Euros Heroes: Antonín Panenka
Panenka is perhaps the only football player to have a style of penalty taking named after him, perhaps with the notable exception of Steve Drill it Down the Middle*, but it’s not just the fact that he scored a pen with a dinky little chip that is amazing, and makes him a Euros hero, it was the magnitude and importance of the moment.
Panenka, a Czech, born in Prague, played for Czechoslovakia in the 1976 Euros final against West Germany. It came 40 years after German forces had divided up huge swathes of Czechoslovakia between themselves, Austria and Hungary and only 30 years after the country had been liberated. Not only that but West Germany were the reigning Euros and World champions.
The game finished 2–2 after extra time and went to the first ever Euros final penalty shootout. The first seven penalties were scored until Uli Hoeneß stepped up and, despite being German, missed. Hoeneß would later be imprisoned for tax evasion but I’m sure that wasn’t what put him off. Panenka would take the Czechoslovak’s fifth penalty. Score it and Czechoslovakia would win their first (and only) international title. Miss it and they were back to hoping that another German would miss a penalty (not going to happen).
He did this …
Many have followed in Panenka’s footsteps — notably Andrea Pirlo making Joe Hart look even more silly than he made himself look with his tongue out in a Euro 2012 shootout and Zinedine Zidane almost making himself look silly during the 2006 World Cup Final when his Panenka hit the bar and crept over the line. Zizou decided he didn’t want to take another in the shootout, so he decided instead to headbutt Marco Materazzi.
Infamously England’s Gary Lineker, one goal short of equalling Sir Bobby Charlton’s all-time England goalscoring record, tried a Panenka against Brazil and missed at Wembley. He never scored for England again and he’s now third on his country’s all-time scoring records.
Finally, Antonín Panenka had a brilliant moustache.
*there’s no such person as Steve Drill it Down the Middle
