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Chris Wright, Toe Poke writer
On the night he made his competition debut, goalkeeper Ivan Provedel ensured his own UEFA Champions League immortality after emerging as Lazio‘s unlikely saviour against Atletico Madrid.
Rather than making a last-gasp save or parrying a pivotal penalty, Provedel made his mark at the other end of the pitch, careening forward to head home a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser for the Serie A side with mere seconds left to play.
Having trailed to Pablo Barrios‘ goal since the 29th minute, Lazio were heading for a dispiriting home defeat at the Stadio Olimpico in their Group E opener. However, with 94:19 minutes on the clock, their goalkeeper (who wears the No. 94 jersey and is also 1.94 metres tall and was born in 1994) leapt into the night sky to steer home Luis Alberto‘s angled cross and rescue a 1-1 draw with the final action of the game.
With that Provedel also gained entry into one of football’s most exclusive clubs by becoming only the fourth goalkeeper to score in the Champions League, and only the second to score a non-penalty goal in the competition.
🚨 LAZIO GOALKEEPER IVAN PROVEDEL SCORES WITH THE LAST TOUCH OF THE GAME 🚨
Only the second keeper in Champions League HISTORY to score a non-penalty. 😱 pic.twitter.com/wMpUhnMwg7
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 19, 2023
Here’s a history of the other three members of the UEFA Champions League’s Grand Order of Goal-Scoring Goalies (or ‘UCLGOGSG’ for short,) and how they came to earn their place.
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Vincent Enyeama
🇳🇬 Vincent Enyeama becomes the third goalkeeper to score in the Champions League 🧤#UCL pic.twitter.com/u24jZJeYvO
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 1, 2021
Prior to Provodel’s heroics, Enyeama was the most recent addition to the club when the former Nigeria captain found the net from the penalty spot for Hapoel Tel-Aviv against Lyon in 2010. Having taken over as Hapoel’s principal penalty taker in 2008-09, Enyeama netted several spot kicks for the Israeli club including a goal in the 2009-10 State Cup final. He then repeated the feat in the Champions League, firstly with a successful conversion against FC Salzburg in the qualifying rounds before netting another against Lyon in the group stage — albeit scant consolation in a 3-1 defeat.
Sinan Bolat
#OnThisDay in 2⃣0⃣0⃣9⃣
⏱️ 90. +5 @Standard_RSCL 🆚 @AZAlkmaar
⚽️ Sinan Bolat 😲👏👏👏
#UCL pic.twitter.com/ai8dOQIAWA— UEFA.com DE (@UEFAcom_de) December 9, 2019
The second member of the UCLGOGSG gained entry in 2009 when Standard Liege’s Turkey international got on the scoresheet in 1-1 draw against AZ Alkmaar. While not the first to score outright, Bolat was the first goalkeeper to notch a non-penalty goal in the competition and did so with a precious 95th-minute header that salvaged a draw for the Belgian club that qualified them for the Europa League knockout phase at the expense of AZ, who finished bottom of Group H and dropped out of European competition entirely.
Hans-Jörg Butt
DID YOU KNOW?
Goalkeeper Hans-Jörg Butt has scored three goals in the Champions League, including this penalty #OTD in 2002 🧤@bayer04_en | #UCL pic.twitter.com/ycy8INz82p
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 12, 2021
Put simply, Butt is one of football’s most prolific goal-scoring goalkeepers to have ever played the game. The former Germany international rifled home 32 career goals in all competitions during his career, an impressive tally that puts him in the top 10 on the all-time list. He holds the record for the most goals scored in one single European professional league (26 goals in the Bundesliga) and the record for the most goals scored by a goalkeeper in the Champions League, with three to his name.
Oddly, Butt’s treble of Champions League penalty goals were all scored for different clubs but came against the same opposition, with Juventus on the receiving end each and every time. Butt’s first goal came for Hamburg in a frantic 4-4 draw against Juventus in the first group stage of the 2000-01 Champions League. The second contributed to Bayer Leverkusen‘s underdog run to the 2001-02 final, the opener in a 3-1 win over Juve in the second group stage.
He then had to wait six years for his third, notching Bayern’s first goal in a vital 4-1 comeback win against the Bianconeri that sealed the Bavarians’ progression into the knockout phase.