People often let players who are on the less flamboyant side of the game slip their mind once their career is over. One such star was Rogerio Ceni!
The Brazilian may not have had as much flair as one would normally associate with a player hailing from that same nation, but he certainly had an uncommon knack for slotting the ball into the back of the net, while having to ensure that he does not allow it to go into his own.
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When a modern-day football fan builds their ideal goalkeeper, they would most likely highlight the importance of him being able to play out from the back to help build attacks. Therefore, the keeper would have to be very good with the ball at his feet. His ability to pass the ball, his vision and his control, among other things, would have to be at the highest possible level.
Ceni, however, was just miles ahead of his time. Instead of only being a player who thrived with the ball at his feet, he was also a threat to opposition from set-pieces. As perhaps unfathomable as that is, the retired shot-stopper was prolific in front of goal. His career statistics are truly shocking. Apart from being the highest goal-scoring keeper in professional football history, he also features in Sao Paulo's list of top 10 scorers of all time.
The now 51-year-old scored his 100th goal in 2011 to help his side clinch a 2-1 win over Corinthians. As fans of the club had become accustomed to, the Brazil international slotted the ball into the corner of a net with a resplendent free-kick.
The Brazilian also won almost everything he could have with two Brazilian Footballer of the Year awards (in 2006 and 2007), a FIFA Club World Cup title, and three Brazilian league triumphs, among other accolades. He was also part of his country's squad that won the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
With his astonishing 131 career goals, Ceni was a special talent and an inspirational figure for any Brazilian who grew up watching him play, regardless of their preferred positions. His attacking prowess would be enough for an aspiring striker to choose him as a role model. His ability from set-pieces will have inspired a generation of midfielders to run outside and practise their free-kicks.
One person he did inspire was Manchester City's current No. 1 Ederson, who was star-struck when he was paid a surprise visit by the man he had idolised growing up. The influence Ceni had on the current Citizens keeper proves just how much he was ahead of his own time.
The player who holds the record for making the most appearances for Sao Paulo is said to have scored 69 goals from the penalty spot during his career, and while in conversation with his compatriot highlighted the mentality required to be a successful penalty-taker in those high-pressure situations.
"[The player must have] the personality to take the ball with 40, 50 thousand people watching you, take the shot and score the goal. But I think the goalkeeper has a greater ease in this case, because he can play with the other goalkeeper's mindset," he said via City's official website.
"Everything has logic in football: the distance, the foot that strikes, the speed at which you project towards the ball. So, as the goalkeeper knows all this, he can also play with the mental factor, because it's a psychological game."
While alluded Ceni alluded to everything in the beautiful game having logic, a goalkeeper with as many goals as he managed to accumulate in his career is something that defies it.
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