Rogério Mücke Ceni (; born 22 January 1973) is a Brazilian professional football

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and former player who is in charge of São Paulo FC. He is considered one of the all-time greatest Brazilian goalkeepers and is recognised by the

International Federation of Football History & Statistics The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

as the goalkeeper to have scored the most goals in the history of football. During the height of his career (2005-2008) he was also recognized as one of the best goalkeepers in the world at the time. Most of Ceni's vast professional career, which had spanned 25 years and 1237 professional club matches, was associated with São Paulo, with which he won 20 major titles, including three Brazilian Leagues, two Copa Libertadores and the 2005 FIFA Club World Cup. He also scored 131 goals during his career, with most of them coming from free kicks and penalties and one coming from open play. Ceni also represented

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

18 times over the course of his career, being part of the squads that won the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

and the

1997 FIFA Confederations Cup The 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup was the first Confederations Cup to be organised by FIFA. The tournament had previously been played in 1992 and 1995 as the King Fahd Cup. This edition of the tournament was hosted by Saudi Arabia, as with the pre ...

, and also taking part at the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

Early life

Rogério Mücke Ceni was born 22 January 1973 in

Pato Branco Pato Branco ("White Duck" in English) is a municipality in the state of Paraná in Brazil. The municipality covers 537,8 km² (206.7 mi²) and has a population of 83,843 (2020 IBGE estimate). Pato Branco started off as a village in 1942 and was ...

, Paraná. Ceni is of Italian and German descent. He holds Italian citizenship.

Club career

Ceni made his senior debuts with

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. In 1990, the 17-year-old joined

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, spending his first six seasons in

Brazilian Série A Brazilian commonly refers to: * Something of, from or relating to Brazil * Brazilian Portuguese, the dialect of the Portuguese language used mostly in Brazil * Brazilians, the people (citizens) of Brazil, or of Brazilian descent Brazilian may als ...

as a backup or third-choice. On 25 June 1993 Ceni made his first team debut, starting in a 4–1 win against

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

for the Trofeo Ciudad de Santiago de Compostela friendly championship. In the following year he was utilized as a starter in the 1994 Copa CONMEBOL, appearing in all matches as his side was crowned champions. In the 1997 season, after

Zetti Armelino Donizetti Quagliato, best known as ''Zetti'' (born 10 January 1965 in Porto Feliz), is a Brazilian football pundit and retired manager and footballer, who played as a goalkeeper. Playing career Club Zetti played with São Paulo fr ...

moved to Santos, Ceni was chosen as his replacement. On 14 July 2005, Ceni was São Paulo's captain as the team won the 2005 Copa Libertadores, a third for the club. Two weeks later, in a match against

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

, he broke the record for most appearances for the team, with 618 matches – he wore a special commemorative jersey that had the number "618" printed on the back; on 25 July of the following year, he scored a penalty against Mexican side Guadalajara (also a match-winner), becoming the ''Tricolors all-time leading scorer in the Libertadores. From 2005 to 2007, he scored an astonishing 47 goals in all competitions combined, as the club won two national championships and the

2005 FIFA Club World Cup The 2005 FIFA Club World Championship (officially known as the FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup Japan 2005 for sponsorship reasons) was the second FIFA Club World Championship, a football competition organised by FIFA for the champion club ...

; in the latter competition, he netted in the semifinals against

Ittihad The Ittihad Party ( az, İttihad firqəsi) was a radical Islamist party in the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1917–1920. It was formed in September 1917 in opposition to the secular Musavat Party and proposed political unity of all the Musl ...

(3–2, through a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

), and was voted ''

Man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

'' in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, as well as the tournament's

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. On 20 August 2006, Ceni scored his 63rd and record-breaking goal by netting a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

against Cruzeiro in the domestic league, a few minutes after denying a penalty to the opposition. Later in the same match, he scored a goal from the spot and took his total to 64, also tying the match 2–2; this put him two goals ahead of the previous holder,

Paraguayan Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

José Luis Chilavert José Luis Félix Chilavert González (; born 27 July 1965) is a Paraguayan former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Sportivo Luqueño, Guaraní, San Lorenzo de Almagro, Real Zaragoza, Vélez Sarsfield, RC Strasbourg, ...

