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Is there a right time for a Panenka - as Brentford pay the price?
Is there a right time for a Panenka - as Brentford pay the price?
It is a moment Brentford's Dango Ouattara will want to forget.
While West Ham are celebrating their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals, Ouattara will be regretting his costly decision to try a Panenka in Monday night's tense penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw.
His weak, dinked effort was simply caught by Hammers goalkeeper Alphonse Areola for the only missed spot-kick as Brentford's dreams of a first major cup final vanished for another season.
Igor Thiago twice cancelled out Jarrod Bowen goals in normal time but, fielding a strong side, Brentford ultimately lost out to a much-changed West Ham.
Bees boss Keith Andrews was quick to defend the 24-year-old forward, though.
He said: "No, I'm not annoyed at all. When you miss a penalty it is a tough moment, but it is easier to not take a penalty than take a penalty.
"It takes serious courage to do that. He practises that technique a lot, if it goes in everyone's raving about him.
"We've had it in the past when people have been persecuted and ridiculed for missing a penalty on the biggest stage and that's ridiculous.
He will have the utmost support from me and everyone around.
Former West Ham forward Joe Cole told TNT: "He [Dango Ouattara] looked so confident, he took his time and looked in complete control and he did that - it's unexplainable.
He was outstanding, really good, but that does not matter when you miss a penalty in a shootout. You don't want to chastise the lad - I hope he doesn't do it again in his career.
Ex-Tottenham midfielder Glenn Hoddle, added: "He took so long. I think he had a thousand thoughts going through his mind and when you're like that as a taker you miss. The young lad will absolutely regret trying the Panenka at that time."
The Panenka takes its name from Antonin Panenka, who famously chipped his penalty down the middle to win the 1976 European Championship for Czechoslovakia.
The game against reigning champions West Germany had ended 2-2 after extra time in Yugoslavia, with a penalty shootout to decide the winner.
When Uli Hoeness smashed his spot-kick over the bar, Czech midfielder Panenka had the chance to win for the underdogs.
After a quick run-up, Panenka floated a delicate chip down the middle to befuddle goalkeeper Sepp Maier and win the trophy for Czechoslovakia.
It was not the first time Panenka had attempted such a penalty. In fact, he had scored for his club side Bohemians against local rival Dukla Prague in the same manner just a month earlier.
However, his Euros-winning effort brought the technique to a wider audience and the Panenka was born.
There is no doubt that if a player misses a Panenka, the criticism seems to be more severe than if a tame effort towards the corner was saved.
"You will get people moaning because they see it as something different," former Bristol City and Swansea striker Lee Trundle told BBC Sport.
Trundle, who was known for attempting eye-catching flicks and tricks, took penalties throughout his career and although he never took a Panenka as a pro, he did so successful playing semi-professionally.
"My thinking of it is that it's just another way to score a penalty," he said.
"If you put it left or right and the keeper dives and guesses the right way and he saves it, that's the same if you do a Panenka and he stays in the middle and saves it.
If it goes in then everyone says how brilliant it is.
The stats suggest that going down the middle might actually be the way to go, whether that is going for a Panenka or with power, with 84% of such spot-kicks at the World Cup (since 1966) and the Euros (since 1980) finding the net.
That's compared to 78% going left and only 74% going right.
So what is the thought process behind opting for a Panenka? Is it an instinctive decision or something that will have been planned ahead of time?
"When I've done it, it's been about how the game is going," Trundle added.
"You could be playing really well and have that confidence. I think later on in the game as well, I think that's where it's better because the keeper will usually dive.
If it's 1-1 and there's five minutes to go, the chances are, he's not going to stand in the middle and just let the ball go in one of the corners.
In the 50 years since Panenka brought the dinked penalty to prominence, it has gradually become more common.
A number of top players, including Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Francesco Totti, have successfully used the technique from the spot.
France legend Zinedine Zidane has a claim for taking the most high-pressure Panenka, in the 2006 World Cup final with his penalty hitting the underside of the crossbar and just crossing the line.
It's probably not what he is most remembered for that night, though.
England have suffered at the hands of the Panenka a couple of times in shootouts, most famously when Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo nonchalantly beat Joe Hart to change the momentum of the shootout in the Euro 2012 quarter-final.
"For me, Hart seemed to be very confident in himself," Pirlo said. "I needed to do something to beat him.
Penalties are a very personal thing but, when I saw him move, I decided to do that. It seemed to be a psychological blow for us.
Similarly in the 2022 EFL Cup final, with Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga making a show of trying to distract the Liverpool players, Fabinho responded by calmly dinking his kick down the middle, much to the delight of the Reds fans behind the goal.
A psychological blow? Well, every Liverpool player proceeded to score as they won 11-10 on penalties.
But for all the notable successes, Ouattara is not the first high-profile miss.
In 1992, Gary Lineker had the chance to match Sir Bobby Charlton's 49 goals for England in a friendly against Brazil but fluffed his attempted Panenka and ended up one shy of the then-record.
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero was usually pretty reliable from the spot but was made to look foolish when he attempted a Panenka in May 2021 as Chelsea went on to win 2-1 after the penalty save from Edouard Mendy.
In January, Brahim Diaz attempted a Panenka to win the Africa Cup of Nations in stoppage time for Morocco. His effort was saved and Senegal emerged champions.
Source: BBC
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