30 years ago, he used a "scorpion swings his tail" to become the most cool goalkeeper in the world

The idea was created when René Iquita was filming a soda commercial with a group of children in Colombia in 1993. At that time, a child threw the ball into the air and then shot the barb to kick the ball towards Ikita who was guarding the goal. Ikita instinctively threw his legs behind him and blocked the ball.

Two years later, Iquita used this trick in the warm-up match between Colombia and England, writing his own legendary history under the hazy lights of Wembley Stadium.

At that time, England midfielder Jamie Redknapp made a mistake in his shot, and the ball flew lightly to Ikita, who is famous for his gorgeous ball style. He watched the ball fall from the top of his head and fall into the depths of the net. Suddenly, he rushed forward, his legs swung back like a scorpion's tail...

In Netflix documentary "Ikita: The Scorpion Road", Ikita recalled: "It was a 'perfect ball'. I thought 'no problem, I can block the ball', and the result was indeed perfect."

Ikita was on the turf with both hands, his wide blue goalkeeper's jersey cuffs curled to his elbow, and his long black curly hair floated behind him, and he immediately showed his signature smile.

That day was September 6, 1995, and Martin Taylor was the commentator of the game for Sky Sports. He initially thought the referee's whistle must have sounded - after all, the lineman raised the flag - but the game continued.

"I was confused at the time," Taylor said. "Although it was just a friendly match, no one would do it normally. He was wrong about his head? It felt like something mysterious happened. The result was completely unexpected. He defeated Jamie Redknapp and fooled everyone!"

England coaching staff member Brian Robson laughed on the bench. It was hard to believe that this scene was true, and the fans also reacted the same way. Because it was Wednesday night and another friendly match, the attendance rate of that game was not high, with only 20,000 fans entering the game to watch.

"The scene was silent, and everyone was trying to figure out what had just happened," recalled BBC Newcastle Radio host Simon Pride, who was present at the time. "Then suddenly burst out with spontaneous laughter and applause."

Newcastle United coach Kevin Keegan commissioned England central defender Steve Howe to provide information about the Colombian striker Asprila he was guarding, who thought the game must have stopped at that time.

"Ikita is not the kind of goalkeeper who often runs out and drives the ball over the opponent's forward and participates in the offense. He is simply crazy. So it's not surprising for people like him," Howie said. "Everyone thought the referee blew the whistle, but we quickly found that he didn't. In other words, if Ikita's funny move failed to block the flying ball, the goal would be effective."

This friendly match was dull, and both sides finally drew 0:0, but there were fans of football playing in the parks and courts across the UK trying to reproduce Ikita's save that violated the laws of physics.

"That was just a weird move by a goalkeeper at a certain moment, which made the commentator rub his eyes incredibly," Taylor added. "It really looks like a plot in a comic book, like a fictional story that only elementary school students would see."

However, although this save laid the foundation for Iquita's global influence, it was just a chapter in the goalkeeper's unique story. Ikita scored 43 goals in his career, and his existence also promoted FIFA to make an important modification to the rules of football matches. Later, he was imprisoned for participating in the gang kidnapping case, and returned to the Colombian national team after being released from prison.

The Rise of the stunning goalkeeper

Iquita said some called him the Joker, others called him the pioneer. He lost his mother since childhood and lived with his grandparents in a neighborhood plagued by drug disputes and social problems in Medellin, which also made him very brave since childhood.

He often sneaked onto the bus to participate in football training, playing forward on the court built by drug lord Pablo Escobar, and scored goals. Only when his teammate is injured will he wear gloves and act as a goalkeeper. Before joining Medellin National Athletics, he signed a contract with another wealthy millionaire in Colombia.

Some blurry scenes record Iquita tackled, headed, two-pass with his teammates and a breakthrough in the midfield. The stadium was dilapidated, dusty, and paper tapes thrown from the stands and scattered toilet paper everywhere. In today's era, posting pictures of his possession on the Internet will definitely make him an internet celebrity.

Iquita, known as the "madman" by head coach Francisco Maturana, was a key figure in the first Colombian team to win the South American Liberators Cup in 1989. He saved four penalty kicks in the final and scored a penalty, helping Medellin Nationals defeat Paraguay Olympia 5-4.

