Generally speaking, any assessment of the merits of the penalty shoot-out as a means of settling football matches will fall into two distinct categories – if your team has won the day, their superiority has rightly been confirmed. Lose, and it’s a lottery, akin to randomly selecting numbers from a hat.
Following England’s exit from the Euro 2012 tournament at the hands of Italy, Roy Hodgson bemoaned the shoot-out as a means of deciding which side should progress to a mouth-watering semi-final against perennial latter stage contestants Germany. The England manager claimed a penalty shoot-out ‘isn’t the same as a game of football. It’s an entirely different competition.’
In Hodgson’s choice of words in this instance, let’s be clear about one thing – he had only just witnessed his side battle through 120 minutes of incredibly demanding football, to then lose out in a typically dramatic shoot-out. The man can be forgiven for not exactly extolling the virtues of penalties at that precise moment.
However, any objective assessment of his words must surely conclude that Hodgson is quite misplaced in his view.
Many football fans will recall Euro 96, a tournament where England experienced the capricious nature of penalty shoot-outs. In the quarter-final, Spain were overcome following two hours of stalemate. The nation’s sense of euphoria was tangible, as the prospect of lifting the trophy on home soil hove into view.
Roll forward a few days, and this time it’s the anguished sight of Gareth Southgate being consoled by then manager Terry Venables as the Germans won the day. Back in the studio, a crestfallen panel struggled to take it all in, and anchor Des Lynam dutifully informed we viewers that the switchboard had been jammed by callers howling their protest at the sheer unfairness and cruelty of penalties.
Ruud Gullit sat impassively, then said: ‘Okay, there have been lots of complaints. But the other day, when England beat Spain on penalties, guess what – there were no calls.’
FIFA first seriously considered the use of penalty shoot-outs back in 1970. Prior to then, drawn ties in knock-out ties had been settled by replays, the toss of a coin, or the drawing of lots.
Whilst they ultimately sanctioned the adoption of penalties from that point, the decision was not without dubiety – indeed, FIFA stated they were ‘not entirely satisfied’ with it. From the outset, then, penalty kick deciders received a less than ringing endorsement from those occupying the corridors of power.
It would be 1976 before penalty shoot-outs appeared in the European championship itself, with the final between Czechoslovakia and West Germany famously settled in favour of the Czechs, courtesy of Antonin Panenka’s audacious delicate chip straight down the middle. Something that clearly influenced Pirlo on Sunday night.
Of course, at that point the Germans would have deeply regretted agreeing to settle by penalties – provision had been made for a replay two days later, but both teams opted to settle matters there and then.
Since then, we’ve had many European finals settled by penalties, often in favour of English sides. Liverpool – featuring Bruce Grobbelaar’s wobbly legs routine - beat Roma back in 1984, and repeated the feat in 2005 against AC Milan.
More recently, Manchester United took full advantage of John Terry’s ill-timed slip to lift the same trophy, and Chelsea won said trophy for the first time last month with a penalty shoot-out victory over Bayern Munich. Nobody would suggest any of those victories were de-valued by the manner in which they were won.
All of which takes us back to the original point about whether penalties are an appropriate means of determining a winner. Well, better than the use of coins or lots, that’s for sure. And the golden goal rule which was flirted with a few years back didn’t quite capture the fans’ imagination for whatever reason.
For all the pros and cons associated with this debate, surely the allegation that penalties are not a true test of skill is wide of the mark, so to speak. The art of beating a goalkeeper from twelve yards does require skill, along with composure and technique – all characteristics of a top-class footballer. And, given football is meant to be an entertainment business, the drama and suspense it offers the fans is surely incontestable.
In these times where the beautiful game is frequently criticised for being negative, money-obsessed and predictable, anything that adds colour, excitement and a dash of drama must be applauded.
Meanwhile, given the England national side’s humiliatingly atrocious record in penalty shoot-outs, a less than positive critique of these sudden death extravaganzas by English fans is quite understandable. Italian fans, on the other hand, will be rather less circumspect for now.