FEATURE SERIES: Positions & their Roles - Penalty Takers

Declan Link & Jon Bonfiglio continue their analysis of the varying identities of the different positions on the football pitch. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Welcome back to the technical today. We're returning to the last in our regular series on football roles on the pitch and what it is that um that drives um each particular position, the psychology behind it, sort of the physical needs, attributes, and so on. And we're gonna finish up the series today with a slightly unusual one because it's not actually a position on the field at all, but it is a pretty significant attribute, especially um these days. And um uh we're gonna be talking about penalty takers uh and joining us as ever to discuss these different positions and roles is Declan Link. Hello, Declan.

SPEAKER_03 1:06

Hello, John. How's everything going today?

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Good, thank you. I'm just uh surviving from uh having nearly choked to death on a spicy nut, but all is good. It's uh you know, as uh as uh the the line in Casablanca goes, our problems don't amount to a hella beans in this crazy world. And certainly me choking on a spicy nut is a general irrelevance. Um penalty takers. So when we when we're thinking about penalty takers, do you mean, I want to just clarify this, do you mean um an average penalty taker in a game, a sort of a team's designated penalty taker, or are we talking about penalty shootout specifically?

SPEAKER_03 1:44

From my angle, I thought we were talking about both you know a traditional penalty uh that scored or missed during the regulation 90 minutes or uh injury time, extra time, and then the shootout penalty, because obviously those have become very significant, uh, particularly as it relates to the World Cup in recent years.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Yeah, and the reason I ask is because I do think that it requires a slightly different sort of maybe not skill set, but slightly different mentality. Because of course, in a game when you take a penalty, of course, you may be taking a penalty in the 89th minute, in the 93rd minute, something like that, and everything may ride on that penalty. But generally the the penalty is is an aspect of a broader game, whereas penalty shootouts and the tension that accompany penalty shootouts, you already know when you go up to take a penalty and a penalty shootout, that this is this is make or break, that whatever happens here, there is no coming back from. So I would almost in my head sort of categorize them. I mean, you know, there's huge amounts of overlap, but characterize them slightly differently. But I we'll come back to that a little bit, uh, perhaps in a little while. So, as regards attributes that you want from your penalty taker, and uh let's not say get it in the back of the net, because that's obviously a given. But what you know, when you think about the best penalty takers of all time, what are you thinking of?

SPEAKER_03 3:07

Well, let me just answer uh let me just give a shout out, if you don't mind, John, to uh my friend uh Orient Keith, who's a uh a much travelled England supporter who travels around the world to watch England play. He was the one who uh wrote in and gave us this idea. Uh and it's not Orient Keith Tommy's friend, the Chinese guy. He's a different Orient Keith. Um the I mean the history, and I'm sorry, I'll get round to answering your question, but the history of World Cup penalties, especially shootouts, John, is it's arguably one of the most dramatic threads in football because you know penalty kicks in matches have existed since the early football rules, but penalty shootouts, interestingly, were only introduced to decide knockout games in in 1978 in Argentina, and the first ever World Cup shootout happened. I don't know if you know this, in the 1982 Spain tournament, where West Germany beat France 5-4 on penalties after a classic 3-3 uh draw in um in the normal game. So that night is often called the night of Seville because it set tone, chaos, drama, and heartbreak. Um the the the most famous shootout is that shootout from 1982. Um, but there was a famous one in 1990 where the uh Argentina Vri, it was a semi-final. Sergio Goiche Chua became a legend because he saved so many penalties uh to allow Argentina to get to the final. Uh 1994, there was high tension and sudden death when Sweden played Romania, and there was it was one of the longest shootouts in the history of World Cups, with a total of 12 being taken by each team. 2006, the heartbreak final avoided, where Italy beat France in the final, but notably not on penalties. However, earlier rounds saw major shootout drama, and then the the peak chaos was the final in uh Qatar in 2022, where Argentina versus France it was 3-3, within it went to 4-2 on penalties to Argentina after one of the greatest finals ever decided from the spot tournament where the tournament had five shootouts in the tournament, which was a record. So I think naming the best um World Cup uh penalty takers of all time is is very subjective, uh John. So um I I would say I would actually I would actually say that um the way Harry Kane took his penalty for Bayern Munich against uh PSG today was he he, apart from when he missed the penalty in in against France in in Doha, is one of the best penalty takers ever. But the two penalties that come to mind when I think about penalties both occurred in the 1994 World Cup final where I was fortunate to be at that game between Brazil and Italy. The famous miss was Roberto Bagios with his ponytails swaying from side to side, missing, and and then at the beginning of the game, Diana Ross in Pasadena on the field took a penalty and missed the goal completely. Do you remember that?