"He surpassed his time," said the legendary goalkeeper of Mexico in the same era in Iquita's Netflix documentary. "Of course, he took a lot of risks, but he also made a lot of saves. People did not realize that he was an extra defender, he was the one who launched the attack. Iquita was a role model in the international arena, and his role as an example was increasingly revolutionary." In the summer of Italy in 1990, Colombia participated in the World Cup for the first time in 28 years. At that time, Maturana was also the head coach of the national team and was keen to adopt a system inspired by Dutch football. Iquita's heroic deeds came to the global stage.

South American football expert Tim Vickery later commented on him: "His ball control skills and willingness to take responsibility at 40 meters away from the goal are no less than the striker.. ”

After the first victory over the UAE, the 1.75-meter goalkeeper saved a penalty in a 0-1 loss to Yugoslavia and played his best in the fierce match against West Germany. He headed the ball outside the penalty area and picked a very threatening cross from the opponent on the head of Klinsmann.

When Colombia entered the World Cup for the first time, the title of a national newspaper in the country reads: "Everyone is for me, Iquita is for everyone." ”

But in that quarterfinal against Cameroon, Iquita's habit of dribbling forward paid a heavy price. In overtime, Roger Mira helped Cameroon take the lead, and then Iquita received an inappropriate pass. He pulled the ball gently and wanted to pass Mira, but Mira intercepted the ball, forming an empty goal to expand the lead. This concealment caused Colombia to lose that game, and also made Cameroon the first team in Africa to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

"Before Mira appeared, I was an idol. "Ikita later complained. However, after returning to China, he and his teammates were welcomed like a hero. As soon as Ikita landed, he spoke to the people of the whole country: "Yes, I made a mistake. Just as I accept praise, I accept criticism. ”

FIFA has modified the rules for goalkeepers to catch the ball back, because he modified the rules for goalkeepers to pick up the ball after receiving the ball back by their players with their feet.

Iquita believes that his style proves that goalkeepers can also use footwork skillfully, which is a key factor that prompted FIFA to modify the rules for return passes; another key factor is that the average number of goals per game in the 1990 World Cup in Italy was only 2.2, a record low.

The new rules are widely known as the "Iquita Rules".

Iquita said: "Pelli and Maradona are superstars in the football world, but they have not changed any rules of FIFA. ”

However, Iquita never had the chance to experience this new rule in person in another World Cup. He was sentenced to seven months in prison for being involved in a gangster kidnapping case and missed the 1994 World Cup.

Like Valdera, Iquita is an iconic figure in Colombia, one of the most well-known faces of the national team, but also easily becomes a target for others.

After the end of the 1990 World Cup, with the domestic The anti-drug war intensified, and the big drug lord Escoba surrendered to the police and was sent to his own "private prison" - the Cathedral Prison.

Many football players visited and were often invited to football matches - an invitation that could not be refused, but few of the invitees were as eye-catching as Iquita.

TV reporter stopped Iquita outside the mountaintop prison in the suburbs of Medellin and asked if he was Escoba's friend, and his answer was "YES".

E Scobar later escaped from prison, and authorities pressed his acquaintances to help pursue. Iquita eventually received severe punishment for being close to the notorious criminal.

Escobar's gangster rival Carlos Molina's teenage daughter was kidnapped, and Iquita fell into the trap of a drug cartel. Both gangs threw money into Colombian football, and Iquita said he was asked to serve as the middleman to pay the ransom and return Molina's daughter to him.

When he welcomed his daughter back, Molina insisted that Iquita accept a sum of cash as remuneration, but doing so violated the strict anti-kidnapping law and Iquita was sentenced to seven months in prison. He said that in prison, he was asked more about Escobar's whereabouts than his own case. Iquita was acquitted after Escobar's death in December 1993. "I did this out of humanitarianism," Iquita later told FIFA. "If I need to help save people in the future, I will still do it without hesitation. I am a football player and I know nothing about the law of kidnapping. ”

Colombian players have been clamoring for Iquita's comeback. After defeating Argentina 5-0 in the 1994 World Cup qualifier, they shouted Iquita's name, but his physical condition was not considered enough to be selected for Colombia for the US World Cup.

A few months before participating in that friendly match with England, Iquita returned to the Colombian Cup roster through hard work, and admitted that he was worried that his crazy style of play would ruin the opportunity.

He said: "People always call me clowns, and now I admit, they are right. ”

From the comeback to the complete withdrawal in 1999, Iquita has only played for the Colombian national team six times. Perhaps his national team has naturally moved to a new era.

But even after retirement, such a goalkeeper who scored like a goal, loved to show off his skills, and was remembered by the world by a "scorpion swing his tail".