Rogério Ceni

Rogério Ceni is undoubtedly one of the most atypical goalkeepers in history, a football legend, who will have left his mark for his longevity, his free kicks and his penalties.

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Games

Goals Conceded

Clean Sheets

Trophies

1990 Sinop FC (BRE) 20 matches

(Mato Grosso Championship: 20 matches)

1990/2015 São Paulo FC (BRE) 1197 matches, 129 goals

(Brazilian Championship: 575 matches, 65 goals)

(Brazilian Cup: 67 matches, 4 goals)

(South American Competitions: 185 matches, 18 goals)

(Regional Tournaments: 370 matches, 42 goals)

With the National Team :

17 caps

(Friendly matches: 10 caps)

(World Cup qualifiers: 5 caps)

(World Cup: 1 cap)

(Confederations Cup: 1 cap)

1st cap: December 16, 1997 against Mexico (3-2)

Last cap: June 22, 2006 against Japan (4-1)

Rogério Mücke Ceni

Born January 22, 1973 in Pato Branco (BRE)

Brazilian, goalkeeper, 1m88

Nicknames: "M1TO", "El Pelé del arco", "El catato"

A very complicated start to a career

Rogério Ceni was born on January 22, 1973 in Pato Branco in the state of Paraná where he lived until 1985. Coming from a middle-class family, he was not the archetype of the Brazilian footballer who discovered football on makeshift pitches in the favelas. He was originally a worker in a bank branch before making his debut in the Mato Grosso club where he played 1 season.

Due to his status as a great hope of Brazilian football, he was recruited in 1990 by the São Paulo FC club but he struggled to establish himself in the squad. In 1992, he was still not a starter, and it was during a tragedy that he was propelled into the role of future number 1. Alexandre, São Paulo's most promising goalkeeper and future number 1, lost his life in a car accident, which left the place vacant for Ceni.

Ceni would only become important at the club after a friendly match against Tenerife during which he impressed as well as other promising matches. He thus took the place of club legend Zetti, a Brazilian international after his departure in 1996.

One of the best goalkeepers in the history of Brazilian football

This was the beginning of the M1TO era, the goalkeeper made his mark when he scored his first professional goal after only 3 official matches with São Paulo. Becoming undisputed and then captain of the club, the goalkeeper would become the favorite player of many fans of the club.

In 2005, his legend grew when he became the number 1 free-kick taker for his club. That year was fantastic for him offensively, yes, offensively. The goalkeeper scored 21 goals (11 free-kicks and 10 penalties) and won the Paulista Championship, Copa Libertadores and Club World Cup treble.

His season was crazy, he scored 9 goals in the Brazilian championship, 5 goals in the state championship and 5 goals in the Copa Libertadores (1 in each round except the final). In 75 games, he scored 21 goals, statistics for a striker. In the Copa Libertadores, he even managed the feat of scoring a double free-kick against Tigres in the 4-0 victory. In the return final, he repeated an excellent performance by stopping a penalty.

His Club World Cup was also legendary, he scored a decisive penalty in the semi-final against Al-Ittihad that the Brazilian club won 3-2, then he kept a clean sheet in the final against Liverpool. Ceni was logically voted best player of the 2005 Club World Cup that he won.

A Brazilian legend

An absolute legend in Brazil, he won the Bola de Prata 6 times and won the Bola de Ouro once, in 2008. With just over 1200 matches with São Paulo FC (including unofficial matches), in 2014 he surpassed Pelé's record for the most matches played for a single club. A record that still belongs to him to this day and that is likely to last for a long time.

His adventure with the Brazilian national team was not the most sumptuous, yet he still participated in 17 matches with his country as a starter. And he had the opportunity to play 1 World Cup match, with Brazil, he won the 2002 World Cup, in the role of substitute.

In 2015, then aged 42, the goalkeeper ended his football career, with a total of 129 official goals scored, 131 counting those scored in unofficial matches (68 penalties and 63 free kicks). In total, he scored 14 goals in the Copa Libertadores, a crazy statistic.