The penalty spot blurred the memory of the artist of the ball: Roberto Baggio, El Divino. There was no more refined Italian footballer, an excellent ball player with a brush on his right foot. Quintessence 10. He was a purist of the game, he had a plus of aesthetics and he spiced it up with a goal. He arrived at the ’94 World Cup with the Ballon d’Or banner flying high. To prove it, he led a low-key Italy to the final with Brazil, having scored five goals in the previous games. It was “his” World Cup, the one that would catalyze him into history. Neither Gianni Rivera nor Paolo Rossi nor Andrea Pirlo nor Francesco Totti, they were all far behind the Divine in the court of history. But the path to overall glory reserved for him an insidious turn: he had to take upon himself the execution of the decisive, crucial penalty. At the end of the world. Brazil and Italy tied 0-0 in regular time and twelve-step shots defined the World Cup. Brazil won 3-2. At the Azzurri, Massaro and Baresi (yes, the phenomenal Franco Baresi…) were already missing. The last bullet remained for Italy: it had to be scored or the world title would be goodbye. Baggio was a specialist in quiet balls. He was in charge of penalties and free kicks. They left him the last one to ensure it, because it’s a guarantee. It was his turn. Sixty million Italians are holding their breath, but they can’t control the gallop of their hearts. Robertino would not make a mistake, he was a genius. Serious, concentrated, he swooped in, dropped low and the ball flew towards the sky like Apollo XI. Very, very high, too high to be true. All of Brazil exploded with happiness: four-time champions.

Roberto was frozen, staring into infinity, trying to find a useless explanation. That unfortunate penalty destroyed his popularity, almost ended his memory and his legacy. After that, nobody cared if it was the Ballon d’Or, if it was crack, if it enchanted the Italian and world public, it simply sent the ball into the stratosphere, the only one that shouldn’t have been. And that will remain in his epitaph. Was it bad luck…? No, the ball doesn’t go where it wants, but where someone sends it. He shot poorly, he shot the ball too low and raised it to ridiculous limits.

Fines are all the rage these days. The 2022 World Cup was also defined by kicks from eleven meters. Argentina have a goalkeeper who specializes in stopping them and they were champions. In the current Copa Libertadores, since the direct confrontations for the elimination started, 4 out of 11 duels were defined by penalties, a high percentage of 36.36%. This means that the importance of a good performance becomes decisive in progressing towards the title. Boca Juniors reached the semi-finals, winning two legs on penalties. Series are sensational, emotional, sometimes far superior to the game itself. And sometimes we force them to a draw and go to penalties.

Before the penalty was awarded to the team, it was a celebration between the players, the coaching staff, and the fans. It was a sure goal. Or almost. Today part is over. Unfulfilled fines are industrial quantities. Does it hit worse than before? No, goalkeepers have improved tremendously, it is the most developed position in football.

This progress is so incredible that the penalty kick has become a science. Goalkeepers are cats, they have studied all rival bidders and as soon as the shot is not strong or well thrown into the corner, they stop them. It’s getting harder to score a penalty. “In my time, goals from penalties were not celebrated,” said Alfredo Di Stéfano. It was something too simple, you shot in one direction and it was a goal, the goalkeepers didn’t even move”. And if they could move forward, there was no problem. And that there was neither pressure nor instant success. It’s infinitely harder to score now, despite FIFA’s insistence on minimizing goalkeeper chances. The enforcers can pretend, take a thousand small steps before the shot, slow down, but the goalkeepers can’t move forward or move their hands or talk to the shooters. They should be forced to cover their eyes with a blindfold. And even so, it is difficult to take a penalty against them. The arc still measures 2.44 in height and 7.32 in width, it happens that the current goalkeepers are athletes and super prepared.

Until recently – and it is still often heard – many journalists said/say: “And the match will be decided by the lottery of penalties”. Nothing to see. If penalties were a matter of chance and not purely technical and emotional – which they are – the coach would send the five luckiest individuals on the team to shoot. But no, pick the five that finish best. Or those who are mentally stronger to take on such responsibility. Mental strength is essential in this game of executioners and victims. If you have a goalkeeper like Dibu Martínez in front of you, you know that during the game you need to secure a result and not go for penalties. Dibu’s mind will drift in the attacker’s mood.

It is interesting that the same people who talk about the “penalty penalty lottery” then raise another axiom as a biblical truth: “A well-executed penalty is a goal”. So where are we? Is it a matter of luck or is it good to kick them? The reality goes through the last sentence: if you shoot effectively, it becomes, apart from the feat of the goalkeeper. A powerful shot in the corner is difficult to cover, as the speed of the ball has been shown to far exceed human reaction. The penalty is a psychological fact, but also a technical one. Strong and well directed, he is unstoppable. Sergio Goycochea, an expert in the art of covering penalties, assures: “if the ball goes 50 centimeters from the post, there is no way to kick it out.” 99% of shots that are stopped are foul shots, announced or in the middle of the arc.

What is glossed over is that the definition of penalty kicks is usually not similar to the abilities and merits shown by the two teams during the match. The one who played the worst can be the best on penalties.

Another common platitude heard is, “The goalkeeper seems helpless before the firing squad.” On the contrary, the pressure is on the performer (ask Baggio). The goalkeeper has everything to win and nothing to lose. If he does not save a shot, he is not guilty; if it covers one, it is a character; two, a hero and so on… In the shootout, a good goalkeeper is more important than a good performer. Because there is a goalkeeper in everyone.

Wait until the last one. When Liga de Quito won the 2008 Libertadores on penalties against Fluminense, coach Edgardo Bauza couldn’t take the tension and went to the locker room. “He only gave me one hint: to wait until the last moment to see where the ball goes and shoot me there,” says José Francisco Cevallos, the hero goalkeeper of the day (he blocked three shots). It was Goycoche’s strategy, and one that all shooters should use: don’t hit; wait for the auction and there yes, throw yourself. If the shot is not good enough, if it is bitten or goes into the middle of the goal, it is a goalkeeper’s ball. And many go in the middle. Goalkeepers who risk their stick before seeing the shot rarely save a penalty.

Many people are bothered by this kind of epilogue of the match, especially the important ones, but the tie has to be broken somehow. And to date no one has suggested a better way. (OR)