Missing a penalty is humiliating at the best of times. Just ask Ashley Cole and Ashley Young.
But what makes it that much worse is if you do something stupid when taking the pen and it doesn’t come off. Then you don’t just lack bottle, but you’re also an idiot.
Although Andrea Pirlo and Sergio Ramos made them look easy this summer, Panenka penalties are never usually that simple. Watch the original successful Panenka above before enjoying five of the best chipped penalty flops after the jump.
1. Yann Kermorgant
When you are new to English football, it’s best to get your head down and try to impress your new manager and fans. Kermorgant tried that, and still endured 25 goalless games before finding the net for new club Leicester in the 2009/10 season.
But he did manage to find his stride as the Foxes reached the play-off semi-finals. Kermorgant seized his moment to shine in the penalty shoot-out. The Frenchman stepped up, and chipped his penalty into the keeper’s arms. Kermorgant had wasted his club’s chance to make the Championship play-off final, an act that saw him promptly drop down to League One with Charlton. And this song made by a disheartened Leicester fan is just brilliant.
2. Elano
Last summer the Brazilian league witnessed a remarkable match between Santos and Flamengo. The game finished 5-4, with a Ronaldinho hat-trick, a Neymar wonder-goal and an astonishing back-post miss all combining to make this an unforgettable encounter. But the most remarkable moment of the match was still a ridiculously humiliating penalty miss.
Former Manchester City playmaker Elano, fresh from a recent penalty failure for Brazil, stepped up to take a penalty at 3-2 to his side just before half-time. Instead of taking Santos into the break with a 4-2 lead, Elano chipped his penalty softly into the hands of the almost-laughing goalkeeper. Oops.
3. Wes Hoolahan
The Championship is not known for flair or glamour, and Norwich City’s Wes Hoolahan proved that outrageous arrogance has no place in English football’s most competitive division. Stepping up to take a penalty against Preston in 2010, Hoolahan looks calm and composed.
The terrace cameraman braces fellow supporters not to celebrate too wildly when the goal is scored. But no such scenes follow, as the midfielder unleashes his doomed dink. And how glad we are that this still made it onto YouTube.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo
Sometimes it even happens to the best. The most expensive player in the world must have felt like falling into the largest hole in the ground possible, after his Panenka effort wasn’t converted earlier this year. Real still won the game 3-0, but C-Ron would have been kicking himself after the match. Just goes to show how difficult these penalties are to execute in high pressure situations when a man worth £80m mucks up.
5. Antonio Calle
Trailing 2-0 from the first-leg of their Copa Del Rey tie with Espanyol, Real Valladolid had the perfect opportunity to start turning things round when they were awarded a penalty. Up stepped Calle to demonstrate the dangers of not encouraging the keeper to dive before chipping the ball straight down the middle.
