We've all heard of the term 'Panenka', but do you know the meaning behind the word?
Nowadays, when a player chips a penalty down the centre of the goal, commentators will often describe the strike as a Panenka, named after Antonín Panenka – a retired Czechoslovakia footballer.
Today at Football FanCast, we've explored the story of Panenka – whose name skyrocketed to global fame due to his iconic winning penalty in the 1976 UEFA European Championship final against West Germany.
Antonín Panenka's background
He began his professional career with Bohemians 1905 and made his international debut for Czechoslovakia in 1973, 10 weeks before his 25th birthday, so his arrival on the world stage was quite late, comparatively speaking.
Panenka, a creative playmaker, had established himself as a key player by the time EURO 1976 arrived and was hoping to be a part of unprecedented history – winning the nation's first major trophy.
Czechoslovakia had come close before, finishing third at the inaugural European Championship of 1960 and runners-up to Brazil in the 1962 World Cup but were still craving the illusive desired silverware to show.
The stage was set for Panenka to become an icon, and boy did he do just that…
Czechoslovakia
26th September 1973
62
21
Controversial semi-final June 16th 1976 – Czechoslovakia 3-1 Netherlands
Czechoslovakia defeated the favoured Netherlands in extra time to advance through to their first EURO final, but not without controversy.
The last four affair – which was played out in torrential downpour – will be largely remembered by Dutch fans for the referee's officiating.
Jaroslav Pollák and Johan Neeskens were both shown red cards, reducing the two sides to 10 men heading into extra time with the score one apiece.
But the major controversy came when Panenka clattered into the Netherlands' centre figure, Johan Cruyff. Quite remarkably, the referee Clive Thomas waved play on and swiftly after Czechoslovakia's Zdeněk Nehoda headed home to put his side 2-1 to the good six minutes from full time.
Netherlands midfielder Willem van Hanegem was so enraged at the decision, that he refused to take the kick-off and Thomas again drew a red card, reducing Oranje to nine men.
With the tie almost dead and buried, Panenka put through František Veselý to score the third and send Czechoslovakia through to the EURO final.
The historic final 20th June 1976 – Czechoslovakia 2-2 West Germany (5-3 on penalties)
In the wake of the chaos that unfolded against the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia's attention immediately turned towards reigning champions West Germany, who had just defeated Yugoslavia 3-2 in extra time, thanks to a Dieter Muller hat-trick on his international debut.
With the two finalists fatigued off the back of 120-minute matches in the semis, UEFA and the West German and Czechoslovakian FAs agreed to decide the final by a penalty shootout, if indeed it was a stalemate after extra time. Previous rules would've seen a replay ensue – much like the 1968 European Championship in Italy.
And that produced an underwhelming finale, as the hosts advanced through to the final by the toss of a coin before prevailing over Yugoslavia in a replay. So the revolutionary rule change was also to combat the events that unfolded at the 68' tournament.
But, from the off, Czechoslovakia raced away into a 2-0 lead and it looked as though a penalty shoot-out wouldn't be required, after all.
However, as the script goes, the semi-final hero, Muller, pulled one back for West Germany before Bernd Holzenbein headed in the equaliser in the dying embers of normal time.
Neither side could break extra time's deadlock and so, for the first time, a European Championship final was to be decided by a penalty shootout, with a moment of history about to transpire.
Though, incredibly, Czechoslovakia players began to depart the pitch as the whistle sounded, unaware that a replay had been scrapped before they were shepherded back on, minutes later, to resume the thrilling action.
It was a totally unfamiliar finale for the players, and the fans, who had never witnessed a major tournament fixture settled by such a method.
"We hadn’t decided beforehand who should take our penalties, so we weren’t really prepared. In the end five were picked, but everyone was really nervous about it," West Germany goalkeeper Sepp Maier said.
"I didn’t want to take a penalty actually because I felt really tired. We’d already twice played extra-time, in the semi-final and the final, and I was completely exhausted, and badly injured too," West Germany forward Uli Hoeneß reminisced.
"But Beckenbauer come up to me and said 'Uli, you have to take a penalty. If you don’t do it, the young ones will have to do it."
With the first seven penalties all successful and the score 4-3 to Czechoslovakia, Hoeneß stepped to level but in fact, blazed the ball some way over the crossbar.
It was then Panenka's turn to take centre stage, as he was given the opportunity to score the winning penalty to end his nation's long wait for a major trophy.
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Panenka wasn't always this penalty genius he's now cemented as. The attacking midfielder once missed two in one game for Bohemians 1905 against Plzeň in 1974, and it was thereafter that he started to practice with goalkeeper Zdeněk Hruška following training.
The pair would bet beer and chocolates on the shootout competitions they'd have and it would even consume Panenka's thoughts at night, as initially, it was Hruška who would often come out on top.
"I ended up lying awake at night thinking about how I could get the upper hand," Panenka told the Football Writers' Association in 2012.
"I eventually realised that the goalkeeper always waited until just before the last moment to try to anticipate where the ball was going and dived just before it was kicked so he could reach the shot in time. I decided that it was probably easier to score by feinting to shoot and then just gently tapping the ball into the middle of the goal."
He began to exhibit the audacious technique in the Czechoslovakian league and was finding great success, but across the continent, many were unaware of the ingenious strike.
Leading up to the historic final, Panenka told his roommate Ivo Viktor that he would attempt the technique if the opportunity arose.
Victor begged him not to try it as it was too risky, but Panenka was unmoved and confident in his newfound method.
And indeed, Panenka was born in the EURO 1976 final shootout, as he gracefully dinked the ball down the centre of the goal, sending Maier the wrong way to crown his nation champions of Europe for the first time.
Panenka's profile went global and little did he know, that his name would be uttered for decades to come.
Year
Winners
Runners-up
Host
1960
Soviet Union
Yugoslavia
France
1964
Spain
Soviet Union
Spain
1968
Italy
Yugoslavia
Italy
1972
West Germany
Soviet Union
Belgium
1976
Czechoslovakia
West Germany
Yugoslavia
How famous players reacted
Here's how some of the players reacted to the trailblazing moment – which inspired generations to try and replicate the audacious chip, with varying degrees of success.
Pelé, Brazil forward: "Anyone who takes a penalty like that must be either a genius or a madman."
Franz Beckenbauer, West Germany captain: "Only a true champion would come up with such a solution."
Ivo Viktor, Czechoslovakia goalkeeper: "I made a dreadful mistake in the last minute of regular time and we conceded a goal. When I meet Panenka now, I always tell him: 'Without me and my mistake, nobody would have heard of you!' I never believed he would try that penalty in the final – it still seems a bit cheeky to me, even after so many years."
Panenka's thoughts
Few players in football history have an action, or a skill, named after them. Cruyff immediately springs to mind for his famous 'Cruyff turn'.
It must be quite the honour for Panenka, so what does he make of it all? Well, he certainly didn't expect his spot-kick to transcend generations of football lingo.
"I have an advantage in my name. Panenka is pronounced the same way in all languages, so people remember it well. I must admit I never thought that my penalty from the European Championship final would become so famous. I definitely didn't kick it that way for that reason," Panenka said.
Many players have attempted the technique, with Zinedine Zidane and Lionel Messi's efforts perhaps the most memorable, but Antonín Panenka will always be the first.
