Jonathan David once again shows this season with LOSC his skill in taking penalties. What is his secret? Calmness and a little work…
During the month of April, in 2024, LOSC lost in its duel with Aston Villa at the end of a meeting with a cruel outcome, the scenario of which ended on penalties (2-1, 3-4 tab). At the final whistle, Gabriel Gudmundsson let his pain speak: “It’s difficult to digest after these penalties. It’s a lottery and we did everything we could today, you could see it on the pitch.”repeated the Swede, inconsolable like all of his teammates that evening.
The term “lottery” was then used, a (too) simplistic definition of a penalty or a shot on goal which sometimes comes back (too) often following a particularly stubborn setback. However, a member of the Lille squad contradicts this ready-made expression. This is Jonathan David, nicknamed Iceman for his composure in front of the cages. It must be said that he has continued to excel in this exercise since his arrival at LOSC.
In total, the Canadian attempted 24 penalties for the Mastiffs, including a very recent one sent into the back of the net during the victorious reception (1-0) of Real Madrid in the Champions League. Of these 24 attempts, 20 were converted without the slightest difficulty, three were stopped (Celtic in October 2020, Nantes in November 2021 and Ajaccio in August 2022) and a last one was converted afterwards, after a first save by the goalkeeper ( Le Havre in 2024). Thus, Jonathan David displays a success percentage of 83.3% in the exercise, which makes him, without a doubt, one of the luckiest men on the globe.
In April 2024, Jonathan David had also transformed his attempt, the first Mastiff to thwart Dibu Martinez’s plans. So what is his secret? “I practice a lot on penalties in traininghe told us in the mixed zone following LOSC’s historic success in the Champions League. I work on them constantly so for me, even when I’m in the middle of a match, it’s as if I was in a classic session, in training. […] I just try to concentrate and calm down to make sure I hit the ball where it needs to be. You really have to stay focused”explained the Canadian. Which goes to show that even “luck” is not something innate.
JONATHAN DAVID OPENS THE SCORE FOR LILLE!
The Lille player does not tremble and converts his penalty after a hand from Camavinga 😍#LOSCRMA | #UCL pic.twitter.com/yeHdiMcXJK
— CANAL+ Foot (@CanalplusFoot) October 2, 2024
