of the best goalkeepers in the history of South American soccer and a key figure in the rise of Colombia within the international soccer scene, being part of a great generation alongside Carlos Valderrama, Freddy Rincón, Adolfo Valencia, Faustino Asprilla, Leonel Álvarez, Albeiro Usuriaga, among others. His acrobatics & # 34; the scorpion & # 34; It gave him worldwide fame, especially for having done it in the very Wembley Stadium.

In addition, he occupies fifth place in the list of goal-scorers in the history of soccer (he held first place for several years) with 43 goals in official games, behind Rogério Ceni, José Luis Chilavert, Dimitar Ivankov and Jorge Campos.

Biography

He was born in Castilla, a lower-middle-class neighborhood in the city of Medellín, a fan of Atlético Nacional since he was a child. Son of a single mother, María Dioselina Higuita, who would die a few years after his birth, so little René was raised by his grandmother Ana Felisa. His childhood was spent in the midst of great economic difficulties, for which he worked as a newspaper vendor and carried out various trades to earn a living.

René Higuita's current wife is called Magnolia and with her he has two children, Andrés and Pamela. He is also the father of Cindy Carolina, daughter of his deceased first wife. At present he is also a happy grandfather of two girls and a boy.

His entry as a goalkeeper was very anecdotal. In a tournament at his school, a match was organized in which the best players for Independiente Medellín were to be chosen; René was the team's top scorer, but the goalkeeper was injured and they put him in his place, becoming since then the undisputed owner of the goal.

Trajectory

As a player

Beginnings

In 1981 he was part of the Antioquia under-16 team led by Luis Alfonso Marroquín, who would eventually become the Colombian champion. Years later he was called up to the U-19 youth national team, which participated in the South American Championship in Paraguay in 1985, which dazzled with its football-show, being the beginning of the new era of Colombian football, and with which he would qualify for the World Cup. Juvenile in the Soviet Union of that same year. However, in said tournament Higuita could not play since he had an injury to his left hand, even so he was included in the roster that traveled to represent Colombia, he attended as a substitute for Eduardo Niño; Coincidentally, it was the only time that the Antioquian was the emerging player from Bogotá, since in the senior teams the opposite happened.

Millionaires

At a professional level, his sports career began in 1985 in Millonarios.

Higuita, after his brilliant appearance with the Colombian team in the South American Youth Championship in Asunción, made it to the blue box and managed to play six games as a starter.

It is said that the style of play he adopted and developed in later years, of leaving the goal with the ball under control and feigning rivals, was an emulation of that of the Argentine goalkeeper Alberto Vivalda, nicknamed 'El Loco', who at that time was completing his last season as goalkeeper for Millonarios, and with whom Higuita also shared several training sessions.

National Athletic

Higuita with the Atlético Nacional trying to attack a Graciani shot with the Boca,1990.

In 1986 he returned to his hometown to play for Nacional, which was beginning to be led by Francisco Maturana and under his leadership he would achieve several of its most important victories. On May 31, 1989, Atlético Nacional was crowned champion of the Copa Libertadores de América, the first victory in this tournament for a Colombian team. The final, played against Club Olimpia de Paraguay in Bogotá, was defined by penalty kicks and Higuita saved four and scored one in the initial series. In December of that year he played the final of the Intercontinental Cup against AC Milan from Italy, having an outstanding presentation and losing in the last minute of extra time. He also won the Inter-American Cup in 1990 with a memorable performance.

Real Valladolid

In 1991 he traveled to Spain to play for Real Valladolid, but had no luck and left the team in the middle of the season, despite having had the confidence of his coach Francisco Maturana.

Return to National

He returned again to Nacional with which he was crowned champion of Colombia in 1994. In 1995 he reached the final of the Copa Libertadores de América again, losing to Grêmio de Portoalegre of Brazil. In that tournament it is remembered that in the semifinals against River Plate, in the first leg in Medellín, Higuita collected and scored a goal from a free kick with which he gave the Colombian team the temporary advantage in said series. Which was defined in the second leg in Buenos Aires where, despite the 1-0 defeat, René Higuita had a very outstanding performance. Once the series was tied then, it had to be defined by penalty kicks in which Higuita once again stopped the decisive charge, in addition to scoring one by gently chipping the ball. According to the book Unusual Stories of the Copa Libertadores by Luciano Wernicke, that was the most spectacular performance by a goalkeeper in the history of the competition.

