Why today is World Goalkeeper Day

Today, April 14, is called International Goalkeeper Day, which serves to honor the players who, in many cases, have the most thankless roles in football. Often hero, many times villain. The reason why it is April 14 lies in the history of the Colombian goalkeeper Miguel Calero, idol in Colombia and Mexico, died early at the age of 41, just one after retirement. Calero was called El Cóndor, symbolized by the wings he wore on the back of his ‘1’ shirt.

horseman (born in Ginebra, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, on April 14, 1971) started playing for Rfree from his hometown, but he finished training in Carlos Sarmiento Lora Soccer School. There he kept up with other future figures of the Colombian goal as Faryd Mondragón and Óscar Córdoba.

gg.didomi.doWhenConsent(!window.didomiBypass, ‘c:twitterwi-wUmBnnKy’, function () {
var x = document.createElement(‘script’);
x.setAttribute(“type”,”text/javascript”);
x.setAttribute(“src”, “//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”);
x.setAttribute(“charset”, “utf-8”);
$(“.twitter-tweet”).closest( “span” ).append(x);
});

Calero’s first club as a professional was the Sporting de Barranquillabut where he left the biggest mark was on Deportivo Calithat came to replace Carlos Trucco and where he became the idol of the fans, especially when he won the national title in 1996. Calero was captivating with his saves and became a star with his eccentric exits with his feet. Playing for Pachuca, he scored a goal against Chiapas on August 11, 2002.

His move to National Athletic At the time, it was the most expensive in the history of Colombian football (today’s equivalent of 1.2 million euros). He repeated the league title in 1998 and made the jump to Mexican soccer by signing for Pachucawhose goal he defended for 11 years, during which he was captain and won 4 leagues, 4 CONCACAF Champions (the Central American Champions), and a South American Cup (in 2006).

He came to play 50 matches Colombia (between 1995 and 2007)although it is in the shadow of Oscar Córdoba. He was summoned to a World Cup and to 6 editions of the Copa América (among them, one in 2001, won by the coffee growers). horseman played the third match, where Colombia beat Chile 2-0.

Miguel Calero he hung up his gloves on October 23, 2011 and became the goalkeeper coach of Pachuca. A year after his retirement, on December 4, 2012, he died in Mexico City of a cerebral infarction at the age of 41, after suffering a stroke at his home in Pachuca two weeks before. After being cremated, his ashes were distributed between Colombia and Mexico.

The early death of Miguel Calero caused great pain in the world of football, especially in Colombia and Mexico. Pachuca dedicated a monument to him. “If I were to be born again, my name would be Miguel Calero, I would be a goalkeeper and I would defend the colors of Pachuca,” the mourner once said.

And a campaign was launched, led by the glove brand Rinat (who sponsored the goalkeeper), so on April 14, the date of his birth, has been declared International Goalkeeper Day. And this is from 2013.