Damn penalties

Once again, penalties decided the outcome of an important match like the direct elimination game between Atletico Madrid and Inter.

The history of top-level football is filled with glaring failures, such as Roberto Baggio’s mistake in the World Cup final against Brazil, as well as many lesser-known errors that occur continuously on football fields around the world. The success of such executions is determined by two factors: total concentration on performance and timing.

The first factor involves the player focusing entirely on the optimal execution of the sporting gesture. Before starting the run-up, the player concentrates on the sensations related to the movement, knowing that when this happens, the result is positive.

Thus, before the action, the player should mentally rehearse the shot to have exactly what they will do in the next minute at the forefront of their mind. With this image in mind, the player prepares for the actual execution.

The second essential element that every player should adhere to is the timing required to perform the action. It’s a time that takes into account individual preferences and those specified by the rules of football. Often, a penalty is missed because it doesn’t correspond to these requirements. An error can occur by rushing the shot preparation, acting more impulsively than controlled. Other times, the preparation may be too long, almost as if one wants to delay the moment of execution.

An essential aspect of these precision tasks, which is part of the timing and mental rehearsal of the shooting action, concerns the player’s gaze orientation during those moments, as it’s likely that wherever the player fixes their gaze, their attention is directed there.

Where does a player look while about to take a penalty kick? Eduardo Galeano illustrated this in a literary and elegant manner, speaking of a famous penalty kick taken by Meazza:

“It happened in the 1938 World Cup. In the semifinals, Italy and Brazil played their destiny, do or die.

The Italian forward Piola suddenly collapsed, as if struck by a gunshot, and with his only finger still alive, he pointed at the Brazilian defender Domingos de Guia. The Swiss referee believed him, blew the whistle: penalty. While the Brazilians shouted to the heavens and Piola got up, dusting himself off, Giuseppe Meazza placed the ball on the penalty spot.

Meazza was the beauty of the team. A graceful little man in love, an elegant penalty taker, he lifted his head inviting the goalkeeper like a matador with a bull in the final assault. And his feet, as flexible and wise as hands, never missed. But Walter, the Brazilian goalkeeper, was good at saving penalties and had confidence in himself.

Meazza took the run-up, and just as he was about to strike, his pants fell down. The crowd was stunned, and the referee almost swallowed his whistle. But Meazza, without stopping, grabbed his pants with one hand and beat the goalkeeper, disarmed by laughter. That was the goal that propelled Italy to the championship final.”

However, the fact that penalties also represent a difficulty always ready to present itself is confirmed by analyzing the conversion rates of penalties taken by the Italian national team throughout its history. In fact, penalties taken by the Azzurri in all competitions have been 86, of which 67 were scored and 19 were missed. Therefore, the missed ones represent 22% of those taken.