Veracruz and Aucas

He later played for Club Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz in Mexico and later returned to Junior FC in Colombia. He then went to play for the Aucas club in Ecuador.

Retreat

Higuita is also remembered for being the pioneer of goal-scoring goalkeepers, since during his professional career he scored 44 goals in official matches, 37 by way of penalties and another 7 by free kicks. The record is held by Rogério Ceni.

On January 24, 2010, he held his farewell game at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium, with an attendance of 21,307 spectators.

As a coach

Higuita arrived in Arab territory in mid-2011 to be the goalkeeper coach of Al-Nassr. There he was an assistant to Pacho Maturana, Polilla da Silva and Raúl Caneda. Until in February 2016 he took over as coach of the Arab club.

Colombia National Team

Trainer for the 1990 World Cup.

In addition to the Marroquín youth team that qualified for the World Cup of the former Soviet Union in 1985, René Higuita was part of the under-23 team that in 1987 participated in the pre-Olympic tournament in Bolivia, which awarded two places for the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988. Colombia finished fourth but was already showing signs of renewal in its soccer; It should be noted that in this competition the coffee team beat Brazil 2-0 (for the first time in a pre-Olympic) and Higuita himself stopped a penalty kick from Brazilian striker Bebeto. The coach was Francisco Maturana.

In that same year he was called up for the first time to the Colombian Senior Team, also directed by Maturana for the 1987 Copa América held in Argentina, performing an outstanding performance and occupying third place in the tournament at the expense of the owner from home, which fell 1-2 even having Diego Armando Maradona in their ranks.

In 1989 they played the Copa América in Brazil, but the team was eliminated in the first round. That same year, the Colombian team managed to qualify for the 1990 World Cup in Italy in a playoff against Israel, after 28 years of absence from the highest football competition.

In the 1990 orbital championship that took place in Italy, Higuita saved a maximum penalty against Yugoslavia and had an important performance against the German team, which ultimately won the tournament. With risky plays, excellent saves and a unique style of play (which matched the 'lyrical' style of that Colombian team), Higuita was becoming one of the stars of the contest, carrying out risky actions that were never they had seen in a championship of this type.

Thus, Colombia qualified for the round of 16 of the tournament for the first time in its history and had to face Cameroon. In that game there was an action in the second overtime, when the Africans were winning 1-0, in which the coffee defender Luis Carlos Perea returned the ball to Higuita, he received it and tried to threaten striker Roger Milla, however the attacker he stole the ball and thanks to this he scored the second goal with which Cameroon ultimately took Colombia out of the orbital tournament. After this, the Antioquia goalkeeper was pointed out by some sectors of the fans and the press as the direct culprit of the World Cup elimination, because without his reckless move the result could have been different.

She played in the 1991 Copa América in Chile where the Colombian team finished fourth.

In 1993, Higuita suffered an injury that made him miss the 1993 Copa América played in Ecuador.

Another bitter moment for the Antioquian goalkeeper occurred in the 1995 Copa América held in Uruguay. In the match against Brazil, the Brazilian midfielder Juninho took a corner kick and Higuita, trying to reject, introduced the ball into the Colombian goal. He was an unusual own goal in his career. Despite this, Colombia qualified for the quarterfinals and there they left Paraguay on the road in a series of penalties, where the goalkeeper scored one of the shots and also covered the decisive charge. In the semifinals, the host team took the coffee team out of the race, then playing the match with third place against the US team, which the Colombian team won 4-1 and of which, in addition, a free kick taken by Higuita that he hit is remembered. on the post and was finished off by Faustino Asprilla

Despite the controversies, Higuita was an idol in his country and products with his image were offered everywhere, from T-shirts to notebooks.

