Angelo Campos‘ professional soccer career has only just begun, but it’s already produced a moment that he’ll savor forever.
The Peruvian goalkeeper pulled off a stunning double save Thursday, which ranks near the top of the all-time great goalkeeping heroics list.
Campos’ feat came during the latter stages of Peru’s game against Uruguay at the South American U-20 Championships.
Ironically, it was his own blunder that put him in position to act heroically. He had initially ventured off his goal line to intervene in an attack, but that didn’t work out so well. He failed to clear the ball, leaving Uruguay’s Gonzalo Bueno with the goal at his mercy.
Bueno rolled it toward the open net expecting to score with ease, but Campos had already reacted. The Peruvian raced back to his goal, dove and swatted the ball off the line. The first save was amazing. The second made headlines around the world.
Campos’ first save sent him tumbling into the goal and left the ball standing only a yard or two off the goal line. Bueno arrived first, looking to tap it in, but Campos recovered in time to clip it away with his leg and deny Uruguay the go-ahead goal.
Campos’ saves were pivotal in a match that ended in a 3-3 draw.
We don’t know what kind of player Campos will go on to become. Maybe he’ll become Peru’s No. 1 at the senior level. Perhaps he’ll win league titles in his homeland and seal a lucrative transfer to a foreign club.
However it turns out, he can take comfort in the fact that he got his 15 minutes of fame. Or he can spend the rest of his playing days trying to outdo his early feats.
See Campos’ amazing double save in the video below.
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