Football
ESPN staff 8y

Sao Paulo goalkeeping legend Rogerio Ceni retires after 23 seasons

#INSERT type:image caption:Goal-scoring goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni has hung up his gloves after 23 seasons with Sao Paulo.END#

Sao Paulo legend Rogerio Ceni, a World Cup winner with Brazil and scorer of 131 goals in offical matches, has put an end to a glittering career after officially announcing his retirement on Sunday.

Ceni, 42, made his Sao Paulo debut in 1993 and went on to play more than 1,200 matches for the club -- scoring at a rate of almost a goal every 10 games over the course of a career that took in 18 major titles and spanned three decades. He had joined the club three years earlier from Sinop, at the age of 17.

The dead-ball specialist took over the No. 1 shirt in 1997 and by 2005 had scored 21 times, overtaking other famous  goal-scoring keepers such as Rene Higuita and Jose Luis Chilavert.

He spent almost his entire career at Sao Paulo, and won Copa Libertadores in 1992, 1993 and 2005 as well as two Intercontinental Cups (1992 and 1993) and a Club World Cup (2005), as well as 16 caps for his country.

In October 2014, Ceni's 590th win with Sao Paulo surpassed the world record for victories at a single club previously held by Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs.

Fellow 2002 World Cup winner Ronaldinho was among those who took time to congratulate Ceni via Twitter.

Ceni, who had previously planned to retire in December of last year, left the club after leading them into Copa Libertadores qualifying

Ceni was forced to miss Sunday's meeting with Goais due to injury, depriving fans of the chance to see him play, and perhaps even score, one final time.

An event to honour the iconic shot-stopper will take place at Sao Paulo's Morumbi Stadium on Friday, Dec. 11 with a match that will pit stars from the Sao Paulo side that won back-to-back Intercontinental Cups in 1992-93 against stars from the 2005 FIFA Club World Cup team.

^ Back to Top ^