As a goalkeeper in the Colombian national team, he played in 68 international matches, conceding 54 goals and scoring 3; He was called up to the national team for the 1999 Copa América, the coach was Javier Álvarez and there he was a substitute for Miguel Ángel Calero Rodríguez.

He was called up for the last time to the team for the qualifier for the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, he did not play any game as a substitute.

Participations in World Cup qualifiers

Participations in World Cups

World	Headquarters	Outcome	PJ	Goles
1990 World Cup Soccer/Football	ItalyItaly	Final Octavos	4	0

Participations in America's Cups

Cup	Headquarters	Outcome	PJ	Goles
Copa America 1987	Argentina	Third place	4	0
Copa America 1989	Brazil	First phase	4	1
Copa America 1991	Chile	Fourth	4	0
Copa America 1995	Uruguay	Third place	6	0
Copa America 1999	Paraguay	Final rooms	1	0

The Scorpions

On September 8, 1995, he would achieve greater international fame after making a legendary play at Wembley Stadium. During a match between the Colombian team and England, Higuita rejected a shot from Jamie Redknapp using El Escorpión, an acrobatic and risky maneuver that is already part of soccer history. In this, the goalkeeper throws his body forward and while in the air he hits the ball with the sole of his boots, previously raising both feet above his back.

The second scorpion did it against Germany.

The origin of the acrobatic action was during the recording of a television commercial for Refrescos Frutiño, broadcast in Colombia during 1990, in which Higuita appears as goalkeeper; The man from Antioquia assured that he devised it during the making to give greater prominence to the game that he plays with the child actors of the commercial, because it is an "impossible" move. to see in real life. Minutes after finishing the game against England, Higuita stated: "I hope that the people of Frutiño remember the opportunity they gave me to make that play in a commercial. It is a play that serves for show and perhaps to motivate the team. Hopefully, God is always with you. I just want to say thank you to those who have always trusted me"

Later, in an interview on television, Higuita acknowledged that the scorpion's spectacular and now mythical save was made because he saw the linesman raise the flag signaling an opponent's offside, and that later the linesman must have liked that action because it quickly lowered the pennant, according to the words of the same player. In this way, the scorpion was chosen as the best play in the world with 20% of the votes.

In November 2004, he participated in the farewell party of his Paraguayan colleague José Luis Chilavert. He was also present at Diego Armando Maradona's, a meeting where he stole the show by making his famous play of & # 34; the scorpion & # 34; and scoring a maximum penalty goal.

He also did it in the farewell matches for Mauricio Serna and Víctor Hugo Aristizábal respectively, in a tribute match at the Centenario stadium in the city of Armenia and in a match between Once Caldas and Deportivo Pereira.

On September 21, 2008, Higuita, covering for Deportivo Pereira, played the scorpion again in a match against Once Caldas, in a play in which Ricardo Ciciliano headed the ball at a height and speed similar to that of the match England vs. Colombia (when Higuita made the scorpion for the first time), this play being the delirium of the spectators present at the Hernán Ramírez Villegas stadium.

Higuita's scorpion was awarded as the "best play in the history of football" on July 22, 2008, when it was the most voted for by Internet users with 20% above other players such as Diego Maradona, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.

Scandals

His public problems began in 1991 when he went to visit the famous drug trafficker and head of the powerful Medellín Cartel, Pablo Escobar, in La Catedral prison, who was being held there and of whom he publicly declared himself a friend. But the most serious of all occurred on June 4, 1993 when he was arrested for being involved in a kidnapping case.

Apparently, Higuita mediated the release of the daughter of Luis Carlos Molina Yepes (a paisa banker close to Pablo Escobar, known for being a money launderer for the Medellín Cartel and one of the possible masterminds of the murder of the renowned journalist Guillermo Cano), who had been kidnapped in revenge for Molina's betrayal of the capo demanding a ransom of 3 million dollars or a false statement in favor of Escobar before the Prosecutor's Office, which exonerated him of the death of the Galeanos and the Moncadas.. Higuita's mediation was considered at the time prohibited by Colombian law. Consequently, he was confined for more than six months in the La Modelo prison in Bogotá, which cost him his participation with the Colombian team in the 1994 World Cup in the USA, since without a doubt Higuita was the favorite goalkeeper of coach Francisco Maturana, who declared that the Colombian team was very different with Higuita on the pitch, as he conveyed confidence, serenity and his goalkeeper-libero style was perfect for Colombia's defensive system. Higuita's place was then taken by Óscar Córdoba from Valle del Cauca, who was also the starter in the orbital tournament held in the United States.

