Goals scored by goalkeepers are a somewhat rare event in football. Goalkeepers spend the majority of a match in the penalty area of their own team, a marked area around the goal they are defending in which they can handle the ball, in order to defend their goal. It is highly unusual for a goalkeeper to move far beyond this area and join an attack, as this leaves the defence vulnerable to long-distance attempts until the goalkeeper can return to defend it.
The most prolific goalscoring goalkeepers are those who take penalties or free kicks. Other occasions where goalkeepers sometimes score include set pieces where a goalkeeper joins an attack as a team is chasing a goal in order to prevent a defeat, or from goal kicks or otherwise regular clearances which travel the length of the pitch into the opposite goal.
Records
The record is held by the Brazilian Rogério Ceni,[1] with 131 goals.[2] He scored his landmark 100th goal in a 2–1 win for São Paulo on 27 March 2011.[3]
In November 1999, Paraguayan José Luis Chilavert became the only goalkeeper to score a hat-trick with three penalties for Vélez Sársfield in a 6–1 victory against Ferro Carril Oeste,[4] and in the following year he and Argentine Roberto Bonano from River Plate both scored in the same Copa Mercosur match.[5] On 2 November 2013, Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begović scored the fastest goal for a professional goalkeeper (13 seconds, although this has been beaten) in football history and the longest goal in football history (107.17 yards/98 meters) in a match against Southampton.
Description
José René Higuita Zapata is a retired Colombian football goalkeeper. He was nicknamed El Loco for his high-risk ‘sweeper-keeper’ playing style and his flair for the dramatic. Wikipedia
| Name | Nation | Years | Team(s) | Goals | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rogério Ceni |  Brazil |
1990–2015 | São Paulo | 131 | Record for a goalkeeper,[2] record number of free kicks (61), record number of penalties (69), record number of club goals (131). Scored 14 goals (six free kicks and eight penalties) in Copa Libertadores. |
| José Luis Chilavert |  Paraguay |
1982–2004 | Paraguay, Real Zaragoza, Vélez Sársfield, Peñarol, Strasbourg, Sportivo Luqueno, San Lorenzo de Almagro, Club Guaraní | 67 | Record number of international goals (8), only goalkeeper to score a hat trick (3 goals in a single game)[6] |
| Jorge Campos |  Mexico |
1988–2004 | UNAM Pumas, Atlante | 46 | [2][7] |
| René Higuita |  Colombia |
1985–2010 | Colombia, Deportivo Rionegro, Guaros FC, Bajo Cauca FC, Aucas, Independiente Medellín, Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz, Atlético Nacional, Real Valladolid, Millonarios | 41 | Also famous for his scorpion kick save against England in 1995[2][8] |
| Johnny Vegas Fernández |  Peru |
1997–2017 | Sport Boys, Union Huaral, Universidad San Martín de Porres, FBC Melgar, Sport Ancash, Cienciano | 39 | [2] |
| Márcio | Brazil |
2002– | Bahia, Fortaleza, Atlético Goianiense | 34 | [9] |
| Hans-Jörg Butt |  Germany |
1994–2012 | VfB Oldenburg, Hamburg, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich | 32 | Record number of penalty goals in a single professional league of Europe (Bundesliga); includes three goals in UEFA Champions League (record for a goalkeeper) and one in the German League Cup[10] |