Panenka (penalty kick)
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association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
, the Panenka is a technique used while taking a
penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
in which the taker, instead of kicking the ball to the left or right of the goalkeeper, gives a light touch underneath the ball, causing it to rise and fall within the centre of the goal, deceiving the goalkeeper who is counted on by the taker to have guessed a side and committed to a dive away from the centre. The technique was invented by Czech player Antonín Panenka, who introduced it to the world in the
UEFA Euro 1976 The 1976 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Yugoslavia. This was the fifth UEFA European Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 16 and 20 June 1976. Only f ...
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
in
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, when he beat West German goalkeeper Sepp Maier to claim the title for the Czechoslovakia national team. After its much publicised debut in the tournament, the Panenka kick has been used on rare occasions and mostly by highly respected players who can deal with the consequences of missing such an attempt. Originally, in Czech language the kick is called ''Vršovický dloubák''—a reference to the
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
district of Vršovice, where Panenka's home club Bohemians is based. This style of penalty kick is also called ''Il cucchiaio'' ("the spoon") in Italy, ''cavadinha'' ("little dig") in Brazil and ''penal picado'' ("poked penalty kick") in Argentina and elsewhere in South America.


Technique

The aim of the technique is not to chip the ball over the goalkeeper, but to take advantage of the fact that many goalkeepers will dive to either side of the goal in anticipation, rather than waiting to see in which direction the ball is going. It is a very risky technique, because the subtle touch on the ball gives it a very slow speed, thus allowing the goalkeeper to move back from where they jumped, or even to simply remain in the same spot and wait for the ball to fall easily into their hands. In addition, the subtle touch is most easily applied by a taker who slows down as he or she is about to strike the ball, making it possible for the goalkeeper to recognize what the taker is intending. The move is known for only being used by confident penalty takers who dare to risk missing the kick. Some players that have used the Panenka kick have been criticized by the specialized media or their team's members and supporters, especially if they miss it. According to studies, a ''Panenka'' has a lower scoring probability over placement or power, though it is alleged that if successful, a Panenka's psychological impact on the opposite team may be profound, which may be why penalty takers elect to use it. Antonín Panenka, though, saw the penalty as a reflection of his own personality.


History


The original penalty

Antonín Panenka came to international prominence playing for
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
in the 1976 European Championship; Czechoslovakia reached the
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, where they faced
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
. After
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, the result was 2–2, and so the first
penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
in a European Championships final ensued. The first seven kicks were converted, until West Germany's fourth penalty taker, Uli Hoeneß, ballooned his shot over the bar. With the score 4–3, Panenka stepped up to take the fifth Czechoslovakian penalty, to win the match under immense pressure. He feigned shooting to the side of the goal, causing West German
goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...
Sepp Maier to dive to his left, and then gently chipped the ball into the middle of the net. The perceived impudence of the shot, in addition to its success, led a watching French journalist to dub Panenka "a poet", and his winning kick is one of the most famous ever, making Panenka's name synonymous with that particular style of penalty kick. After the game, Panenka was told that he could have been punished if he missed, as it may have been seen as disrespecting the Communist system in place at the time in his home country. On viewing the penalty
Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA ...
described Panenka as being "either a genius or a madman".


Since 1976

As well as winning the 1976 European Championship, Panenka helped Czechoslovakia come third in the 1980 tournament, after scoring once again in a 9–8 penalty shootout win. In the finals of the 1982 World Cup, Panenka scored twice with penalties, but these were the only Czechoslovakian goals, and the team did not progress beyond the first group stage. The Panenka penalty has since been successfully performed by many other players in a wide range of competitions. Only a small number of these have been, like Panenka's original, in major cup finals –
Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the mos ...
in the
2006 FIFA World Cup Final The 2006 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match that took place on 9 July 2006 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, to determine the winner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The match was contested between Italy and France. Italy won the Wo ...
, Alexis Sánchez in the
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, and Odsonne Édouard in the 2020 Scottish Cup final. Examples of Panenkas outside finals include Francesco Totti for Italy in their Euro 2000 semi-final shoot-out against the Netherlands,
Sebastián Abreu Washington Sebastián Abreu Gallo (; born 17 October 1976) is a Uruguayan football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Peruvian club Universidad César Vallejo. He is best known for his record of ap ...
for Uruguay in their
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quarter-final shoot-out against Ghana,
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for Italy in their Euro 2012 quarter-final shoot-out against England,
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used it against Eswatini national football team on 26 March 2016 in
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qualifiers,
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in a
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game for
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against
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in 2021, and
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for
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against
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in a UEFA Champions League semi-final in 2022. As with all penalty attempts, not every one is successful. In the 2019 A-League Grand Final
Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...
player
Brendon Santalab Brendon James Santalab ( hr, Šantalab; born 9 September 1982) is an Australian professional football player who plays as a striker for Victorian State League Division 1 side FC Strathmore. Club career Santalab originally started out as an a ...
, who had scored multiple Panenka penalties previously in his career, played his last game as a professional. The match ended in a penalty shootout between Sydney FC and Santalab's club Perth Glory. With the score at 3 to 1 in favour of Sydney FC, Santalab took Perth's third penalty, attempting a Panenka, but Sydney FC goalkeeper
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was expecting it. The keeper stood upright and easily saved the weak kick. Sydney FC scored their next penalty, winning the shootout and the A-League Championship 4 to 1. Former England captain Gary Lineker infamously failed a Panenka which at the time, would have put him level with
Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World ...
for the England team's top scorer, the missed penalty instead leaving him one goal behind on 48 for the rest of his career. Moroccan
right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
Achraf Hakimi hit a successful panenka against Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon during the
2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wor ...
propelling Morocco into the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.


References

{{Association football terminology Kick (association football) Association football terminology Association football skills UEFA Euro 1976 1976 introductions