Egyptian goalkeeper Mahmoud Gad is being hailed a "maverick" after footage of his extraordinary exploits sent world football into a frenzy.

Gad by no means appears to do things by the book as a haphazard five-second passage of play perfectly demonstrated midway through the first half against Pyramids FC.

The ENPPI SC goalkeeper was left all at sea when he inexplicably raced out of his box to launch a diving header back down the pitch after a Pyramids long ball.

The decision to come out for the header was crazy enough but what happened next was absolutely bonkers.

Gad's header went straight to a Pyramids player near, who struck a sweet volley on goal from just in front of the halfway line.

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Stranded more than 10 metres out of his goal box, Gad took off in pursuit of the audacious long-range effort from his opponent.

The ball was destined for the back of the net until a desperate last-second dive from Gad saw the keeper divert the ball away for a corner.

It was one of the craziest sequences fans are likely to see at a football match, with Gad's heroics lighting up social media.

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Unfortunately for Gad, the extraordinary save proved one of few highlights for his side as ENPPI went down 4-0 to Pyramids.

However, the goalkeeper’s kamikaze play will not easily be forgotten.

Just don’t expect to see many other keepers adopting the Egyptian’s reckless yet infectious style of play any time soon.

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