SPEAKER_01 6:30

I do remember that. Um to to be in coming to Diana Ross's defence. Um I don't think she had spent many hours on the training pitch, and and it was probably the very first time that somebody had said to her kick the ball in the general direction of the goal. So I think we can we can feel for her. Um uh just remembering my Jack Charlton faux pas the other day. Is Diana Ross still alive?

SPEAKER_03 6:58

Yes, she is.

SPEAKER_01 7:00

Oh, well that that's that's good to know.

SPEAKER_03 7:02

I don't think Diana Ross and Jack Charlton are probably mentioned in the same sentence very much nowadays, though.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

No, um also just uh because we obviously have a lot an ongoing theme.

SPEAKER_03 7:13

I can assure she's still alive because she's uh she is actually performing in the local performing arts centre sometime in the next month.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

Oh well there you go. I wonder how old she she is. Um uh just as regards uh we we do have this ongoing discussion about um just we create a rod for our own backs on this with uh pronunciation, and you did a marvelous job of pronouncing uh Argentine goalkeepers Sergio. I don't quite know what you said, but you definitely didn't say Goy Cochea as his uh as his surname. Um uh and I wanted to bring him up as well because I do he has amazing in his post-football career, he has amazing hair, he has an amazing quiff. And uh and I know that you also have uh great, grey hair, Declan. So there's something to link both you and Sergio. We're getting off the topic of penalties here, but let's come right back to it with Harry Kane. Um one of the things that strikes me about Harry Kane and his um his penalty taking is his versatility, how he all certain players you almost have a sense of how they're gonna take a penalty. But when Harry Kane steps up to the ball, you honestly have no idea whatsoever where he's gonna take it, how he's gonna take it. Um so the thought process behind it seems to me, I mean, he's it's increasingly clear, right, that Harry Kane is actually a really not just a really good footballer, he's actually a highly intelligent footballer.

SPEAKER_03 8:35

Yeah, I I I absolutely love Harry Kane. Like we said in the podcast the other day, he should never have played because he was obviously injured in in Qatar in 2022. But um strangely enough, if you want to relate it to the upcoming World Cup, I mean Harry Kane is is is probably not in the top two potential penalty penalty takers uh in the world for the upcoming World Cup. Uh the the the sa the safest bet from a penalty perspective, and I do actually hope he makes the England squad because for some reason he doesn't really seem to fit in with the uh English FA, is um Ivan Tony, the player who's playing in Saudi Arabia. He has a 95% career conversion rate, which is incredible. Ice cold technique. He doesn't look at the ball sometimes, and um if if it goes to a shootout, obviously Harry Kane would take a penalty, probably score it. Ivan Tony is just unflappable. And the other one, well actually, yeah, the other one is Bruno Fernandez from Manchester United of Portugal because his conversion rate is around 91%. Um he's you know, he does the funny stutter run-up that freezes keepers, and he takes tons and tons of penalties, high volume, and high success. So if Portugal go deep in the tournament, you know, he's the guy that's gonna you know make sure that ball ends up in the back of the net. And then after that, from a from a statistics perspective, with modern day players, is Harry Kane, Robert Lawandowski, but he's not obviously playing because Poland didn't qualify. But then you've got a couple of modern day players who have almost flawless records as well, which is Cole Palmer, despite the fact he's playing like rubbish at the moment for Chelsea, and Giao Pedro, who plays for Brazil and Chelsea. They both have um almost flawless records that are close to Ivan Tony being around 93-94% on conversion rates. And then, you know, someone who I love because he's a Fulham player, and you know you love him because he's the Mexican national team uh striker, is Raul Jimenez from um Mexico and Fulham. He's only missed two out of 46 career penalties, and he had a perfect league Premier League run, 13 out of 13 at one point. So if Mexico get into some type of penalty situation or shootout, there's no question Raul Jimenez is definitely the guy.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Yeah, I think that the one of the reasons I really like um and really um rate Raul Jimenez is just because I think he's been through so much and he's just tough as nails. I think he did he there's there's just no meant no mental weakness there at all. And I think that's it's an indicator and his penalties, right? He just isolates the situation and he just he just plays the moment and nothing else phases him. He's he's clearly a I mean arguably Mexico's biggest asset for for the tournament. A few other penalty stats for you. I know we've spoken about him um both as in the sort of creative midfield uh position, but also as an incredible player. Matthew Letitia, uh formerly of Southampton, one club man, 96.2% success rate with his penalties, scored 25 out of 26 Premier League penalties. Guademo Blanco, did you have you come across Guatemoc Blanco before, Declan?

