It’s a position most players would die to have a shot from – in open play that is.
But when play is paused, the ball static on the spot, a footballer’s killer instinct in front of goal is quickly cast under doubt.
With all eyes on them, collective breaths held and the undeniable weight of expectation, the penalty spot is a place even the world’s best now fear.
In the space of a week, the undisputed two best players in the world over the past few years both came undone at the penalty spot.
First, there was an unusually anxious Cristiano Ronaldo who missed what would’ve been a match-winning penalty against Austria in the group stages of Euro 16. Going the same way as he had just weeks prior to win the Champions League final, the perils of the penalty spot got to Ronaldo this time around as he pulled his shot onto the left post.
While he did redeem himself in the quarter-finals by netting his penalty in the shootout against Poland, he opted to go first rather than his usual fifth, suggesting the penalty spot was making the Portuguese star somewhat nervous.
Then, with four Ballon d’Ors and countless club trophies to his name, Lionel Messi tentatively approached the penalty spot after 120 minutes of action in the Copa America Final with Argentina’s hopes of an allusive trophy visibly on his shoulders. Having long carried the burden of a barren international career, Messi had the chance to silence his few remaining critics with a single kick.
With Chile’s captain Arturo Vidal missing the first spot kick, Messi looked destined to give Argentina an early advantage and send them on their way to victory. Alas, the penalty spot failed to take destiny into account as Messi’s international career took what could be one final twist as he skied his attempt well over the crossbar.
Shirt over his head, in despair rather than celebration, Messi couldn’t avert his gaze as he saw his side lose another final. After some stellar overall performances leading up to this decisive penalty, it is sadly this failure that people may well remember most about Messi’s time in an Argentine shirt.
A time he abruptly has called short, for the time being at least, with the pain of a penalty miss and another failed final pushing Messi into international retirement.
If the world’s two best footballers missing from the penalty spot weren’t enough, international powerhouses Germany and Italy then went and underlined why penalties aren’t as easy as they look.
In their quarter-final clash, both teams failed to convert three of their first five penalties as Germany managed to grind out a 6-5 victory.
Among the big misses included Italian Simone Zaza who was brought on just for penalties and a tame Thomas Muller attempt.
Muller vowing post-match that he’ll be avoiding the penalty spot for the foreseeable future. “I will not be taking any penalties for the next two weeks,” he said.
“I will work on my technique at penalties for a bit and I will be back stronger in one or two months or so. I will take a step back and let others do the business for now.”
So it would seem that in a footballing age where players are bending in free-kicks from impossible angles, it’s the penalty spot the world’s best are having some serious trouble with.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
It's incredible to think that the WC didn't need to use a pen shoot out until 1982, partly because in the early days they replayed games, but partly because there were once fewer draws. In an age where there are now 15 knock out games in the WC, you are guaranteed to have 2 or 3 shoot outs, and that just beocmes plain boring - especially that interminable extra time where both teams are obviously playing out the 30 min because they would rather decide it on pens.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
I like your thinking BES. A two tiered scoring system where you have a goal being more valuable than a point, and you award a point for penalties, corners and direct free kicks - you could even introduce a point for corners caused by a keeper and hitting the post. We could finally get rid of the curse of pens.
BES
Guest
Love the penalties - if for no other reason that are probably the single most attractive aspect of the game for the non-football purist that we are constantly wanting to get the game to. Nothing too confusing about a penalty - even a rugby or AFL player can follow whats going on there.... ;-) But seriously - if the debate wants to look at alternates, I have often thought goals scored from 'open play' should earn an additional point than goals scored from set pieces. Similar to the away goals points system. This would eliminate the vast majority of incidences where currently penalties are used. Definition of 'set piece'? Any dead ball situation where there is less than 3 touches by the attacking team between dead ball and goal.
marron
Guest
Life isn't fair. Football isn't fair. The winner, in football more than most other sports, is often NOT the team that is "better". You know what we could do, is before the game just look at the line-ups on paper and see who the better team should be and just let them through. Or maybe, have a vote, about who played better! That would be fair. If one team is stronger than the other, and they have not taken their chances or used their dominance, then they run the risk of having it come down to mental strength of their kick takers. It's not a side activity either, it's a part of the game. And most importantly, the aim is not to decide who is better at playing football. You miss the point completely. The aim is to find a winner. And each team knows what may be involved in being that winner. I used to not like them myself - I, also, thought them "unfair". Over the years I've come to like them - partly, because they are "unfair". It's at the heart of what football is. And on top of that, there is the personal drama of each kick which encapsulates the little personal battles that you might see throughout the game but are not writ large as each player stands alone in the spotlight. How many times do you see the fear or indecision on their face, and the resultant mess they make of it? Hesitations betray uncertainty and suffocating fear of failure. It's brilliant. But unfair. You know what they should do? Widen the goals. That would mean the better team would always win. *The only "fair" way, which doesn't artificially change the game in some way, or put more weight on an unimportant statistic like corners, is the replay. Those days are gone, because the TV companies and ticket holders think it's "unfair" that they might not see a winner on the day.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
I hate pen shoot outs. Absolutely ridiculous way to determine the outcome of a final - to undertake a side-activity, after the actual game is over, to decide who is better at playing the actual game.