In prison, Higuita even went on a hunger strike.

Later, he was involved in a fight with sports commentator César Augusto Londoño, whom he punched in the eye when he found him in an airport, since this journalist had asked him about his visit to drug lord Pablo Escobar in La Catedral jail. However, there is another version that indicates that Higuita wanted to retaliate for some apparently malicious comments made by Londoño about some of his sports performances in which he underperformed.

For the 1998 France Soccer World Cup qualifiers, Higuita resigned after being called up, claiming to be in "low soccer form".

On November 23, 2004, he tested positive for cocaine after a game between his team, Aucas, and Olmedo. As a result, the Ecuadorian Football Federation suspended him for six months.

Television

In the first semester of 2005, Higuita participated in the reality show "La isla de los famosos: Una aventura pirata" and his continuation in & # 34; La gran apuesta & # 34;, of the RCN channel, both adaptations of the Survivor format, in the company of fellow soccer players Leonel Álvarez and Ricardo Pérez & # 34; The Cat & # 34;.

As a personal object, he brought an awning. In the first part of the contest & # 34; The Island of the Famous: A Pirate Adventure & # 34;, she was among the 5 finalists and in the continuation, & # 34; The Big Bet & # 34; she got second place.

During his stay in this reality he made famous phrases such as "If this is war, let peace not come". He was affectionately called 'Renato' by other contestants on the reality show.

In the second semester of 2005, he also participated in the reality show "Cambio Extremo", a program in which René drastically modified his particular appearance for a more stylized one, causing commotion at the national level. national.

"The Fool" (as they call it), underwent liposuction procedures, chin augmentation, dental aesthetics, professional stylist, among others.

In 1996 a production called "Higuita, blood sweat and tears" directed by Darío Vargas and written by Manuel Arias. Juan Pablo Franco, in the role of Higuita, and Patricia Ercole, as his wife Magnolia, starred in this Tevecine production.

He was also mentioned in the Japanese film Saigo no Yakusoku in 2009 where his name is also used as a nickname for the goalkeeper of a soccer team who died and because of this it was decided to hijack a building.

He is also one of the protagonists of the telenovela La selección and is inspired by him and other soccer players of his time.

For the Copa América Brasil 2019, Higuita as the image of Wplay.co (online betting company) bet to cut off her famous Long Hair if the Colombian team did not win the Copa América, a bet that she had to fulfill since the Colombian team was eliminated in quarterfinals by losing to the Chilean team by kicks from the penalty spot.

Back

Higuita's return to soccer came on July 21, 2007, when he publicly announced that he would play for Guaros FC in the first division of the Venezuelan league. In his first game with the Larense team, he received two goals, one from Pedro Gudiño and another from Naill Vargas. The clash ended tied at two with Monagas Sport Club On the second day on August 12, Higuita visited the city of Caracas, in the match between Deportivo Italia and Guaros. The goalkeeper conceded another goal, in a tie at one, in which Higuita tried to make two spectacular plays in his style, which almost became goals for the Caracas team.

In January 2008 and after his foray into Venezuelan territory, Higuita returned to his homeland and signed with the second division club Deportivo Rionegro, where he was champion of the Primera B in 2008-I, and due to his great At almost 42 years of age, he was hired to play in the first division with the Deportivo Pereira club. November in the semifinal home runs. After passing through Pereira, he expressed his intentions to return to Atlético Nacional to finish his career, which never materialized.

In mid-July 2009, Higuita underwent treatment to control a disease caused by the toxoplasma gondii parasite. The former player was confined in the San Vicente de Paul hospital in Medellín, suffering from a recurring migraine. The doctors determined that the disease the goalkeeper was suffering from was toxoplasmosis.

