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 Higuita in 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José René Higuita Zapata | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1966-08-27)27 August 1966 (age 59) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Medellín, Colombia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Atlético Nacional (goalkeeper coach) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Millonarios | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985 | Millonarios | 16 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1991 | Atlético Nacional | 112 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Real Valladolid | 15 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1997 | Atlético Nacional | 69 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Veracruz | 30 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Independiente Medellín | 20 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Real Cartagena | 21 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Atlético Junior | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Deportivo Pereira | 13 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Aucas | 35 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Guaros FC | 10 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Deportivo Rionegro | 10 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Deportivo Pereira | 12 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 380 | (40) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1999 | Colombia[2] | 68 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||
José René Higuita Zapata (Spanish pronunciation:[reˈnejˈɣita]; born 27 August 1966) is a Colombian former professionalfootballer who played as agoalkeeper. He was nicknamedEl 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 the1990 FIFA World Cup, was pioneering in influencing goalkeepers to take more responsibility for situations farther from the goal.[3]
IFFHS ranked Higuita the 8th best South American keeper in history.[4] He is also ranked as one of the 10 highest-scoring goalkeepers in history, with 41 goals overall.[5]
Higuita was born inCastilla, a middle-low class neighborhood in the city ofMedellín,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.[6]
Higuita started his playing career withMillonarios and transferred toAtlético Nacional in 1986. He played the majority of his club career with the Colombian side where he helped the team win theColombian League on two occasions as well as theCopa Libertadores andCopa 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 withReal Valladolid for one season, before going back to Atletico Nacional for four years. He then left for Mexico to play forVeracruz 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 forAucas.
He came out of retirement on 21 July 2007 to sign for Venezuelan clubGuaros FC. In January 2008, aged 41, he signed for Colombian second-division teamDeportivo Rionegro. In June 2008 he signed for another Colombia team,Deportivo Pereira, and finally retired on 25 January 2010.[7]
Higuita's first major tournament was the1987 Copa América, where the team was knocked out in the first round. In the1990 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 feintCameroon strikerRoger 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".[8] As a result of such behaviour, Higuita was nicknamedEl Loco ("The Madman").[9]
He played in the1991 Copa América where the team finished fourth. His last call-up for the national team was for the1999 Copa América.
Higuita often took set-pieces for theColombia national team; in all, he scored three goals in his 68 international appearances.
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.[3] Although he was a goalkeeper, Higuita also became known for scoring directly fromfree-kicks, as well aspenalties.[10]
IFFHS ranked Higuita the 8th best keeper in South American history.
Furthermore, Higuita reportedly invented thescorpion 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 fromJamie Redknapp during a friendly againstEngland atWembley Stadium on 6 September 1995, earning him considerable media attention.[9][11] It ranked 94th inChannel 4's100 Greatest Sporting Moments in 2002.[12]
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 clubReal Valladolid.[13]
He joinedAl Nassr FC in Saudi Arabia in 2011, and was the club goalkeeper coach for about 5 years, until 2016.[14]
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".[15]
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.[16]
Higuita was friends withDiego Maradona and played in the Argentine's farewell match in 2001.[17]
Higuita was imprisoned in 1993 after getting involved in akidnapping. Acting as a go-between for the drug baronsPablo 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."[6]
In theESPN 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.[18]
Because of the term in prison, Higuita was not fit for the1994 FIFA World Cup. In another scandal, he tested positive forcocaine on 23 November 2004 while playing forAucas, an Ecuadorian football club.[19][20]
In 2005, Higuita participated in the reality TV programLa Isla de Los famosos: Una Aventura Pirata ("The Island of the Famous: A Pirate Adventure"), a show similar toSurvivor. Also in 2005, he underwent plastic surgery to completely change his appearance.[21] Higuita has expressed the wish to become more politically active.[22]
In July 2024, the international online casino and sportsbook companyBetsson, which has a large presence in his native Colombia, announced Higuita as a brand ambassador.[23][24]
Atlético Nacional
Individual
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