At every knockout tournament England reach, the question always arrives, do you practice penalties?
The power and pressure of the shootout has become an integral part of the modern game. It has settled many important matches, including World Cup and Champions League finals.
It is a long walk from the centre circle to the penalty box. You would think that scoring from 12 yards isn’t hard but add the impact of the supporters, to goalkeeper’s mind games, the condition of the weather/pitch and psychological effects of the player itself and it can be a nightmare.
The penalty shootout has made a mockery of many down the years and the greats have all missed crucial spot kicks when the pressure is really on.
Michel Platini, Diego Maradona, Roberto Baggio, David Beckham, Marco van Basten and Cristiano Ronaldo to name a few have had to experience the pain of failure from 12 yards.
In the build-up to England’s quarter-final with Italy in Kiev, I will analyse those who can be trusted, those who can’t, previous penalty records and Joe Hart’s impact in deciding which way a shootout could go.
Joe Hart’s role
The role of the goalkeeper is a real lottery. They can’t be the villain in these situations, only the hero.
Joe Hart would have an important role to play should it reach the distance and up against one of the best goalkeepers of the recent generation in Gianluigi Buffon; it would be an interesting battle of nerves.
Hart is very passionate and one of the taller England goalkeepers of recent times, who has an encountering presence.
Out of the current crop of Premier League goalkeepers, Hart has a 5.8 rating of penalty saving ability with readers of Four Four Two Magazine, which isn’t as good as others such as Tim Howard, Pepe Reina or interestingly, England’s no.2 choice and new QPR signing, Robert Green.
What the England no.1 is good at is guessing where the penalty taker is going to put their kick. He came so close to keeping two of Steven Gerrard’s penalties out in the Carling Cup semi-finals between Liverpool and Manchester City in January, guessing right on both occasions and only Gerrard’s accuracy in both examples prevented Hart from saving them.
He did save a penalty in March from Swansea’s regular reliable taker Scott Sinclair when the Swans shocked City at the Liberty Stadium.
What Hart can do is play mind games with the opposition by delaying giving the ball to the taker, making himself look big within the goal and a technique to attempt putting the opposition off such as bouncing on the line or copy Jerzy Dudek in Istanbul 2005 and do the wobbly legs.
He will have done his research about potential takers and with the use of YouTube; this can be quite easy for a goalkeeper nowadays.
Joe Hart wouldn’t be expected to save any penalties because that is the role of a goalkeeper in a penalty shootout. If you do keep them out, it’s a real bonus for your own confidence and for the team as a whole.
Who would be confident?
Wayne Rooney has an excellent penalty conversion rate for Manchester United, although he has sent two over the bar spectacularly in Premiership encounters with Arsenal and Chelsea in the past two seasons.
Whenever Rooney takes a penalty, confidence rises within the team he plays for, as he never seems to opt for the same direction of each separate kick.
The detailed analysts will say taking a penalty and always alternating technique and direction makes it much harder for the goalkeeper to decide which way to go.
Rooney should take the first penalty, followed by the inspirational captain Gerrard. Liverpool fans have seen Gerrard take so many high pressure penalties, never looking like the nerves will get the better of him.
He has a 92 per cent conversion rate, higher than the average for his club and although he did fail from the spot in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final in Gelsenkirchen, he would volunteer, no matter the potential consequences.
If he is still on the field, Ashley Young has taken penalties on a regular basis before, although not so much since he joined Manchester United from Aston Villa. I can’t remember Young missing an important penalty before and he often gets so much power behind his penalties, the goalkeeper will do very well to keep an attempt out, even if they guess right.
James Milner would be a good choice but having not got past the 70th minute mark yet at Euro 2012, I don’t think he would play a factor. One man who could would be Leighton Baines.
Baines hasn’t played at the Euros yet, thanks to Ashley Cole’s outstanding form but his penalty record for Everton is immaculate and we’ve seen managers bring on some players in the past, with the main aim of taking a penalty in the shootout, sometimes with mixed results.
Cole should stay on though, as he scored from the spot in the recent Champions League final and also in Euro 2004 when England lost to Portugal on penalties.
Cole is confident and decisive from 12 yards and when asked a question about Germans losing shootouts by ITV’s Gabriel Clarke after the Munich final, he said confidently; “They do now!” Perhaps it’s time England triumphed then.
Finally, Hart has volunteered and that is good to see. Many goalkeepers are happy to be the heroes but find it awkward to take a penalty, unless your name is Ricardo. If it’s an omen, Hart has been practising and is happy to take responsibility.
So if I was manager, I would go: Rooney, Gerrard, Young, Cole and Baines. If Baines wasn’t on the field, either Hart or Scott Parker would be my final choice.
Who shouldn’t be trusted?
Shootouts involving England have changed careers in the past. Those who fail to convert have gone onto a mixture of psychological relief and damage.
Stuart Pearce was the first to suffer in Italia 90 but he bounced back really well and his reaction after finding the net against the Spanish in Euro 96 was palpable. Pearce’s character made it difficult for a missed penalty to let it deter him.
His fellow Italia 90 villain Chris Waddle struggled to regain consistent form in his career. Although he did win the Football Writers award in 1993, Waddle missed again from the spot in an FA Cup fourth round replay in 1995, when Sheffield Wednesday were knocked out by first division Wolves. Psychologically, he wasn’t the same after Italia 90.
Spare a thought for some of the others who have suffered the indignity in the past too, like Darius Vassell, Gareth Southgate and David Batty.
Out of today’s crop of England players, I would be worried if John Terry stepped up in the shootout.
Terry’s painful slip from the spot in Moscow 2008 cost Chelsea the Champions League and despite being the sort of individual who doesn’t let that situation affect him, he hasn’t been a regular taker in any of his club’s shootouts since.
And whilst symphony has been shared with many penalty takers in the past, I don’t think the media will give Terry that, considering what faces him once the championships conclude.
The youngsters would concern me a bit too. It isn’t such a trust situation but in a high pressure intensity, it would be difficult to keep the chins up on any of them should the worst happen. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Danny Welbeck would be examples of this.
On the night itself if it came to it and whether it would be against Italy, the Germans or the Spanish, it is whoever feels confident to take one.
I believe that Roy Hodgson should have a rough idea of penalty takers on a piece of paper but don’t force the taker to take one.
Emotion and stress can take over in these situations so rely on Rooney, Gerrard and Young for sure and then if anyone else fancies it, open the choices up.
Penalty records
England’s penalty shootout record is well documented and you have to go back to Euro 96 for the only triumph which was against Spain in the quarter-finals.
Back then, John Major was prime minister, hip-hop group Fugees were no.1 in the UK pop charts and an unknown Dutch male called Richard Krajicek won Wimbledon against unseeded American Mal Washington in the final.
The Italians aren’t the best at penalties themselves. They might have won the 2006 World Cup final on penalties but lost via the shootout route in the Italia 90 semi-finals, the 1994 World Cup final and the quarters at France 98.
Their only other shootout victory came courtesy of Holland missing five penalties in one semi-final at Euro 2000.
Neither side has a great history then in the drama of penalty shootouts.
Against the Italians, it could go either way on the night. Despite Bayern’s penalty heartache to Chelsea in the recent Champions League final, I think the Germans international record is second to none so a potential semi-final should it reach the two hour mark would be tough to watch.
Here’s hoping that one day, England will triumph through this route to end the regular exit route on so many occasions. Preferably though, I hope it wouldn’t reach this outcome.
By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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