In our opinion, Zidanes’s Panenka against Italy in the final match of the FIFA World Cup is undoubtedly the greatest Panenka kick ever!
Founded by Antonín Panenka in the last match of the UEFA European Championship against West Germany’s goalkeeper Sepp Maier, Panenka penalty is an extremely difficult style of penalty that is not everyone’s cup of tea. However, in the history of football, some players have produced brilliant Panenka penalties. In the following paragraphs, we have listed our top ones.
Zidane’s goal against Italy
Our favourite Panenka penalty of all time is the one Zidane put up against Italy in the final match of the FIFA World Cup 2006. On that night, Zidane was carrying the hopes of millions of France supporters and therefore, he was under immense pressure. Irrespective of the situation, he had the guts to pull the Panenka against a gallant young Buffon.
The founder of Panenka, Antonín Panenka
The second position goes to the founder of the Panenka penalty, Antonín Panenka. His goal against West Germany was extraordinary because the world had never before witnessed the technique used by Panenka. As per Panenka, he practised the technique for two long years before making the first trial against Sepp Maier. Fortunately, the ball went in and today, the penalty kick technique bears Panenka’s name. How can we not include Lionel Messi?
The third best Panenka we have ever witnessed in our life is the one scored by Lionel Messi against Getafe. For Barcelona in La Liga, the little magician scored a perfect Panenka against Getafe in 2015. At that time, Panenka reacted to Messi’s goal by saying, “The execution was the best I’ve ever seen - not too powerful, central, good elevation.”
Sergio Ramos, a defender who loves taking penalty kicks Sergio Ramos is one of the greatest defenders in the history of football. However, apart from defending, he loves scoring goals and therefore, over the years, he has scored numerous headers and penalties. Talking about Panenka penalties, he is a regular, but the best one he ever produced was the kick he scored against Portugal in 2012.
Last but not the least, Pirlo’s goal against England, Hazard’s score against City, Abreu against Ghana and Thierry Henry’s goal against Newcastle in 2003 are a few more Panenka penalties we are likely to cherish till the end of time.
