RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) -- Romario, one of the football's great penalty area poachers, could score his 1,000th goal this week and in doing so will leave the statisticians as perplexed as the hapless defenders who have tried to mark him.

Still knocking in the goals for Vasco da Gama at the age of 41, Brazil's 1994 World Cup winner claims to have scored 998 goals so far, putting him on the brink of emulating Pele and passing the 1,000 mark.

There is one slight flaw, however. Romario's own statistics, posted on Vasco's official Web site, clearly show that many of his goals were scored in friendly, youth and even testimonial games.

Two of his goals, for example, were scored during a festive match in 2004 between members of Brazil's World Cup winning side from 10 years earlier and a team of retired Mexican internationals.

Romario has also scored for unlikely-sounding outfits as "Friends of Aldair" and "PSV Stars" and against teams such as "Friends of Luisinho."

According to the sports magazine Placar, some of the testimonial games included amateur players and might not have even been 90 minutes long.

Romario's count also includes goals from Brazilian championship games for Vasco against Brasiliense and Figueirense which were later declared void.

Last year, Vasco even considered turning practice sessions into friendly games to help him reach the 1,000 mark.

Seventy-seven of Romario's goals were scored at youth-team level, including seven when he was playing for Olaria as a 13-year-old in the infants category.

Another 172 were scored in matches which would not normally be termed competitive, leaving 749 scored either in full internationals or in competitive club games.

Of those, 261 were scored for Vasco, 130 for Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, 39 for Barcelona, 187 for Flamengo, 6 for Valencia, 47 for Fluminense, 22 for Miami FC and 1 for Adelaide United.

He also scored 56 goals in full internationals for Brazil.

Although the media have pointed out the discrepancies, few Brazilians, however, are prepared to begrudge Romario his achievement which is likely to be greeted with huge festivities.

Vasco's next game is a Copa Brasil tie away to Gama in the capital Brasilia on Wednesday.

Romario, however, has already made it clear that he would prefer to reach the milestone the following Sunday when a game against Flamengo, Vasco's archrivals, at the Maracana, his favorite hunting-ground, would provide the perfect stage.

Pele also scored his 1,000th goal -- a total which might also not stand up to the scrutiny of more demanding football statisticians -- at the famous arena, curiously against Romario's current club Vasco.

"I think that, with my history and for world of football itself, it would be a very proud moment for me and for everyone else if I could score the 1,000th goal on the same pitch where Pele scored his," said Romario, after hitting a hat trick in the 6-2 win against Boavista on Saturday.

"To score a goal is special in any situation. To score the 1,000th goal against a traditional club such as Flamengo would be an honor."

Flamengo goalkeeper Bruno, however, was not thrilled about the prospect. "I'd rather not be involved in this story," he told reporters.

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