Rene Higuita is happy fans still remember him for his 'scorpion' kick – but there's something he's a lot prouder of achieving during his career
Rene Higuita is happy fans still remember him for his 'scorpion' kick(Image credit: Getty Images)
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.
Rene Higuita at the London Stadium (Image credit: West Ham United)
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.
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Higuita is promoting the Spain vs Colombia friendly (Image credit: West Ham United)
"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."
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
