Bow down to Rogerio Ceni, the man who puts the goal into goalkeeper

By Jonathan White Source:Global Times Published: 2015-2-10 22:48:01

Another week, another disappointing result for Manchester United and yet another game where David de Gea put in a man-of-the-match performance.

The young Spanish goalkeeper was player of the season at the Old Trafford club last year and seems a shoo-in for the title this season.

It's easy to think that he has everything as a goalkeeper but there is one thing he doesn't have in his game: goals.

Goalscoring keepers remain a rarity but they do exist at all levels of the game. There have been scrappy goals where goalies have been shoved up the other end to cause havoc as an extra forward, there have been freak clearances that have sailed into the opposition net and there are goalies that regularly score penalties. And then there is Rogerio Ceni.

The 42-year-old Sao Paulo keeper is head and shoulders the most dangerous goalkeeper in world soccer. He netted his 124th career goal last week. This ridiculous total puts him on twice as many as his nearest rival, former Paraguay keeper Jose Luis Chilavert. Ceni is only likely to add to his tally.

Ceni's milestone came in the 57th minute of a Sau Paolo state championship game against XV de Piracicaba. The goalsy goalie stepped up from the spot and slotted home his team's second with yet another clinical penalty, at least the 62nd of his career.

More than 60 of his goals have come from free kicks, which is a remarkable number for any free kick taker, let alone someone with the added pressure of having to cover the length of the pitch if he gets it wrong. This is not supposed to happen in the top-level of soccer but it has.

Ceni is no mere novelty. This is a goalkeeper who has won three Brazilian leagues and two Copa Libertadores among his 17 titles. He's also played 16 times for Brazil, although he never scored for the national team.

It's unlikely that anyone will match the Brazilian's remarkable feat. As much as most goalkeepers fancy themselves as outfield players, it's hard to imagine the circumstances will happen again.

That's a shame and nowhere more than Old Trafford. With Rooney not having a shot on goal in 2015, Falcao doing his best Fernando Torres impression and Robin van Persie more of a danger with his arms than his feet these days, how Van Gaal might wish that De Gea could alleviate the scoring burden from his goalshy galacticos.

The author is a Beijing-based freelance writer. jmawhite@gmail.com



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