It is widely accepted that you have to be a little crazy to be a goalkeeper, but whose is the craziest of the lot? Bruce Grobbalaar? Rene Higuita? There can only be one clown prince and that has to be Paraguay’s Jose Luis Chilavert.

The extremely extrovert goalkeeper, who plays with a bulldog emblazoned on his jersey, is renowned the world over for his antics on and off the pitch. The 6’2” keeper, who plays for Velez Sarsfield, has managed to score over forty goals in his career at both domestic and international level. A free kick and penalty expert, his goal getting highlight came when he scored against Argentina in a crucial world cup qualifier to earn a vital 1-1 draw. He was subsequently warned by locals to leave Argentina before they killed him.

Apart from when he is scoring goals he is a top class goalkeeper, which was demonstrated when both Liverpool and Newcastle tried unsuccessfully to bring him to England. His reputation is further enhanced by the fact that he has been voted World Goalkeeper of the year twice (a title he gives himself anyway), and named goalkeeper of the tournament at France 98.

Unfortunately for Chilavert he also has a darker side to his game, which often sees him getting into trouble. Punching Tino Asprilla and Diego Maradona as well as a steward have led to the Paraguayan captain receiving numerous bans and a three-month suspended prison sentence.