Last week Sepp Blatter asked Bayern Munich’s honorary president to come up with an alternative to the ‘tragedy of penalties’.
Is there a better way?
He said that ‘football should not go to one on one’ and claimed that when it went to penalty kicks, football ‘lost it’s essence’. He wants Franz Beckenbauer to come up with an alternative as head of the FIFA Task Force Football 2014, a group which was put together to propose changes to the rules.
The fact that this comes after Chelsea beat Bayern Munich on penalties to win the Champions League title is what sparked this desire to change the rule. But, as we know, Sepp Blatter is wrong. Just two years ago in South Africa he suggested that all group games that ended in a draw were decided by penalties.
Penalties are the best way to capture the essence of football. I would challenge anyone to find a football fan who didn’t relish the penalty shoot-out.
Then there’s the recent play-off final between Sheffield United and Huddersfield Town. There wasn’t a hair between the teams after 90 minutes, then after 120 minutes. They could have played for six hours and probably wouldn’t have scored. There was so much at stake that both teams were happy to play defensive football. It was a dull final that only came to life in the second half of extra time. When penalties draw close, it causes both teams to probe deeper and try and clinch a winner.
So how would it be settled? Would it be like the 1968 Euro semi-final between Italy and the Soviet Union? When after 120 minutes there was no winner and it was decided by a coin toss? It would be folly to think that this would be more exciting than a penalty shoot-out. I’m sure the thousands of Blades fans at Wembley would have felt more aggrieved at their defeat if it was due to their captain choosing heads rather than tails. Better to know that they’re just rubbish at penalties.
There have been many suggestions for a solution, from the comedic extra time multi-ball, to the more boring option of a replay on a later date. Assumedly to be repeated until there is a winner.
No Englishman likes penalties. From that Southgate penalty to the Beckham penalty, they have brought nothing but heartache to the Three Lions. But they’re engrained in football culture. From youngsters playing penalties in goal with cheap goalkeeper gloves, to pulling on their first football kits and running out with their team, the phrase ‘penalty shoot-out’ provokes both fear and excitement in all ages.
Penalties involve a slice of chance, a lot of composure, and a hint of technique. They show the character of the player and the team, and to take that away from the fans would be the real tragedy.
Penalty shoot-outs are hell for anyone with a team in them, as Sheffield United and Bayern Munich fans will testify. For everyone else though they’re about as entertaining, teeth clenching, nerve breaking and terrifying as football gets.
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