The Cruel Game of Penalties

  • By Oliver Sparrow
Your time has come, my son.
Toil and sweat. Stretch and sinew. For this.
Lottery.
Now is not the time for hiding.
Now is the time for shining.
Limelight.
It’s a long, lonely walk.
Tired legs, heavy boots.
Cannonball.
Crowd baying, brothers praying.
Eyes front, stony stare.
Confidence.
Twelve yards. Twelve miles.
Ball nestled in crispy paint.
Retreat.
Stage set, eyes met.
Deathly hush, deep breath.
Relax.
Target acquired, decision made.
Gaze shifts, muscles remember.
Attack.
Studs entrenched, arm swung back.
Thigh thumps, leather on leather.
Apprehension.
Eruption.

Penalties - a word that few England supporters relish. They have long been a source of much anguish at major tournaments, with England having one of the most wretched records in World football. They were knocked out on penalties at World Cup 2006, Euro 2004, World Cup 1998 and Euro 1996 by Portugal (twice), Argentina and Germany respectively. In fact, England have a feeble win record of 17% in penalty shoot-outs at major competitions, having won only once in six attempts.

That sole win was against Spain in the first knockout round of Euro 1996. It was such a rare event that most England supporters were left a little surprised. That seems to be the problem with England in penalty shootouts – they just don’t seem to believe they can win. Other teams, such as Germany, exhibit a steely confidence when faced with the daunting task of a penalty shootout. Germany, along with Argentina have the best win/loss records from twelve yards in world football.

Penalties are a cruel way to be knocked out of a competition. However, at least one team is likely to be knocked out in this manner in South Africa, so what can teams do to avoid this fate?

Practice seems to be the best way to improve at taking penalties. This handy article from the BBC suggests that the best way to consistently score penalties is to rehearse a pre-set routine over and over until you don’t even have to think about it. It becomes merely a muscle process. This technique is one adopted by Jonny Wilkinson. He always approaches the ball in the same way, and invariably this results in him slotting it between the posts. In theory, it should be even easier to score in football as there is little or no wind to affect the ball’s flight. As long as you put the ball where the ‘keeper can’t reach it, you should score every time.

Of course, this isn’t the case. Players crumble under the pressure. Practice goes to pot. Professional players who can consistently hit a target in the goal in training lose the plot and blast it straight down the middle. There isn’t the same level of pressure or expectation during training; it isn’t the same.

However, Matt Le Tissier has offered to help the England players before the World Cup with their penalty technique. Advice coming from a man who scored 48 out of 49 penalties in his professional career should be worth listening to. In the article linked above, he talks of how he used to offer a financial incentive to apprentice goalkeepers at the club should they save a spot kick in training. Although this would probably add a little more spice to a training session, I don’t think this is an effective way to prepare for the pressure at a major tournament. The best piece of advice he gives is to approach the kick with a positive mental attitude.

This is clearly a practice not adopted by a lot of professional players. It is often easy to tell when a player is going to miss a penalty. You can see the look on their face when they walk towards the spot. They don’t want to be there, and they’re scared witless of missing. Good goalkeepers are able to spot this as well, and anticipate where they are going to shoot. The best penalty takers, especially Le Tissier, will wait for the ‘keeper to make the first move, and then go the other way. Alternatively, you can completely disregard the ‘keeper and just put the ball where you know he cannot save it. This was a technique that Alan Shearer often went for – simply blasting the ball high into the roof of the net.

Confidence seems to be the main factor in being a successful penalty taker. If a professional player believes they are going to score, they invariably do. This is something that the England players need to address before they leave for the World Cup. They need to have (at least) five confident spot-kick takers who are so cock-sure about their ability from twelve yards that they’ll be arguing about who steps up first. As an avid England fan, my palms are sweaty just thinking about it. But come South Africa in a couple of months time, if England are called into a penalty situation, I’d like to see them taken more like this and less like this.