Duckadam, former Steaua goalkeeper, dead: the first modern penalty saver

Mourning in the world of football. He died today at the age of 65, Helmut Duckadam former European champion goalkeeper with Steaua Bucharest. His name is linked to finale of the then European Cup 1985-86 when he managed to intercept everyone and four penalties kicked by Barcelona giving the cup to his fans.

Helmuth Duckadam, the Romanian goalkeeper who took four penalties in the 1985/86 Champions League final against Barcelona, ​​has died at the age of 65, giving Steaua Bucharest the title. pic.twitter.com/z2KDyF74uT

— João Renato Alves (@jrenato83) December 2, 2024

Duckadam was the very first goalkeeper ‘penalty saver’ in the history of football, a title that also earned him a special mention in the Guinness Book of Records. The former Romanian number one wore the Steaua shirt for four seasons and was also called up to the national team, but only collected two appearances. After his retirement, Steaua, now known as FCSB, made him their image man. In recent years, however, he had suffered from several health problemsso much so that he underwent heart surgery nine times.