In the run-up to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, The National’s Gary Meenaghan looks back at the figures of World Cups past who, while not necessarily the greatest the game has ever seen, were among football’s most interesting characters.
RENE HIGUITA
No goalkeeper has captured the imagination quite like Colombia’s Rene Higuita. Under a mop of frizzy black hair and a bandito-style moustache, the man nicknamed “El Loco” was a key component of his national team during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Goals, Goals, Goals
Higuita started out in 1985 as a striker, scoring seven times in 16 games for Millonarios. Only, however, when he found himself being forced to play in goal did he discover his calling. During a 25-year career, he became the fourth-highest goal-scoring goalkeeper in history, netting 41 times, including 11 in 20 games for Independiente Medellin.
Ahead of his Time
Higuita was not the first goalkeeper to score goals, but he was probably the first sweeper-keeper. Six years before the pass-back rule ensured goalkeepers must not only be adept with their hands, Higuita was dribbling past Gary Lineker at Wembley, an act his coach described as being “as if it was a park game back home”. Higuita’s willingness to stand high up the pitch allowed his defence to push forward, a critical facet of Colombia’s progressive, aggressive tactics during their most promising era.
They Said What?
“With Rene as sweeper, we have 11 outfield players,” wrote Colombia coach Francisco Maturana ahead of the 1990 World Cup. “The Holland keeper in 1974, also operated as a sweeper – with a difference: The Dutchman came out just to boot the ball into the stands. Higuita can do much more.”
The Clanger
Naturally, Higuita’s tendency to start attacks 40 yards from his goalline was a risky tactic. In a knockout match at Italia ‘90, he was trying to control the ball high up the pitch against Cameroon when he was dispossessed by Roger Milla. The forward scored and Colombia crashed out. Higuita called the error “a mistake as big as a house” and it could have marked the end of his international career. Instead, Maturana said anger was not an option: “[Rene] was expressing the Colombian soul.”
Jail Time
Higuita was a friend of drug lord Pablo Escobar and it proved costly to his career. In 1993, the young daughter of an underworld figure was taken hostage, apparently by Escobar. Higuita was asked to help retrieve and, having done so, accepted a reward. For that, he was charged with illicit enrichment, mediating without authority and failing to inform the police of the kidnapping. He was held in jail for seven months and prohibited from travelling to the 1994 World Cup. He was later cleared.
Where is He Now?
After a series of failed drug tests, Higuita went into rehab in 2005. On exiting, he featured on reality TV shows, including “Extreme Change” in which he underwent extensive plastic surgery. He is now goalkeeping coach at Al Nasr in Saudi Arabia.
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