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Legendary goalkeeper Rene Higuita will forever be remembered for the outrageous scorpion kick he produced on a number of occasions during his career – most notably against England at Wembley in 1995.
For the Colombian, though, it was another aspect of his play that most stands out to him, and something he believes helped drive change to create a more enjoyable spectacle for fans and players alike.
A huge proponent of using his feet during games, Higuita would regularly start play from the back in a similar way the modern day goalkeeper is urged to do so now. Except the Colombian goalie started his career during a time when the backpass rule simply didn’t exist, with the law only introduced in 1992 to discourage time-wasting.
In Colombia, the decision to ban goalkeepers picking up a back pass with their hands is known as the “Higuita Rule”, something the man himself is especially proud of.
“If there’s one good thing that we left football, it wasn’t the ‘Scorpion’, it wasn’t the goals nor the saves; it was having left in the statute the Higuita law,” Higuita exclusively told FourFourTwo to promote Spain vs Colombia at the London Stadium on Friday 22 March.
“That has given something back to football, it’s to be part of history, for a change that hasn’t been made by Pelé, by Maradona, Messi, nor Ronaldinho. So that makes me proud.”
Despite that, Higuita still welcomes being remembered for his brazen – and unconventional goalkeeping – skill.
“I’m happy because I believe that ‘los locos’ (‘the crazy ones’) are the ones who, seeing that things aren’t working out, keep doing the same thing,” he added.
“We try to get away from doing the same old thing, and that’s why we’re remembered, as time passes: for the ‘scorpion’, for the goals, for the penalties, the free-kicks, the saves, for having collaborated in the FIFA statutes, allowing for the goalkeeper to give more mobility to the play, for the goalkeeper to make the game more spectacular, to play with the feet and not just the hands, the hands should be a resource.
“So very happy at this point with what we left football, what’s we’re still leaving football.”
FourFourTwo readers can get a 10% discount to Spain vs Colombia at the London Stadium on Friday 22 March by using code SPAIN10 at checkout.
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