René Higuita — Creativity, Courage & The Scorpion Kick
Lesson Type: Famous People | Level: Low Intermediate / Intermediate
1. Warm-Up Questions
- Do you like soccer (football)?
- Do you know René Higuita?
- What position do you think is more creative: striker or goalkeeper?
- Do you think goalkeepers need to be brave? Why?
- Would you like to try a creative move in a game one day?
2. Vocabulary Preview
| Word / Chunk | Meaning | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| goalkeeper | the player who protects the goal | René Higuita was a very famous goalkeeper. |
| save (a goal) | to stop the ball from going into the goal | The goalkeeper made an incredible save. |
| risk | something dangerous that you choose to do | Higuita liked to take risks on the field. |
| famous | known by many people | His scorpion kick made him famous worldwide. |
| creative | able to do things in new or original ways | Higuita was very creative for a goalkeeper. |
3. Reading — About René Higuita
René Higuita is one of the most iconic goalkeepers in soccer history. Born in Colombia, he became famous for playing in a very different way. Instead of staying only on the goal line, Higuita played with creativity, confidence, and courage. He believed that goalkeepers could actively participate in the game, not just defend the goal.
This paragraph shows who Higuita is and why he is special.
Higuita worked hard to build his career and became an important player for the Colombian national team. He was known for his strong personality and fearless attitude on the field. His most famous moment was the “Scorpion Kick” at Wembley Stadium, when he cleared the ball using both heels behind his back. The move was risky, but it became one of the most memorable saves in soccer history.
This paragraph explains his dedication and his most famous moment.
Higuita also changed how people viewed the goalkeeper position. He often left his goal to help his team, passed the ball confidently, and helped start attacks. His style showed that goalkeepers could be creative and play an important role in the team’s tactics.
This paragraph focuses on his creative playing style.
Another example of a creative goalkeeper is Rogério Ceni from Brazil. While Higuita was known for bold and risky moves, Ceni showed creativity through discipline and precision. He was excellent on the goal line and also became famous for scoring goals from free kicks and penalties. His career proved that goalkeepers can be both creative and highly reliable.
This paragraph compares different types of creative goalkeepers.
Together, Higuita and Ceni changed the image of goalkeepers. Their stories show that creativity in soccer can appear in different forms — through courage, intelligence, and technical skill — even in defensive positions.
This final paragraph shows the main message of the lesson.
4. Check Your Understanding
- Where is René Higuita from?
- What made Higuita’s style different from traditional goalkeepers?
- What is the “Scorpion Kick”?
- How did Higuita change the goalkeeper role?
- Why is Rogério Ceni considered a creative goalkeeper?
5. Blog Comment Question
What is your opinion about René Higuita?
Why do you think he is a special goalkeeper?
Try to use one vocabulary word in your comment.
Example Comments
I think René Higuita is very creative because he played without fear and changed the goalkeeper role.
In my opinion, Higuita is brave because he takes risks and tries new moves on the field.
For me, René Higuita is inspiring because he accepts mistakes and continues playing with confidence.
In my opinion, Higuita is a good goalkeeper but he is not the best. For me Higuita has good defenses but he is not good goalkeeper. The famous defense of Higuita is called scorpion kick. The scorpion kick is beautiful, but it is not a good defense because it is very dangerous.
In my opinion, this very famous goalkeeper René Higuita is inspiring because he accepts his mistakes and continues playing with confidence. But at the same time, he makes risky decisions that are very dangerous for his team because if he failed his team could lose the match. I think René Higuita is very creative because he has a different style from other goalkeepers, but at the same time, he puts his team in a dangerous situation when he performs the scorpion kick.
For me, Higuita was a good goalkeeper because of his performance in Colombia. Higuita made a lot of risky decisions and one of the famous risky decisions that he made was the scorpion kick. This defense was very beautiful, but very risky at the same time. This goalkeeper played in Colombia and in clubs too. The first time that Higuita made the scorpion kick was against England, when a player kicked in the middle he made his defense. The crowd went crazy with this kick. I think that Higuita was a very courageous, creative and a good goalkeeper.
Higuita for me is a good goalkeeper. He has a very famous defense, the scorpion kick. In my opinion this defense was very dangerous, but beautiful, at the same time. And, besides that, Higuita showed that he could be more than just a guy in the goal. For me, perfomances like this really make soccer an exciting thing to watch. That’s why Higuita is part of the history of soccer today, even though he was not an extremely good goalkeeper.