SPEAKER_03 12:03

Yeah, he's one of my favorites. Oh, Guademo. I love him.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

Oh, I saw him, I saw him at the Azteca ones kicking off doing a cantonale. He just went absolutely mental. I can't even remember what it was about, but uh, and of course, being Guademo Blanco, the rest of his team, this is when he was playing for America, Grupo America, um, and uh the rest of his team followed him into battle, and it was just a pitched battle led by Guademo uh Guadeloblanco. Anyway, he converted 71 out of 73 career penalties, 95. Can you imagine that? 71 out of 73, 73 career uh penalties, and then another um surprising one perhaps. Ricky Lambert, remember him?

SPEAKER_03 12:45

Yep, Southampton and Liverpool.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

There you go. 94% scored 48 out of 51 career penalty attempts. Ronald Kuhn also on 94% scored 124 penalties uh at a hundred and ninety-four percent success rate, and of course, a goat, one of the greatest of all time, Diego Maradona, 93% uh on 58 penalties uh taken. I guess none of those names are particularly surprising, but it does tell you that to be a highly successful penalty taker. I think if you're gonna be a penalty taker, you can't just be a partially successful penalty taker. You need to be in the high eschurance because otherwise you're just not gonna do it, right? Um, then you need to have more than anything else, you need to have a very particular mentality.

SPEAKER_03 13:33

Interestingly, there are some very big names who are you know elite uh football players uh who have questionable penalty records. Uh, one of them is Neymar, who might or might not make the Brazilian team this year. But he took he's talking to one of the MLS clubs about coming over to America, and he's not doing very well in his uh rehabilitation from his injury. So Neymar, his career record is fairly solid, 80 to 85 percent, but he tends to go last and he avoids early pressure kicks, not unreliable as a penalty taker, but not of as they say, an ice cold assassin level like Tony, like uh Jimenez, like uh Harry Kane. Another one who you would have thought would be much greater from a percentage perspective is uh Mo Salah, Liverpool and Egypt. He has uh a career record which is his stats are in the 70 to low 80s conversion rate. He's missed some key penalties for both Liverpool and Egypt over the years, and his technique is deemed powerful but very predictable sometimes. Um Killian Ambapi, he's improved his record recently, but he moved he missed a decisive penalty back in 2020 at the Euros, and he's still not a mechanical, consistent elite specialist, who's obviously a great phenomenal player, but he's just not top-tier penalty taker quality. And then these are the really two controversial ones that I love to be controversial, John. Cristiano Ronaldo, his career rate is very good, 83 to 85 percent conversion rate, but he has more misses than you'd expect for the volume of penalties he's taken historically. And then the history that says no category is uh one of my heroes, Lionel Messi, because he only has a 75 to 78 percent career conversion. He missed in the 2016 Copa America final and in multiple big games, and he even missed in the World Cup in 2022 uh against Poland. Now he has redeemed himself in some of the shootouts, but statistically, uh Lyel Noel is not elite. I have some good memories myself of World Cup penalties I just like to share with our global audience. First and foremost, and I referenced this on uh the 1990 World Cup podcast, where sitting in the uh front room of our house in England in the middle of a gorgeous summer in 1990, when Ireland played against Romania and big old David O'Leary stepped up, had obviously never taken a penalty before in his life, to smash it home and get Ireland through to play Italy where they lost in the next round. I've I love the memory of that one, but I really love the memory of the vindication for David Beckham in Sapporo in North Japan, uh England against Argentina uh after what happened in France in 1998. That was the goal. I was behind the goal in Sapporo and seeing the emotion and the uh everything that can went with that goal where Beck's you know basically got vindication for that red card in 1998, they're particularly significant to me.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