Farewell

After a year of inactivity, René Higuita decided to hold a farewell match on January 24, 2010 at the Atanasio Girardot stadium in Medellín. The match between the teams Selección Antioquia and Amigos de René ended 3-1 with two goals scored by René himself and a rejection executed with his renowned play of the "Escorpión" before some 30,000 spectators. Higuita played each half of the game in a team and Óscar Córdoba, Carlos Valderrama, Faustino Asprilla, Adolfo Valencia, Alexis García, Arnoldo Iguarán, Anthony de Ávila, Néider Morantes, among others, were present.

On February 26, 2010, he was also present at a friendly match for the benefit of Haiti, played between the Haitian National Team and a team of World Stars at the Cachamay Stadium in Venezuela, which ended with a score of 4-1.

Clubs

As a player

Club	Country	Year	Parties	Goles
Millions	ColombiaColombia	1985	16	0
National athletic	ColombiaColombia	1986 - 1991	143	21
Real Valladolid	SpainSpain	1991 - 1992	15	0
National athletic	ColombiaColombia	1992-1997	99	9
Red Sharks	Mexico Mexico	1997 - 1998	30	2
Alliance Lima	Peru Peru	1998	1	0
Independent Medellín	ColombiaColombia	1999	20	4
Real Cartagena	ColombiaColombia	2000	21	2
Atletico Junior	ColombiaColombia	2001	4	0
Pereira	ColombiaColombia	2002 - 2003	13	0
Bajo Cauca	ColombiaColombia	2003	13	1
Aucas	EcuadorEcuador	2004	35	0
Bajo Cauca	ColombiaColombia	2005	0	0
FC Guaros	Venezuela Venezuela	2007	10	0
Deportivo Rionegro	ColombiaColombia	2008	10	1
Pereira	ColombiaColombia	2008	12	0
Total club goals			441	40
Absolute Selection	ColombiaColombia	1987 - 2001	68	3
Total scored goals			509	43

As a coach

Club	Country	Year
Al-Nassr	Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia	2016

As an assistant

Club	Year	Assistant
Al-Nassr	2011 - 2016	Francisco Maturana
		Daniel Carreño
		Raúl Caneda
		Jorge da Silva
		Fabio Cannavaro
National athletic	2017 - 2019	JuanMa Lillo
		Jorge Almirón
		Paulo Autuori

Goals Scored

• Notes: Higuita scored 43 goals at the professional level. Added annotations in friendly matches were a total of 54 so many.
  • Modes: Criminal (36), Free Shoot (6) and Archae (1)
  • Teams: Clubs (40), Selection (3)
  • Competitions: First Division of Colombia (31), First Division of Mexico (2), Second Division of Colombia (2), Copa Libertadores (5), Selección Colombia (3).

