Is there a right time for a Panenka – as Brentford pay the price?
In the 50 years since Panenka introduced the dink penalty, it has become increasingly common.
Many top players have used this technique successfully, including Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Francesco Totti.
France legend Zinedine Zidane claims to be the player who put the highest pressure on Panenka in the 2006 World Cup final; He hits the penalty under the post and crosses the line.
That’s probably not what he remembers most about that night.
England suffered several penalty shoot-outs at the hands of Panenka; most famously, Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo recklessly beat Joe Hart to change the momentum of a penalty shoot-out in the Euro 2012 quarter-final.
“For me, Hart looked very confident,” Pirlo said. “I had to do something to beat him.
“Penalties are a very personal thing but when I saw him move I decided to do it. It seemed like a psychological blow for us.”
Similarly, in the 2022 EFL Cup final, where Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga made a spectacle of trying to distract the Liverpool players, Fabinho responded by calmly kicking through the middle, to the delight of the Reds fans behind the goal.
A psychological blow? Every Liverpool player went on to score goals, winning 11-10 on penalties.
But despite all the notable achievements, Ouattara is not the first high-profile kidnapper.
In 1992, Gary Lineker had the chance to equal Sir Bobby Charlton’s 49th goal for England in a friendly against Brazil but Panenka blew his try away, an embarrassment of the then record.
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has generally been a fairly reliable player but looked like a fool when he attempted a Panenka in May 2021, which Chelsea won 2-1 after Edouard Mendy’s penalty save.
In January, Brahim Diaz attempted to win the African Cup of Nations with Panenka in stoppage time for Morocco. His effort was saved and Senegal became champions.
