Petar Borota

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Petar Borota (born 5 March 1952 in Belgrade) is a retired Yugoslavian footballer who played as a goalkeeper, most notably for Chelsea.

He signed for Chelsea from Partizan Belgrade in March 1979 for £70,000 with the club on the verge of relegation from the First Division. He made his debut against champions-elect Liverpool and impressed in a 0-0 draw but ultimately couldn't prevent relegation to the Second Division. He had a flamboyant and somewhat eccentric style - on occasions, he would dribble up the field and attempt to get past opposition players or throw the ball against the crossbar when taking a goal kick - which endeared him to the Chelsea fans and helped make him a cult hero at the club. He was voted Chelsea player of the year in 1981 after keeping 16 clean sheets that season.

However, his erratic behaviour sometimes backfired and led to the team conceding goals, which did not endear him to his managers. After a fall-out with John Neal he joined Brentford in 1982 and later Portuguese sides SL Benfica and FC Porto. He made 114 appearances for Chelsea and kept 36 clean sheets.

Borota was later caught up in an art forgery scam.