Goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni scored 131 goals, the most by any keeper in the world, ever. And if that was not enough he also made all those goals and played his entire career with only one club, Sao Paulo of Brazil.
Goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni scored 131 goals, the most by any keeper in the world, ever. And if that was not enough he also made all those goals and played his entire career with only one club, Sao Paulo of Brazil.
Ceni gave one last message to his teammates on Sunday before the game that closed out his 25-year career, but in which he could not play due to an injury: "He who kills time is not a murderer, but is suicidal."
Forty-two year old Cena was summarizing his career, a rare talent who was obsessed with perfection and who grabbed his chances as he did the ball.
A lanky 17 year old teenager from a humble club in Mato Grosso (center) landed in Sao Paulo in 1990 and would go on to play 1,237 games. No player in history has played that many games with the same club. He was captain for 16 years and won 26 titles, including two Copa Libertadores, a Club World Cup, a Copa Intercontinental, two Recopas Sudamericanas, one Supercopa and three Brazilian championships.
He scored 131 goals during his career (69 from the penalty spot, 61 from free kicks and one during game play) is the tenth leading scorer in the history of Sao Paulo.
"He is a fantastic goalkeeper who has the best technique with his feet I have ever seen. He also has a very strong personality becoming an idol to the fans," said Rai, another leader of the golden history Sao Paulo who knew the young goalkeeper when he was just 20 years old, to the AFP.
– Professional record –
Under the shadow of Zetti, his predecessor and inspiration between the pipes, Ceni watched from the bench as the golden generation of Cafu, Rai or Ronaldão made Sao Paulo, for the second time in a row, the best club in America and the World.
It was 1993 and the promising substitute goalkeeper debuted with the main team on August 25 during a friendly in Spain. He was there when the club was on top of the world and he wanted to get on the podium, this time as captain lifting the cup.
"Our victories marked the beginning of his career. He soon was part of a group that won," assessed Rai.
His ambition, which led his enemies to criticize him as being arrogant, led him 12 years later to lift the third Copa Libertadores of the club's history and, in December 2005, the Club World Cup.
In Yokohama, Sao Paulo won the final against Liverpool with Ceni winning the Golden Boot award. The teenager who decided at age 15 that he wanted to be a goalkeeper, concluded the best year of his career. That season he scored 21 goals.
He passed Paraguayan Chilavert as the highest scoring goalkeeper in history and in 2013 left behind the 1,116 games played by the legendary Pele at Santos.
Ceni flirted with retirement since he turned 40, although he always found a reason to stay.
But on May 13 a dream when was shattered when Sao Paulo was eliminated by Cruzeiro in the Copa Libertadores on penalties. That night Ceni scored a penalty and stopped another, but it was not enough.
Although his contract ends in July, Ceni decided to take a final extension until the end of the year.
Ceni on Friday was given a warm send off by some 45,000 fans, who know doubt were thinking or even saying the Sao Paulo mantra: "Everyone has a goalkeeper, only we have a Rogerio".
By Rosa SULLEIRO/AFP
Photo: AFP
Edition: conmebol.com