Um Declan, so any any player from history um you you need to pull up to take the clutch penalty for your side, nation or club, to win whatever Champions League uh World Cup tournament. Who is the player that you would pull up out from history to take that clutch penalty?

SPEAKER_03 17:16

I'm not gonna say either this one or this one because you knew predictably that's what I would say. Um so I'm gonna go for Ivan Tony, although sadly probably won't be in the squad for the World Cup this summer.

SPEAKER_01 17:28

It is fascinating, isn't it? How somebody who I mean he's there or thereabouts, but he's not he's not obviously a natural selection. He's not been in the side for for a while or in the in the reckoning, but how somebody can have that level of impact on penalties and not maybe be able to sort of uh turn it on right into the top into the top tier. Um I'm I'm gonna take a leaf out of your book uh today, Declan. I'm gonna uh and I'm gonna give you a couple of options just because I think actually they're both Mexican, we just mentioned them, but actually Raul Jiménez and Guatemalan. Interesting that you should pick, or that I should pick two Mexican players, given the fact that Mexico historically have been quite a weak side mentally. The fact that you've got these two figures that emerge from from these that from that kind of context that are absolute guns when it comes to uh to taking penalties.

SPEAKER_03 18:25

Interestingly, for the there's uh the the the the top three sort of strongest penalty slash shootout teams in World Cup history, and again, I think this is slightly subjective, uh is Germany historically the most reliable? I mean, Germany had a hundred percent World Cup shootout record for many, many years. And you know, whenever England, when we were growing up, John, whenever England came up against Germany, uh there there was that famous expression, we'll never beat the Germans because they will win on penalties at the end of the game. We just had this mind block, um, which was why it was so significant when uh Tommy, my brother George, and myself were sitting 24 rows up behind Eric Dyer's penalty against Colombia in Moscow in 2018 because that got the hoodoo off England. Uh, but Germany have always historically been the most reliable. Argentina are the second most reliable with loads of experience and a very strong recent record. And then what the third historically best team for penalties is Croatia. They're they're they're they're deemed as being modern penalty specialists, and the three teams that the the uh whoever put this report together have got had really struggles over the years. And uh I mentioned England, long history of shootout losers, losses, the Netherlands, a very mixed record, and Spain, inconsistent despite their techno their renowned and undoubted technical quality. So interesting how they how they rank those teams.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

Um and let's let's finish up, given the fact that you just said about Germany and their shootout, uh penalty shootout prowess, let's finish up with that old definition of football. I don't know whether you've heard this before, Declan. I'm sure you have somewhere down the line, where it's a game between 11 11 uh individuals and 11 individuals, and then Germany win.

SPEAKER_03 20:20

I have heard that. I grew up with that. That's changed now, though.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

Thanks, Declan. Uh, as ever, that's the last in our series of uh roles, uh different roles and positions on the pitch and um and the demands that um that each particular uh uh place and position has on them. And thank you so much to Orient Keith for suggesting that as a as a point of discussion. And thank you to Declan for your time again today.

SPEAKER_03 20:47

Yeah, old Keith is right now in the within the sound of bow bells in East London. Good old Keith. Thanks, Keith. Uh see you soon, and thank you, John as ever, for tonight.

SPEAKER_00 20:56

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SPEAKER_03 20:59

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SPEAKER_02 21:17

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SPEAKER_00 21:24

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