It is once in a blue moon that we witness goalkeepers scoring goals. Goalkeepers spend the majority of their time in the penalty area of their team, a marked area around the goal post they are defending. Although, they are allowed to move freely all over the pitch but, going too forward increases the threat of distant shots. Therefore it is rare to see a goalkeeper moving forward to score a goal or play in the mainstream playmaking.
Following players have made a mark for themselves by scoring most goals while playing in the position of Goalkeeper:
10. Dragan Pantelić (1971-1985) – 26 Goals
Dragan Pantelić is a former professional goalkeeper from Yugoslavia. Throughout his career, he successfully converted 20 goals from penalties. He played for Radevac and Graficar Beograd youth teams before starting his senior professional career in 1971 with Radnički Niš. He ended his playing career in 1985 and went on to serve as manager of Radnički Niš between November 1989 and March 1990. He was also the president of the club in the late 1990s.
9. Misael Alfaro (1988-2010) – 31 Goals
Born in Nueva San Salvador, El Salvador in 1971, Álvaro Misael Alfaro Sánchez is a former Salvadoran professional goalkeeper. He started playing in 1987 for the youth team of Destroyer La Liberated and started his senior professional career in 1988. Alfaro ended his career at Isidro Metapán of the Salvadoran Primera División in 2010. Currently, he is pursuing the role of a manager.
8. Hans-Jörg Butt (1994-2012) – 32 Goals
Hans-Jörg Butt is a retired German footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Known for taking penalty kicks, he scored 26 goals in the Bundesliga, which was a record for the most penalty goals in a single European professional league. It also includes three goals in the Champions League (a milestone for the goalkeeper). He played for Hamburger SV, Bayer Leverkusen, and Bayern Munich. He represented Germany in two FIFA World Cups and Euro 2000 as well.
7. Márcio Santos Souza (2002-2019) – 34 Goals
Márcio Santos Souza is a 39-year-old goalkeeper hailing from Aracaju, Brazil. He is one of those goalkeepers with most goals in professional football. He started his professional career with the youth team of Bahia before beginning his senior career in 2002. He scored 34 goals, the most coming between 2007-2016 for Atlético Clube Goianiense. He is currently playing for Ipatinga FC, a Brazilian Football Club.
6. Johnny Vegas Fernández (1997-2017) – 39 Goals
Johnny Martín Vegas Fernández is a former professional footballer from Huancayo, Peru. He joins the list of the goalkeepers with most goals as he scored 39 career goals in all competitions. Out of these 39 goals, 30 came from penalties and nine as outfield goals. He started with the Sport Boys Club and made 189 appearances, scoring 20 goals. He also made three appearances for the Peruvian National Team.
5. René Higuita (1985-2010) – 41 Goals
José René Higuita, the inventor of the iconic scorpion kick (most notable match against England at Wembley). He is a former professional Colombian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He had a unique style of playing, combining his agile reflexes along with his speed and making clearances by moving very swiftly. IFFHS ranked Higuita as the eighth-best keeper in South American history. With 41 goals, he is also ranked as one of the top 10 goal-scoring goalkeepers in history.
4. Dimitar Ivankov (1996-2012) – 42 Goals
Dimitar Ivanov Ivankov is a former goalkeeper from Bulgaria, known for converting penalty kicks into goals. Ivankov was raised in Levski Sofia’s youth teams. Ivankov was a champion of Bulgaria and the National Cup winner. He joined the Turkish club Kayserispor in June 2005. During these three seasons with the club, Ivankov made 94 appearances in the Süper Lig and scored six goals. Ivankov has 64 International caps to his name and is also a goal-scoring goalkeeper with overall 42 goals in his career. He also holds the pole position in Europe under this parameter.
3. Jorge Campos (1988-2004) – 46 Goals
Jorge Campos is a Mexican goalkeeper and one of the most remarkable players in the 90s. Known for his speed, agility and leaping ability, Campos was a gifted player. Widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation, Campos was also an impactful striker. In total, he scored 34 goals throughout his career. His trademark, his playing style, and his colourful attire made him an icon of many.
2. José Luis Chilavert (1982-2004) – 67 Goals
José Luis Chilavert González is a former professional footballer, hailing from Paraguay who played as a goalkeeper. He represented various teams in his career such as Sportivo Luqueño, Guaraní, San Lorenzo de Almagro, Real Zaragoza, Vélez Sarsfield, RC Strasbourg and Peñarol. Chilavert won 12 club titles, while playing for Vélez Sarsfield, and is also a three-time IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper award winner. Known for his excellent reflexes and brilliant free-kick and penalties, Chilavert scored 67 goals throughout his professional career. With this, Jose Chilavert is also the second-highest goalkeeper with most goals of all time.
1. Rogério Ceni (1990-2015) – 131 Goals
Rogério Mücke Ceni is a former football player who played as a goalkeeper for the Brazillian club São Paulo and even represented Brazil in international competitions. In his professional career, which lasted for 25 years (1990-2015), he won 20 major titles including the Brazillian squad that won the 2002 FIFA World Cup and 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup. He also scored 131 goals during his career. The International Federation of Football History & Statistics recognized him as the goalkeeper to have scored the most goals in the history of football. He currently manages Campeonato Brasileiro Série A side Fortaleza.
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