10 Perfect Panenkas from Andrea Pirlo and Beyond

In the quarterfinals of the 2012 European Championships, after 120 minutes of scoreless play and Italy down 2-1 entering the third round of penalties, Azzurri legend Andrea Pirlo stepped to the spot and delivered the perfect Panenka—a penalty chipped delicately right into the middle of the net—past England goalkeeper Joe Hart.

As Pirlo approached, Hart dove to his right and was cruelly forced to watch the ball sail slowly into his net while lying helplessly on the ground. The audacity of Pirlo to make such a fearless attempt on such a big stage changed the tone of the shootout, which Italy went on to win 4-2.

But Pirlo was hardly the first player to attempt a Panenka, nor is he the inventor. And while many football fans have heard the term and know what a Panenka is, they have little understanding of where the term comes from. 

The namesake of the Panenka penalty is former Czech footballer Antonin Panenka, who won the 1976 European Championship with such a kick. He had developed the technique years earlier, on the training ground, and used it to lead Czechoslovakia to a 5-3 shootout victory over West Germany in the final.

Since then, the kick has taken on a legendary place in football.

Here are 10 of the best Panenka's ever taken.

Just for Fun

Footballing legend Pele once said that anyone who takes a Panenka is "either a genius or a madman." What makes the Panenka so effective is that once a keeper chooses which way he is going to dive, it is virtually impossible for him to stop that momentum. However, if the keeper doesn't guess and holds his ground in the middle of the net, the shooter looks like a fool as the keeper makes an easy save.

The only thing worse than that are the instances when the keeper does dive and the shooter then fails to hit the empty net.

Before we get started with some of the best Panenka's, here are some of the worst.

No. 10: Zlatan Ibrahimovic

This Panenka didn't come in a major championship and, in the end, mattered little in a 4-0 PSG rout of Lyon, but it was taken with a coolness that few in the world could replicate. World football fans have become accustomed to such brilliance from Ibrahimovic, the Swedish striker, and this bold penalty attempt only helped seal that reputation.

No. 9: Giuseppe Mascara

This gorgeous Panenka came courtesy of Giuseppe Mascara, who beat Inter Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar with the effort. The goal helped Catania to a 3-1 win over Inter, one of only four games Inter lost in their 2009-10 championship campaign.

No. 8: Artem Milevskiy

Artem Milevskiy scored this Panenka in the 2006 World Cup in a Round of 16 shootout between the Ukraine and Switzerland. Afterwards, Milevskiy rubbed in the chip with a "Shoosh" gesture, and Ukraine went on to win 3-0.

No. 7: Francesco Totti

Francesco Totti used a Panenka to beat Dutch legend Edwin van der Sar in a semifinal shootout during the 2000 European Championship. Italy and the Netherlands were tied after extra time, and Totti's effort in the shootout put Italy up 3-0—Italy went on to win 3-1.

No. 6: Helder Postiga

Helder Postiga went with this brazen attempt in the 2004 European Championship quarterfinals vs. England. His penalty gave Portugal a 5-4 lead in the shootout, which Portugal won 6-5.

No. 5: Sergio Ramos

Sergio Ramos went with a Panenka in this shootout from the 2012 European Championships. In the semifinals against Portugal, Ramos' goal put Spain up 3-2 in the shootout, which they went on to win 4-2.

No. 4: Andrea Pirlo

Andrea Pirlo's classic from the 2012 European Championship comes in at No. 4 on the list. With Italy down 2-1, he tied the shootout at 2-2 with this effort, and Italy would advance 4-2 over England.

No. 3: Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Zidane's penalty from the 2006 World Cup contains a little bit of everything. It came on a contentious penalty call and is one of the few Panenka's on this list not taken in a shootout. And, as heroic as the effort was, Zidane will always be remembered for what happened later in this game when he was sent off.

Zidane put his effort off the underside of the crossbar and past Italian legend Gianluigi Buffon. But it was Buffon and the Italians who would have the last laugh, as they went on to win the game and the World Cup.

No. 2: Sebastian Abreu

Other than Antonin Panenka's original, Sebastian Abreu's penalty in the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals is the only Panenka on this list that was the last kick taken in the shootout, directly winning the game for his team.

The Uruguay-Ghana match will forever be marred by Luis Suarez' handball and Ghana's missed penalty at the end of extra time, but Abreu's penalty sealed the 4-2 win for Uruguay in the subsequent shootout.

No. 1: Antonin Panenka

Had Antonin Panenka not had the courage to try such an unorthodox attempt in the 1976 European Championship, who knows what football fans would be calling this style of penalty today. Undoubtedly, someone would have made such a style famous, but it was Panenka's trademark penalty against West Germany with the game on the line that won the European championship for Czechoslovakia in 1976.

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