On September 6th, the 'Scorpion' will be 31 years old. On that same day in 1996, Rene Higuita pulled off an acrobatic save against England that needs no description. The football world knows it by heart, as does everything the Colombian did to revolutionise the job of the goalkeeper.
The legendary former Colombia goalkeeper and ambassador spoke to Flashscore about his boldness with the gloves and his nation's current form ahead of the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Especially after tough defeats in their most recent friendlies against France and Croatia in the build-up to the World Cup.
Here is what he had to say about the questions surrounding Nestor Lorenzo's slate and whether or not there is room for James Rodriguez in the starting eleven.
Colombia national team: Nestor Lorenzo and what James Rodriguez means for the tricolour team
How do you see Colombia in terms of identity and confidence?
"Let's see, in Colombia, we are very optimistic about our national team. Maybe in these last two games - defeats to France and Croatia - we are not happy with the performance, but we know the condition and the capacity of our team."
Tell me about the performances against France and Croatia. Now, taking into account the weight of these two teams, how do you analyse the development of these two matches?
"We had two teams in front of us to show what Colombia has. And the truth is that they didn't make us look our best. But we still have confidence in our national team, we still have confidence in our coach. When you get this kind of result, there is a lot of talk about the coach. And in Colombia, it was no exception with Nestor Lorenzo."
How do you view the current situation of the Argentinian coach?
"Well, I think the process comes in stages: the matches, the qualification and the World Cup. We start from scratch, and the opportunity is the experience that our national team has.
"We try to offer our point of view as ex-players and fans, everything to support our national team. And we always try to speak the best because... It's already very difficult to get into that part. The idea is not to cause controversy, but to try to unite all of us as a country and in favour of our national team."
The same thing happened with James Rodriguez after the friendlies in March. What is your opinion on that?
"Oh, God! Let's see, we're talking about James. He is a key player in our national team, and he doesn't need to show his ability to know what he brings to us. Knowing him, he's being criticised because he doesn't get many minutes in his team (Minnesota United).
"And Diaz is being criticised because he gets a lot of minutes. So who understands and who is being listened to? That's why I'm always respectful. Well, what we can do is wait... there's a reason why he's not being called up or why he's being called up to a national team. We all want, especially in the coaching position, to call those who are going to help us win."
The other case is Luis Diaz. He is living a very important present in Europe. He even scored against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu a few days ago. In terms of leadership, how do you see Luis' current situation, and who is the leader in this national team?
"The national team is full of leaders. In each of its positions, it has a leader, a person with a lot of experience. So, starting from here, you have to trust in that pilot, in that person who is steering the ship, who is Lorenzo.
"We have to hope that things work out for him. If we see that it's Luis Díaz, who is the one who has a very high level today, then we're going to work on the basis of taking advantage of that player who defines matches so well. That's a very difficult position for our coach."
Given your extensive knowledge of the position and the experience of wearing your colours at a World Cup, how do you analyse Colombia's goalkeeping?
"Colombia has very good goalkeepers. There's (Alvaro) Montero, there's our friend David Ospina, there's Camilo Vargas? There's (Kevin) Mier, there's (Luis) Marquinez, there's Kevin, who people don't know, but who are in the process, who could easily be goalkeepers for our national team. So, we are totally relaxed. We can sleep easy with the goalkeepers of our national team."
The World Cup: candidates and the new rules in football
Let's go straight to the World Cup: who are your candidates?
"Well, there are several candidates. When you start watching the Champions League, you start to see the number of players from different countries; we can't rule out Argentina, who won the title in Qatar 2022; we can't rule out France, Germany, Spain, Brazil, and maybe it doesn't sound like much, but the Uruguayan national team can also be a surprise.
"And I have a lot of confidence in the Colombian national team."
If you had to bet on a champion, who is your favourite?
"It depends, because if I had to, I'm always going to bet on my Colombia team; I'm not going to bet against them. And if I were to pick a runner-up, it would be France."
Which goalkeepers do you like the most in football today?
"Well, there's Neuer, look at what he showed these days, in that game he had with Real Madrid; I don't dislike Courtois, I think he's an excellent goalkeeper too. And, well, for me, the best goalkeeper at the moment is 'Dibu' Martinez."
Is there a goalkeeper at the moment that you see yourself in?
"The goalkeeper will always be a support, a very important support for a team. The way football has evolved today, because of its rules, its regulations... he has, let's say, much more participation, if the team or the conditions of the goalkeeper require it; because if he doesn't have that technical condition, why is he going to take risks at the start of the game? They're pressing us, so get hold of the ball and send it up."
"The goalkeeper is there to cover. When we started, and it started to change, there were five defenders, which was the line of four and a sweeper or a stopper. Then we started to change with a line of four and a stopper; the sweeper was the goalkeeper. Nowadays, we sometimes play with three, but with the strikers who are going to attack, they often also come to defend, and we have a line of five. So the most important thing we can do is to keep a clean sheet."
Football has changed and continues to change every day. For example, the hydration break at each half or the five seconds to restart the game. How do you see all these new rules that are being implemented?
"All these changes that are made in favour of football are welcome. Within that, also to have referees with character. That's very good. It's just that sometimes the stands 'whistle for the game', so sometimes they interrupt; how good it is when the referee doesn't sit on the pitch! But when he has to be firm, he is, and that makes the player more loyal at the time of the matches, which is what we are looking for, to give more speed to the game."