. On 29 October 2006, Ceni made his 700th official appearance for São Paulo, against

Figueirense Figueirense Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Figueirense, is a Brazilian professional club based in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina founded on 12 June 1921. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, the third tier of Brazilian ...

in a 2–0 victory. Some of the gloss was taken off the occasion when the player was ordered to change his bright yellow jersey because it matched with the referee's; at the end of the 2007 season, which ended in league conquest, he was voted by the Brazilian Football Confederation as the Best Player. In April 2009, Ceni fractured his

ankle The ankle, or the talocrural region, or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular joi ...

in training, being initially sidelined for six months, but recovering sooner than expected. On 28 October 2010, against

Atlético Paranaense Club Athletico Paranaense (commonly known as Athletico and formerly known as Atlético Paranaense) is a Brazilian football team from the city of Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná, founded on March 26, 1924. The team ...

, he played his 700th game as club captain. The following year, on 27 March, he scored from a free kick to win the match against arch rivals

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...

, shooting from 18 metres for his 100th goal. On 7 September 2011, Ceni made his 1000th appearance for São Paulo. In late January of the following year, the 39-year-old underwent an operation on his

shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder mak ...

, losing six months of competition. On 1 August 2012, Ceni returned to the field, scoring from a direct free kick in a 2–0 Copa Sudamericana away win against

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

; his side went on to win that year's tournament. He subsequently scored three goals in the league, ending the campaign as a starter. Despite already being aged 40, Ceni stated that his spirit for competition was the same as an eighteen-year-old's, but still stating that his recovery is harder than years ago. On 14 July 2013, Ceni scored his 111th goal from a free kick in a 2–3 loss at Vitória. On 7 December 2013, after lengthy negotiations, Ceni renewed his contract with ''Tricolor'' for a further season. On 20 April 2014, in a 3–0 home win against

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood ('' bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of ...

, he had three records recognized by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

: most goals scored by a goalkeeper, number of games played for the same club and number of times as captain. On 27 October 2014, Ceni broke Ryan Giggs' record for most wins at a single club after playing in São Paulo's 3–0 win over

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goi ...

. He finished the campaign with eight league goals (his best goal scoring record within seven years), being an undisputed starter. On 28 November 2014, Ceni signed a new deal with São Paulo, until August 2015, despite previously stating that he would retire at the end of the season. On 29 March 2015, after scoring in a 3–0 home win against Linense, he surpassed

Marcelinho Carioca Marcelo Pereira Surcin (born 1 February 1971), known as Marcelinho Carioca, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He was noted for his accuracy from free-kicks, having scored 80 free kick goals in ...

in the number of goals scored by direct free kicks for only one club, with Ceni having 60 and Marcelinho, 59. In June 2015, Ceni scored his 128th goal, entering in the club's top 10 goalscorers list. Ceni announced his retirement from professional football on 6 December 2015.

International career

A Brazilian international for nine years, Ceni collected 16

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

. He was selected to the squads that won the

and the

(and the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

, still not fully recovered from knee surgery), but only appeared in two games in final stages, the 3–2 win against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in the first tournament and the 4–1 triumph over Japan in the third.

Coaching career

In December 2016, Ceni was appointed as São Paulo coach, with Englishman Michael Beale and Frenchman Charles Hembert joining as his assistants. On 3 July 2017, after poor results - São Paulo were eliminated in

State League The Hallyburton Johnstone Shield is the premier domestic women's one-day cricket competition in New Zealand. The tournament began in 1935–36, as a first-class competition, but is now played as a 50-over competition, with six provincial teams ...

Brazilian Cup The Copa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de ...

and

2017 Copa Sudamericana The 2017 Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana was the 16th edition of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (also referred to as the ''Copa Sudamericana'', or pt, Copa Sul-Americana), South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. Argent ...

into a period of one month and are in relegation zone in Brazilian League, he was sacked. Ceni signed with Fortaleza to coach the team in 2018. On 3 November of that year, Fortaleza clinched promotion to the Série A, and seven days later, the club clinched the Série B title for the first time in its history. In 2019, Fortaleza also won the

Campeonato Cearense The Campeonato Cearense is the football league of the state of Ceará, Brazil. Format The Campeonato Cearense has three divisions with the following division and format (as in any other Brazilian soccer championship, the format can change ev ...

and the Copa do Nordeste. On 11 August 2019, Ceni was named Cruzeiro head coach, but was dismissed on 26 September, after having altercations with the club's main players, specifically

Thiago Neves Thiago Neves Augusto (born 27 February 1985), known as Thiago Neves, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. Club career Thiago Neves was born in Curitiba. Playing for Fluminense in 2008, he scored a hat-t ...

and Dedé. Three days later, Ceni was announced at his former side Fortaleza, replacing fired Zé Ricardo. On 22 October 2020, he again won the Ceará state title, his fourth title with Fortaleza. On 10 November 2020, Ceni agreed to a contract with

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...

until December 2021, replacing the sacked

Domènec Torrent Domènec Torrent Font (born 14 July 1962) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player. He recently managed Turkish club Galatasaray. After playing and coaching at an amateur level, Torrent became an assistant to Pep Guardiol ...

