Football has over the years seen some amazing goals, directly from corner-kicks, free-kicks but rarely are any of those goals scored by the goalkeeper and let alone from his own end of the field.
Argentine goalkeeper Leandro Requena pulled off a stunning goal in the game between his side CD Cobresal and Colo-Colo in the Chilean league.
According to CNN, with his team already leading 2-0 in the 77th minute, Requena took what initially looked like a fairly innocuous goal kick. However, with Colo-Colo goalkeeper Brayan Cortés well outside of his penalty area, the ball bounced over his head and towards goal. To add to his embarrassment, Cortés stumbled as he tried in vain to chase the ball as it crossed the line.
According to TNT Sports Chile, the goal was scored from a distance of 101 meters which, if ratified by Guinness World Records, would break the record for the longest range goal in history. The current record is 96.01 meters, set by Tom King in 2021 during a match between Newport County and Cheltenham Town in England’s fourth tier.
“I asked Juan Silva, the club’s manager, if the request for the record application was really going to be made and he told me ‘obviously yes,’” Requena told Radio Bio Bio.
“So now we are waiting for what is needed to verify what the distance really was. [Silva] did tell me that the ANFP [Chilean Football Federation] called him to check the measurements of the field.” FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, recommends the size of a professional soccer pitch should be 105 meters by 68 meters. “If so, since the area is five meters, it would be logically over 100,” Requena added. “The truth is that I am happy with all this, more than anything personally, but also for the institution, for Chilean football. Going down in history with an event like this makes me happy.”
Requena said he thought altitude – Cobresal’s stadium is 2,400 meters above sea level – might have played a part in his remarkable goal. “I wanted to take the kick quickly as we have done so many times at altitude, to try to catch the rival off guard and it came out a little stronger than normal,” Requena told Radio Bio Bio.
“The first thing I did as soon as the ball left my foot was hold my head because there were two players in a clear position to counterattack and I realized that it had gone long. “When I saw the bounce made it difficult for Brayan and it went past him, I thought the ball could go in.”
Guinness World Records told CNN that it has not yet received an application for this record.