#	Date	Competition	Adversity	Arquero rival	Mode	Minute	Outcome
Goles with National Atletic (30)
1.	9 December 1987	First Division	Independent Medellín	Ormeño Gómez	Criminal	45	6-1
2.	20 March 1988			Miguel Antonio Núñez	Criminal	75	2-1
3.	10 April 1988		Union of Magdalena	Roque Jacinto Pérez	Criminal	50	2-0
4.	1 May 1988		Millions	Ruben Cousillas	Criminal	29	1-1
6.	17 July 1988		Atlético Bucaramanga	John Fredy Vanstrahlen	Criminal	7	2-1
7.	13 August 1988		Americas of Cali	Pedro Zape	Criminal	69	2-1
8.	31 August 1988		Sporting de Barranquilla	Gualberto Velischio	Criminal	44	5-0
9.	3 September 1988		Americas of Cali	Pedro Zape	Criminal	54	5-1
10.	13 October 1988		Eleven Caldas	James Mina Camacho	Criminal	81	2-0
11.	16 October 1988		Santa Fe	Eduardo Niño	Criminal	58	2-3
12.	30 October 1988		Pereira	Saulo Hernández	Criminal	47	4-0
13.	8 December 1988		Quindío	José Fermín Arco	Criminal	73	3-0
14.	11 December 1988		Americas of Cali	July Falcioni	Criminal	44	1-0
16.	14 December 1988		Junior of Barranquilla	Lorenzo Carrabs	Criminal	55	2-0
17.	15 February 1989	Copa Libertadores	Millions	Sergio Goycochea	Criminal	24	1-1
18.	24 February 1989		Deportivo Quito	Carlos Henríquez	Criminal	64	1-1
20.	2 March 1989	First Division	Quindío	Carlos Enrique Prono	Criminal	83	5-1
21.	19 March 1989		Deportivo Cali	Jorge Alberto Leyva	Criminal	79	2-1
22.	8 November 1989		Americas of Cali	Saulo Hernández	Criminal	63	2-2
23.	26 September 1990	Copa Libertadores	Olympia	Ever Almeida	Criminal	69	3-2
24.	17 October 1990	First Division	Independent Medellín	Hernán Torres	Criminal	52	2-3
25.	11 March 1993	Copa Libertadores	Americas of Cali	Angel Comizzo	Criminal	58	3-2
26.	6 April 1994	First Division	Cortulua	Agustin Granados	Criminal	80	1-0
27.	29 April 1994		Millions	Eddy Villaraga	Criminal	69	1-1
28.	15 May 1994		Atletico Huila	Rafael Dudamel	Criminal	83	1-3
29.	10 May 1995		Pereira	Pedro Pablo Rodríguez	Free range	72	3-1
30.	9 August 1995	Copa Libertadores	River Plate	Germán Burgos	Free range	55	1-0
31.	7 October 1995	First Division	Independent Medellín	Juan Bogado	Criminal	51	2-1
32.	17 April 1996		Envigado	Néstor Lo Tártaro	Criminal	58	1-2
33.	9 April 1997		Pereira	Alejandro Gustavo Mulet	Free range	86	2-2
Goles with Colombia Selection (3)
5.	19 May 1988	Friendly	THE ENDFinland	Olli Huttunen	Criminal	55	3-1
15.	3 February 1989	Friendly	PERPeru	Cesar Chavez	Criminal	71	1–0
19.	3 July 1989	Copa America 1989	VENVenezuela	Caesar Baena	Criminal	36	4-2
Goles with Veracruz (2)
34.	17 January 1998	First Division	America	Oswaldo Sánchez	Criminal	90	2-5
35.	17 January 1998		Santos Laguna	José Miguel	Criminal	90	5-1
Goles with Independent Medellín (4)
36.	25 March 1999	First Division	National athletic	Miguel Calero	Criminal	46	1-1
37.	2 May 1999		Independent Santa Fe	Agustín[chuckles]required]	Free range	?	4-2
38.	26-30 May 1999		Envigado Football Club	Edigson Velásquez[chuckles]required]	Free range	?	2-1
39.	18 June 1999		National athletic	Miguel Calero	Free range	2	1-1
Goles with Real Cartagena (2)
40.	28 May 2000	First Division	Independent Santa Fe	Agustín	Criminal	70	2-0
41.	24 August 2000		Atlético Bucaramanga	Hector Burguez	Criminal	52	1-2
Goles with Bajo Cauca (1)
42.	13 July 2003	Second Division	Pumas de Casanare	Luis Fernando Sánchez	Arch arc	80	2-3
Goles with Deportivo Rionegro (1)
43.	28 March 2008	Second Division	Valledupar FC		Free range		4-1

Honours of Prizes

National Championships

Title	Club	Country	Year
Colombian Championship	National athletic	ColombiaColombia	1991
Colombian Championship			1994

International Cups

Title	Club	Country	Year
Copa Libertadores de América	National athletic	ColombiaColombia	1989
Inter-American Cup		Mexico Mexico	1990
Inter-American Cup		Costa Rica	1997

As a goalkeeping coach

Title	Club	Country	Year
First Division	Al Nassr	Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia	2014
Prince’s Cup			2014

Individual awards