. He won the 2020 Série A with the club, but was sacked on 10 July 2021. Ceni returned to São Paulo on 13 October 2021, being named head coach in the place of

Hernán Crespo Hernán Jorge Crespo (; born 5 July 1975) is an Argentine professional football coach and former player. He is the current manager of Qatari club Al-Duhail. A prolific striker, Crespo scored over 300 goals in a career spanning 19 years. At in ...

Style of play

A dead-ball specialist, Ceni was the official taker of free kicks and penalties for São Paulo from 1997 until his retirement, a time period in which he scored 131 goals. In addition to his accurate set-pieces, prolific goalscoring, distribution, and ability with the ball at his feet, he was also known as an excellent goalkeeper and shot-stopper, and stood out for his determination and longevity throughout his career, as he retired at over 40 years of age. Ceni was known for being capable of producing brilliant saves, such as those in the final of the 2005 FIFA Club World Cup, which saw São Paulo defeat Liverpool 1–0; for his performances, Ceni later won the Golden Ball, which is awarded to the competition's best player. He is considered to be one of Brazil's greatest goalkeepers ever.

Career statistics

Club

International

Coaching statistics

Honours

Player

Sinop * Campeonato Mato-Grossense: 1990 São Paulo * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2006, 2007,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

* Campeonato Paulista: 1992,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, 2005 * Supercampeonato Paulista: 2002 * Torneio Rio – São Paulo: 2001 * Copa Libertadores:

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

, 2005 * Copa Sudamericana:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

* Recopa Sudamericana:

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

Supercopa Libertadores The Supercopa Libertadores (English: ''Libertadores Supercup''), also known as the Supercopa Libertadores João Havelange, Supercopa João Havelange or simply Supercopa, was a football club competition contested annually between 1988 and 1997 by t ...

Copa CONMEBOL The Copa CONMEBOL ( en, CONMEBOL Cup) was an annual football cup competition organized by CONMEBOL between 1992 and 1999 for South American football clubs. During its time of existence, it was a very prestigious South American club football contes ...

Copa Master de CONMEBOL The Copa Masters CONMEBOL ( en, CONMEBOL Masters Cup, pt, Copa Master da Conmebol or Supercopa Conmebol) was a football club competition contested by the 4 past winners of the Copa CONMEBOL at the time. The cup is one of the many inter-South Ameri ...

: 1996 * Intercontinental Cup:

* FIFA Club World Cup: 2005 Brazil *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

: 2002 * FIFA Confederations Cup:

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

Individual * Bola de Prata: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 *

Bola de Ouro The ''Bola de Ouro'' (Golden Ball) is an annual award given each year, since 1973, by Brazilian sports magazine '' Placar'' to the best player in the Campeonato Brasileiro. A group of sports journalists watch every match of the competition and ra ...

: 2008 * Copa Libertadores Best Player: 2005 *

FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball The FIFA Club World Cup is an international association football competition organised by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship was first contested as the FIFA Club W ...

: 2005 * FIFA Club World Cup MVP of the Final Match Trophy: 2005 * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Player of the Year: 2006, 2007 * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year: 2006, 2007 *

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

World's Highest Scoring Goalkeeper of the 21st Century 2001–2020

Coach

Fortaleza * Campeonato Brasileiro Série B:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

: 2019,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

* Copa do Nordeste:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Flamengo * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A:

Supercopa do Brasil The Supercopa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Super Cup) is a Brazilian association football trophy organized by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). It is contested between the champions of the Campeonato Brasileiro and the winners of the Copa d ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

* Campeonato Carioca:

São Paulo *

Florida Cup The Florida Cup (also known as the state championship of Florida) is the annual American football rivalry between the University of Florida Gators, Florida State University Seminoles and the University of Miami Hurricanes. Along with the Com ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

Individual *Campeonato Cearense Best Coach: 2019, 2020 *Campeonato Paulista Best Coach: 2022 * Bola de Prata: 2020

References

External links

São Paulo official profile
* *
IFFHS Top Division goal scorer ranking among goalkeepers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceni, Rogerio 1973 births Living people People from Pato Branco Brazilian people of German descent Brazilian people of Italian descent Brazilian footballers Association football goalkeepers Sinop Futebol Clube players São Paulo FC players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Brazil international footballers 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players FIFA World Cup-winning players Brazilian football managers São Paulo FC managers Fortaleza Esporte Clube managers Cruzeiro Esporte Clube managers CR Flamengo managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série B managers Citizens of Italy through descent Sportspeople from Paraná (state)