Goalkeepers scoring goals is a rather uncommon occurrence in football. Goalkeepers spend the most of a match in their own team's penalty area, a specified area surrounding the goal they're protecting where they may handle the ball and protect it. Goalkeepers are sometimes thought to be playing a different sport than outfield players, thus it's always interesting to see them venture into the territory of an outfield player. A goalkeeper moving far outside this area and joining an assault is unusual, as it leaves the defence open to long-range attacks until the goalkeeper returns to protect it.
Only six goalkeepers have ever scored in the Premier League, with Peter Schmeichel and Brad Friedel kicking things off by coming forward for late set-pieces in English football. The latest one to score a goal was Liverpool’s shot-stopper Alisson Becker, who scored a winner for his team in the dying minutes of the game last season.
Goalkeepers who take penalties or free kicks are the most prolific goal scorers. Other times when goalkeepers score include set pieces, where a goalkeeper joins an attack while a team is chasing a goal to avoid defeat, or goal kicks or other regular clearances that travel the length of the pitch and into the opposing goal. These types of instances are extremely rare, and when they do occur, it is usually regarded as a fluke or a stroke of luck.
It's fair to say the list makes for interesting reading, with goalkeepers going rogue for no apparent reason and scoring over 50 free kicks, so check out the 10 goalkeepers who went mad down below:
10. Fernando Patterson -26 goals
Years active - 1989-2013
Country - Costa Rica
Unless you're a Central American football expert, you've probably never heard of Patterson and his knack for scoring on the most unexpected of occasions. Patterson, who was born in La Francia de Siquirres, has spent some of his playing career in Costa Rica, but the majority of it with Xelaju in Guatemala. He made his Limonense debut in 1989 and went on to play 113 games for Limonense, Turrialba, and Puntarenas, scoring three goals while also playing as a striker, before transferring to Guatemala to play for Xelaju and Cobán Imperial. In January 2002, he joined Cartaginés and in 2003, he went to Ramonense. Patterson returned to Xelaj in the summer of 2004.
9. Dragan Pantelic - 26 goals
Years active - 1971-1985
Country - Yugoslavia
Pantelic spent ten seasons with Radnicki Nis from 1971 to 1981, after beginning his career at Raevac and Graficar Beograd. In the Yugoslav First League, he made over 250 appearances and scored 15 goals. Pantelic scored the game-winning goal from inside his own penalty area in a league match against Velez Mostar. However, he could only score twice for his national team.
8. Misael Alfaro - 31 goals
Years active - 1988-2010
Country - El Salvador
Despite having his career cut short due to a neck injury and heart difficulties, the El Salvador international made the list because of his outstanding penalty record. In 1987, Misael Alfaro joined the Destroyer La Libertad's juvenile team. In 1988, he joined Alianza, then in 1994, he joined Luis Angel Firpo, where he was quickly promoted to starting goaltender. Alfaro was placed eighth on the list of the world's most successful goalkeepers of all time, with 31 goals, 11 of which came from penalty kicks. In August 2010, he declared his retirement from football after sustaining a catastrophic neck injury during a game against Atlético Marte.
7. Hans-Jörg Butt - 32 goals
Years active - 1994-2009
Country - Germany
He scored 26 goals in the Bundesliga and was known for taking penalty kicks and frequently going into the opposing penalty area in a bid to find a winner whenever his team was losing. In his homeland, he played for Hamburger SV, Bayer Leverkusen, and Bayern Munich, arriving in Munich at the age of 34. In the Champions League, the four-cap Germany goalkeeper scored three times with three separate teams, all of which came against Juventus. He played in two World Cups and Euro 2000 for Germany, although he never scored a goal. He holds the European record for most penalty goals in a single professional league (26 in Bundesliga).
Also Read | Top 5 longest unbeaten runs in La Liga history
6. Marcio - 34 goals
Years active - 2002-active
Country - Brazil
Marcio, who is 40 years old, now plays for Ipatinga. Marcio, the only player on the list who is still active, could rise the ranks in the coming years, but he'll never match his mind-boggling goal-scoring record of one goal every 13 games for the former club Atletico Goianiense.
5. Rene Higuita - 41 goals
Years active - 1985-2009
Country - Colombia
A familiar name in the list, Rene Higuita has played for Colombia, Deportivo Rionegro, Guaros FC, Bajo Cauca FC, Aucas, Independiente Medellín, Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz, Atlético Nacional, Valladolid, Millonarios in his career. His high-risk sweeper-keeper playing style and flair for the dramatic earned him the nickname El Loco, which means the madman. Higuita was named the eighth-best South American goalkeeper in history by the IFFHS. Higuita is credited with inventing the scorpion kick, which entails a player leaping forward, positioning their legs over their heads, and kicking the ball away with their heels. One of Higuita's most famous scorpion kicks occurred while clearing a cross from Jamie Redknapp during a friendly against England at Wembley Stadium on September 6, 1995.
4. Dimitar Ivankov - 42 goals
Years active - 1996-2012
Country - Bulgaria
The current goalkeeping coach of Levski Sofia, Ivankov started his career with the same club. Ivankov used to be on the scoresheet for Levski Sofia in Bulgaria for nine years, and he continued to score goals after moving to Kayserispor in Turkey in 2006. With 42 goals, Ivankov is the fourth highest goalscoring goalie in history and the first in Europe in this category. He signed a contract with Bursaspor on June 9, 2008. In the 95th minute, he scored a key goal against Fenerbahçe. Bursaspor had a 2–1 lead after his goal. In 2010, he scored his 42nd senior goal, putting him in the third position among goalkeepers globally in terms of goals scored. In 2010, he won the Turkish Super Lig with Bursaspor.
3. Johnny Vegas Fernández
Years active - 1997-2017
Country - Peru
Vegas scored 30 penalty goals and nine goals in open play throughout his career, largely for Peruvian club Sport Boys, before making 14 transfers in 13 years before retiring. He has forty first-division goals, one Copa Sudamericana goal, and four second-division goals.
2. Jose Luis Chilavert
Years active - 1982-2004
Country - Paraguay
The 55-year-old Paraguayan played for played for Sportivo Luqueño, Guaraní, San Lorenzo de Almagro, Real Zaragoza, Vélez Sarsfield, RC Strasbourg, Peñarol, and the Paraguayan national football team. Chilavert is the only goalkeeper in history to score three goals. He once scored 23 goals in two seasons for Velez Sarsfield. He had eight goals for his national team three of his eight goals for Paraguay were in competitive matches against Argentina. While playing for Velez Sarsfield, Chilavert won 12 club titles, including the 1994 Copa Libertadores and the 1994 Intercontinental Cup, and is a three-time IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award winner.
1. Rogerio Ceni
Years active - 1990-2015
Country - Brazil
More than double the goals of the second-placed Chilavert, Rogerio Ceni despite his position on the field, is one of Sao Paulo's top ten scorers of all time, scoring 21 goals in the 2005 season alone and 37 times in a three-season span. Not just penalties, he has scored 61 free-kick goals in his career. In the Copa Libertadores, he scored 14 goals (six free-kicks and eight penalties) and 65 in the Brazilian League (26 free kicks, one indirect free-kick, and 38 penalties). On five instances, he scored a brace. Madness!!
