You have to be truly grateful to the rule-keepers of the International Football Association Board Ifab. Imagine the men voted against the new rule on June 27, 1970, 50 years ago today, and the penalty shoot-out might never have been introduced. The good old coin tossing would have continued, what dramas would the soccer world have escaped?
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But Ifab’s football grail keepers were smart enough to agree to this little football revolution on June 27th. From then on, decision-making was considered a viable solution to choose a winner in knockout games that had previously been a draw, without having to resort to an exhausting replay or coin lottery.
Nevertheless, it took six years before it was used for the first time in a major tournament. Uli Hoeneß will be very, very reluctant to remember the night of Belgrade in 1976, Antonin Panenka, the CSSR shooter, all the more so.
The large picture show from 50 years that follows below is not only reminiscent of this game: drama, bliss, nervous flutter and tragedy. The penalty shootout created soccer heroes, as did the bad luck birds. The big football goal, on penalties, it suddenly shrinks for the shooter, and the goalkeeper suddenly becomes a strong man. The fear of the goalkeeper at the penalty kick, this sentence has never been as nonsensical as for a decisive penalty shootout.
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For the longest penalty shootout in professional football, however, there are hardly any pictures for posterity: On January 23, 2005, in the Namibian Cup KK Palace competed against Civics FC. 48 penalties later, KK Palace was finally chosen as the 17:16 winner.
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