@FootynewsThe locker room went quiet when the coach at Sao Paulo announced, ahead of the match against Sao Joao in 1997, that any free kick would belong to Rogerio Ceni. Fear spread through the squad, and Ceni felt it too. Then a free kick arrived, and he put it in the net. That moment didn't come out of nowhere. Ceni has said he was always excessively punctual, showing up to training well before everyone else, changing clothes with nobody around to pair up with. Alone on the field, he'd start trying to hit the crossbar and simulate free kicks. Every day he brought a bag holding 20 balls. Practically all of them found the bar. His reasoning followed from there: if he could strike that thin bar, the goal, which is far bigger, was hittable too. So when the coach handed him the duty, the team's fear wasn't irrational. It was a bet on all those empty afternoons. #RogerioCeni #SaoPauloFC

@FootynewsThe locker room went quiet when the coach at Sao Paulo announced, ahead of the match against Sao Joao in 1997, that any free kick would belong to Rogerio Ceni. Fear spread through the squad, and Ceni felt it too. Then a free kick arrived, and he put it in the net. That moment didn't come out of nowhere. Ceni has said he was always excessively punctual, showing up to training well before everyone else, changing clothes with nobody around to pair up with. Alone on the field, he'd start trying to hit the crossbar and simulate free kicks. Every day he brought a bag holding 20 balls. Practically all of them found the bar. His reasoning followed from there: if he could strike that thin bar, the goal, which is far bigger, was hittable too. So when the coach handed him the duty, the team's fear wasn't irrational. It was a bet on all those empty afternoons. #RogerioCeni #SaoPauloFC