Chennai: The little white spot 12 yards away from the goal-line can transform the world’s best football player into a nervous wreck in a World Cup shootout. Nothing frightens players more when a knockout match remains deadlocked after extra time than the thought of talking a long walk to the dreaded spot. Some experts question whether a penalty shootout is the right way to separate two teams. Fifa hasn’t articulated any plan to look for an alternate method. If anything, penalties have the power to change demigods into ordinary mortals.
A penalty fired into the Los Angeles sky 20 years ago made even the Divine Ponytail cry. In one of the most poignant scenes witnessed ever at a World Cup after Roberto Baggio became the fall guy for Italy in the final shootout against Brazil in 1994. Needing to score from the spot to keep the Azzurri in the contest, the forward with the most famous tuft blazed the ball over the bar. One man’s agony was another team’s ecstasy as the Brazilians celebrated their first World Cup in 24 years with gusto. Baggio was shattered. The hero who dragged Italy singlehandedly by scoring five goals in the knockout rounds was now the villain. His forlorn appearance — hands on hips and head bowed — told a story of a crushed dream. Baggio’s career went downhill after the penalty pain as he was never the same player again. The Italian star later admitted that the miss haunted him throughout his career.
No player can claim that he has mastered the art of scoring penalties because recreating the pressure of taking a spot kick in a World Cup final can’t be simulated in training. Michel Platini and Diego Maradona have missed penalties in a World Cup. Platini in fact has the dubious distinction of becoming the first player to fire the ball wide when he messed up his effort against Brazil in 1986. The seemingly easy task of sticking the ball in the net from 12 yards becomes arduous when the player starts thinking about the consequence of his failure. Practice can improve muscle memory but jangling nerves can do funny things. Plenty of theories are available to help a team to be successful on penalties. Longer run-ups and hitting the ball with power are useful tips. Going for top corners is easier said than done. Another vital stat is teams going first won the last seven World Cup shootouts. So the team winning the toss shouldn’t think twice about stepping in first.
English worst at messing them up
As every football fan worth his or her kick knows, England have the worst record in shootouts. All their three endeavours (1990, 1998 and 2006) from 12 yards resulted in heartbreak. Throw in the Three Lions’ failure from the spot in Euro 96, Euro 2004 and Euro 2012 and you get the full picture. Shooting over or straight into the goalkeeper’s hands is ingrained in the DNA of English footballers. Even those who aren’t familiar with the exploits of England’s WC winners in 1966 know the players who came up short from 12 yards; Stuart Pearce, Chris Waddle, Paul Ince, David Batty, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.
In the 2006 quarterfinal shootout against Portugal, only one English player — Owen Hargreaves — scored from the mark. Italy are no good in holding their nerve, as they have lost three of their four shootouts in the World Cup. But they are surely better than England, scoring 13 out of 20. The English could slot in only 7 from 14. Maybe the Swiss could give them company at the abyss of shootouts as they missed all their chances against Ukraine in the second round of the 2006 World Cup.
