René Higuita: The Unconventional Legend of Colombian Football
What does Frutiño, the Colombian version of Tang, have to do with René Higuita’s scorpion, the most famous in the history of football? Really everything. It all started with an announcement. This is what he confessed that day at Wembley. The goalkeeper was hired to advertise Frutiño, and it occurred to him that making a scorpion to get a ball while he was playing with some children would give the advertisement a spectacular touch. There was born the idea that would bear fruit in a legendary action.
It was 1995. England and Colombia met at Wembley in an international friendly. Hernán Gómez’s team has Higuita on the field, of course, Valderrama, Asprilla, or Freddy Rincón. Opposite, an England with several legends such as Alan Shearer, still the Premier League’s all-time top scorer, Paul Gascoigne, the then Real Madrid player Steve McManaman, and David Seaman. The match, which ended 0-0, would not be even close to entering football history if it were not for a madman. The crazy one, with his long curly hair, who decided to make the most difficult stop of all.
The ball reaches the edge of the area, and Jamie Redknapp hits it from about thirty meters away from the goal. René Higuita has an idea. The Colombian measures and takes two steps back to catch the ball, but he puts his arms down. When the ball is close to crossing the line, René dives headfirst and executes a perfect scorpion. There where England was unbeaten in early football, where so many teams lifted the FA Cup, where Puskas left his iconic turn… In the Mecca of football, Higuita left his mark.
Who was René Higuita?
José René Higuita Zapata (Medellín, 1966) was a period goalkeeper in South America. The Colombian, who played most of his career in football on his continent, was part of one of the best Colombian generations along with Valderrama, Freddy Rincón, ‘El Tren’ Valencia, and Faustino Asprilla but he did not shine at the level of the generation of Falcao or James Rodríguez neither in the Copa América nor the World Cup in Italia 90, eliminated by Roger Milla’s Cameroon (taking advantage of a mistake by Higuita) in the round of 16. But the one from Medellín, beyond his good level between the sticks, was surprised by his eccentricities on the field and several controversies off it.
René never had an easy life. The son of a single mother, he was raised by her grandmother after her early death. Although he was clear that football was his thing from very early on, the man from Medellín did various jobs to bring money home, such as, among others, selling newspapers. Professional football began in 1985. A young Higuita debuted with Millonarios. From early on, he demonstrated his own and unusual style. That is where Pacho Maturana appears, the key figure in understanding this Colombian generation. The coach trusted him to be the starting goalkeeper for Atlético Nacional, one of the country’s greats, where he would be key to each success. In his first stage with them, he would win the Copa Libertadores against Olimpia on penalties and would be close to winning the Intercontinental, which he would lose in the last minute of extra time against Milan.
In 1990, it would be Maturana who started in goal for the national team in a World Cup in which Colombian football shone for its eye-catching quality and the charisma of several of its players. The global focus allowed them to give football an opportunity outside of South America. The destination was Valladolid, where he left with Maturana and Valderrama to join Loenel Álvarez, who was already playing with the Valladolid team. They all arrived as stars of their football, including the coach, and they left Pucela poorly after the team was relegated to the Second Division.
The European adventure was short-lived, and he decided to return to Atlético Nacional, which he left in 1997 after winning, in addition to the Libertadores, a Colombian League (1994) and two Inter-American Cups (1990 and 1997) for the Mexican Tiburones Rojos. From there, his career varied, passing through Independiente de Medellín, Real Cartagena, Atlético Junior, Deportivo Pereira, Bajo Cauca, Aucas (Ecuador), Guaros (Venezuela), Deportivo Rionegro, and Deportivo Pereira where he hung up his boots in 2008 with more than 40 years.
A save made him enter the legend, but also his goals, occupying the fifth place of goalkeepers with the most scorers with 43 behind Rogério Ceni, Chilavert, Ivankov, and Jorge Campos. Furthermore, the goalkeeper maintains that thanks to him, FIFA changed the transfer rule to the current one, which is known as the Higuita Law. “I believe that neither Maradona, nor Messi, nor Ronaldo nor Ronaldinho have changed the FIFA rules. It was done by a Colombian, who told the world that goalkeepers have to play with their feet. “That is the most beautiful thing he left in football,” he said in Jot Down. about this particular legacy that he left to football.
