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It is an age-old question and one I pondered with a friend while reflecting on that night in November 2005 and the impact a penalty shoot out had on the development of the game in this country. One thing’s for sure had we lost that shoot out, there would have been a far greater amount of fans criticising football’s version of Russian roulette.
The penalty shoot out is either loathed to the point where some fans don’t even bother watching it claiming it is an arbitrary means of deciding a winner, or loved as great theatre, part of footballs fabric, its history.
One thing is certain, it in no way reflects what has preceded the shoot out in normal and extra time and this is the greatest failing of the system.
But what are the alternatives to a shoot out?
Keep playing, forcing a result one way or another either by golden goal or at specific intervals taking a player from each team off the field to free up the game and create more attacking options?
It would keep the game going and force teams to attack testing the stamina of the players but in an age of calendar congestion such ‘overtime’ wouldn’t be popular with teams.
What of the North American variation of the penalty shootout where a player goes one on one with the goalkeeper, kicking off from half way with a certain time frame, five seconds to get a shot off.
It does at least combine other elements of skill into the equation but it does seem messy and manufactured.
There are so many crazy variations and alternatives to the penalty shoot out but I can’t help thinking the current system would be missed. It is so much part of footballs DNA it’s hard to imagine the other options being universally accepted as any better.
And wouldn’t we miss the drama of the shoot out? Nothing beats the anticipation and excitement of that second as the goalie and penalty tacker stand in position, the moment your heart skips a beat.
It is part of footballs theatre, sometimes tragic, sometimes comical and sometimes triumphant.
Would we remember that night against Uruguay differently if John Aloisi had headed in from a corner in the eightieth minute?
Probably. That penalty kick stopped a nation like few other sporting moments this country has seen.
That culminating moment, the wait, the anticipation, the goose bumps, the ball slamming into the back of the net, the elation and the joy was the result of thirty two years of pain and the drama that only a penalty shoot out can provide.
There was a great study conducted in the UK that showed 84% of fans who are neutrals enjoy watching a shoot out while that number decreases to 33% when their favourite team is involved.
As the study shows there is a perverse enjoyment we get out of the drama of the shoot out, especially when our teams aren’t involved.
It would be a terrible shame if football lost that unique aspect.
Despite its flaws it is great theatre and that’s what we want from sport.