“Incredible save from Grohe!” screamed commentator Gustavo Villani. “What did he do!? Explain to me because I don’t understand. A spectacular save! He became a wall! A miraculous hand! He came out like he was a handball goalkeeper.”

If Gordon Banks made the save of the 20th century, then Marcelo Grohe may have made the save of this one. He hurtled his body into the air like Spider-Man and, somehow, repelled an Ariel Nahuelpan blast from only yards out. The Argentinian, head in hands, was as thunderstruck as Pele had been in Guadalajara. Banks admitted he was awestruck at Grohe’s miracle, calling it “absolutely amazing”.
The save immediately went viral and made headlines across the planet. Fundamentally to Grohe, it helped Gremio win that Copa Libertadores 2017 semi-final, go on to lift the trophy and qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup™ in Abu Dhabi. There, Grohe dazzled as they beat Pachuca 1-0 to reach the final, in which, despite his best efforts, they succumbed to a solitary goal from Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Brazilian goalkeeper has already exacted revenge on the Portuguese GOAT. Earlier this year, he produced a mind-blowing save from a point-blank header to leave Cristiano, head in hands like Nahuelpan, gobsmacked and help Al Ittihad beat Al Nassr in the Saudi Super Cup semi-finals. The Tigers went on to win that competition, and then to win the race with Ronaldo and the Knights of Najd for the Saudi Pro League title, which consequently qualified them for the forthcoming FIFA Club World Cup in their homeland.

FIFA caught up with the serial producer of wonder saves to discuss the passion of the Ittihad supporters, playing alongside N’Golo Kante and Karim Benzema, and their target for Saudi Arabia 2023.