Today René Higuita continues working for Atlético Nacional. The purslane has the Colombian on its payroll who was a coach for its goalkeepers and now works as an ambassador for the club.
The person René: friendship with Pablo Escobar, prison, television…
René Higuita has made headlines of all kinds in the Colombian press. The goalkeeper did it for sporting feats, but also because of his relationship with drug traffickers. Higuita went in 1991 to visit the head of the Medellín Cartel, Pablo Escobar, whom he declared himself a friend, and in 1993, he was arrested for being involved in a kidnapping case. Higuita mediated the release of the daughter of Luis Carlos Molina Yepes, a banker close to Pablo Escobar. This mediation was recognized as a crime, and he spent nine months in La Modelo in Bogotá.
Another dark chapter of his career also includes an attack on a journalist or the positive test for cocaine in November 2004 after an anti-doping test after a match for his club at the time, Aucas.
The goalkeeper always liked to be in the spotlight, and literally. Apart from the famous announcement that saw the birth of his scorpion, the goalkeeper was on television participating in 2005 in ‘The Island of the Famous’ on the RCN channel, where he also triumphed, placing fifth in one edition and second in the next. In the second half of that same year, he added another ‘reality’ to his resume with ‘Cambio Extremo’, where he underwent several aesthetic operations (liposuction, chin augmentation, dental aesthetics…) and shared this process with the viewers.
The crazy Higuita continues to be a reference for all generations of insane people who, like him, decide to put themselves under the hammer. His last appearance was in London, in the same stadium where his team and Spain face each other this Friday, the London Olympic to give a hug to one of those he recognizes as one of his own, El ‘Dibu’ Martínez. The last ‘madman’ who made the entire planet vibrate at a World Cup.
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René Higuita: The Unconventional Legend
René Higuita, the Colombian goalkeeper known for his eccentric style both on and off the field, left an indelible mark on the world of football. From his iconic scorpion kick to his controversial off-field antics, Higuita’s story is one of triumph and turmoil.
The Scorpion Kick Heard ‘Round the World
It was 1995 when Higuita pulled off the most audacious save in football history during a friendly match between England and Colombia at Wembley. With his long curly hair flowing behind him, Higuita dove headfirst to execute the now-famous scorpion kick, defying all expectations and leaving the football world in awe.
“I remember that I do the scorpion in an advertisement and it is liked, and before the games I practiced it and the people in the stadiums asked me to do it,” Higuita recalled. “I started to work on it and work on it and two years later I decided to do it.”
The Man Behind the Legend
Born in Medellín in 1966, René Higuita’s journey to football stardom was anything but conventional. Raised by his grandmother after his mother’s early death, Higuita worked odd jobs, including selling newspapers, to support his passion for the game. His unorthodox playing style caught the eye of Pacho Maturana, who entrusted him with the goalkeeper position at Atlético Nacional, where he would go on to achieve great success.
Despite his talent between the sticks, Higuita’s career was marred by controversy, including a brief stint in prison for his involvement in a kidnapping case and a positive drug test in 2004. However, his impact on the game extended beyond the pitch.
A Legacy of Innovation
René Higuita’s influence on football went beyond his acrobatic saves and eccentric personality. He was instrumental in changing FIFA’s transfer rules to allow goalkeepers to play with their feet, a rule now known as the Higuita Law. Despite his tumultuous career, Higuita continues to work for Atlético Nacional, serving as a coach and ambassador for the club.
From his friendship with Pablo Escobar to his forays into reality television, Higuita’s life has been a rollercoaster of highs and lows. Yet, through it all, he remains a symbol of resilience and innovation in the world of football.
René Higuita may be remembered for his scorpion kick, but his legacy transcends the boundaries of the pitch, inspiring generations of players to embrace their uniqueness and push the boundaries of what is possible in the beautiful game.
