Sergio Goycochea

Sergio Goycochea

250px Goycochea in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Sergio Javier Goycochea
Date of birth	(1963-10-17) 17 October 1963
Place of birth	Zárate, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
Height
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1979–1982	Defensores Unidos	?	(?)
1982–1988	River Plate	58	(0)
1988–1990	Millonarios	39	(0)
1991	Racing Club	35	(0)
1992	Brest	11	(0)
1992	Cerro Porteño	?	(?)
1993	Olimpia Asunción	?	(?)
1993–1994	River Plate	16	(0)
1994–1995	Mandiyú	30	(0)
1995–1996	Internacional	22	(0)
1996–1997	Vélez Sársfield	2	(0)
1997–1998	Newell's Old Boys	13	(0)
Total		226	(0)
International career
1981	Argentina U20	3	(0)
1987–1994	Argentina	44	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sergio Javier Goycochea (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈserxjo xaˈβjer ɣoikoˈtʃea]; born 17 October 1963) is an Argentine former football goalkeeper and male model. He is best known for his penalty kick saves.

Career

Goycochea was the substitute for Nery Pumpido both in River Plate and in the Argentine national team, and got his big break in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. When Pumpido was injured in Argentina's second group game against the Soviet Union, Goycochea replaced him. As Argentina qualified for the knockout stage, he kept a clean sheet in the 1-0 Second Round victory over Brazil and saved penalties in the quarter-final and semi-final penalty shootout victories against Yugoslavia and Italy. He was also close to saving the game-winning penalty kick from Andreas Brehme at the 1990 World Cup final against Germany, which Argentina lost 1-0. He was chosen as the goalkeeper of the Cup's All-Star Team.

El Goyco also played a few months in 1991 for the team Stade Brestois 29 from Brest in the region of Brittany, which was then named Brest Armorique, and was in the French second division and included players David Ginola, Corentin Martins and Stéphane Guivarc'h. Nonetheless, the team went bankrupt in November of that year, and was moved to the third division and lost its professional-team status.

With the national team, Goycochea also won the 1991 Copa América, 1992 FIFA Confederations Cup, 1993 Artemio Franchi Trophy, and 1993 Copa América. On the occasion of that 1993 Copa América tournament, Goycochea appeared on TV commercials for a Pepsi promotion by PepsiCo's division in Guayaquil. He also was on TV commercials for Adidas soccer apparel some years later.

His last name, Goycochea, spelled without e, but which other people of the same genealogy spell as Goycoechea, is derived from the Basque surname Goikoetxea meaning topmost house (from goiko "of the top" and etxe "house"). Sergio is frequently nicknamed thus El Vasco, but also El Goyco.

Goycochea is a football journalist hosting Elegante Sport (Argentina's Canal 7) and has partnered with Diego Maradona at La noche del Diez.

Career statistics

Argentina national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1987	1	0
1988	0	0
1989	0	0
1990	7	0
1991	13	0
1992	4	0
1993	16	0
1994	3	0
Total	44	0

Honours

River Plate

• Argentine Primera División (2): 1985–86, 1993 Apertura
• Copa Libertadores (1): 1986
• Copa Interamericana (1): 1987
• Intercontinental Cup (1): 1986

Millonarios

• Colombian Championship (1): 1988

Argentina

• Confederations Cup (1): 1992
• Copa América (2): 1991, 1993
• Artemio Franchi Trophy (1): 1993

Individual

• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team (1): 1990
• Footballer of the Year of Argentina (1): 1990
• FIFA XI (1): 1991
• IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper (2): Silver ball 1991, 1993
• South American Team of the Year (2): 1992, 1993
• Copa América player of the tournament (1): 1993

External links

• (Spanish) Futbol Factory profile (Archived)
• (Spanish) Argentine Primera statistics
• (Spanish) Interview to Sergio Goycochea - Diagonal
• (Portuguese) Globo Esporte's Futpédia entry