Top 3 Football Goalkeeper Goal Scorers

Greatest Goalie Goals Record Holders in Soccer Goalkeeping History

Sep 26, 2009 Tony Dunnell

Soccer fans love to see goals - when a goalie scores a goal it is something special. Here are the top 3 all-time goalkeeper goal scorers in soccer goalkeeping history.

Goalkeeper goals are often entertaining flukes or last minute set-piece acts of desperation. The following goalkeeper goal scorers have made scoring goals an integral part of their game. Here are the top 3 all-time goalie goal scorers.

Rogério Ceni, Brazilian Goalkeeper – Goalkeeper Goals: 83

Born in 1973, Rogério Ceni has been between the posts for Brazilian Serie A club Sao Paulo since 1990. With Sao Paulo he has risen to become the greatest soccer goalkeeping goal scorer of all time. Ceni has scored an incredible 83 goals in 831 appearances, all for Sao Paulo.

Originally a first choice penalty taker, Rogério Ceni’s goal rate increased when he became a first choice free kick taker. Of his 83 goals, 36 have been from penalties and an astonishing 47 from free kicks. Despite never having scored in his seventeen caps for the Brazilian national team, his impact upon the fortunes of Sao Paulo cannot be understated. Sao Paulo have never lost a match in which Rogério Ceni has scored.

Rogério Ceni is contracted to Sao Paulo until 2012. A horrific training ground incident saw Ceni break his ankle in April 2009, but he is due to return to action in September. With a goalkeeper goal tally standing at 83, perhaps Ceni has set his sights on 100 goalie goals.

José Luis Chilavert, Paraguayan Goalkeeper – Goalkeeper Goals: 62

José Luis Chilavert, born in 1965, was the former Paraguay national team captain and goalkeeper. Before Rogério Ceni overtook him, Chilavert had scored the most goalkeeper goals with 62 career strikes.

Of his 62 goals, a record 45 were from penalty kicks. Chilavert was also a free kick specialist, fifteen of his goalkeeper goals coming from these set pieces. The remaining two were scored from open play when Chilavert went forward to help out his trailing team. Many of his goals were crucial in securing last-minute draws or victories.

Unlike Ceni, Chilavert scored at international level. The goalie scored eight times for Paraguay, albeit in 74 caps, many more than Rogério Ceni. The rest of his goalkeeper goals came at club level playing for San Lorenzo de Almagro (Argentina), Real Zaragoza (Spain), Vélez Sársfield (Argentina), Strasbourg (France) and Peñarol (Uruguay).

José Luis Chilavert retired from football in 2004. Despite losing his goalkeeper goal record to Ceni, Chilavert still holds the title for the most penalties scored by a goalkeeper and the most international goalie goals. He is also the first goalkeeper to have scored a hat trick in soccer history.

René Higuita, Colombian Goalkeeper – Goalkeeper Goals: 41

Third on the list of all-time soccer goalkeeper goal scorers is René Higuita, arguably the most colorful, flamboyant, and perhaps crazy, goalkeeper of all time. Despite his goals tally of 41, the eccentric René “El Loco” Higuita is more famed for one of the most outlandish footballing “special moves” of all time: the legendary Scorpion Kick.

Higuita’s goalkeeping scoring record consists of 37 penalties and 4 outfield goals. He scored three times for Colombia in 68 caps, the majority of his goals coming from his club career played largely in Latin America. René Higuita played most of his career for Atlético Nacional, a Medellín based club and one of the largest in Colombia.

Higuita came out of retirement in 2007 and signed for Guaros de Lara, a Venezuelan club. At the age of 42 he joined up with Colombian first division team Deportivo Pereira for the 2008-09 season. Five of his goals came during this period. What René Higuita will do next is anyone’s guess.

That the top three all-time soccer goalkeeper goal scorers all come from South America is testament to the footballing culture of the continent. South American football is based on technical ability, flamboyance and a genuine joy for the game. These three goalkeepers never allowed their positional restrictions to dampen their technical or creative flair.

Statistical Sources:

IFFHS website

FIFA.com

The copyright of the article Top 3 Football Goalkeeper Goal Scorers in Soccer is owned by Tony Dunnell. Permission to republish Top 3 Football Goalkeeper Goal Scorers in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Colombian Goalkeeper Goal Scorer Rene Higuita	Chilavert – Goalkeeper Goal Scorer Free Kick	Goalkeeper Goal Scorer José Luis Chilavert
Greatest Goalkeeper Goal Scorer Rogerio Ceni	Rogerio Ceni – Sao Paulo Goalie Goal Scorer