Soccerphile Editorial - June 2012
England's penalty disasters are now par for the course
In the aftermath of their Euro 2012 penalty shoot-out defeat to Italy, England coach Roy Hodgson told the country's disappointed press that England had a "national obsession" with penalties.
What seemed an obvious point was more an analysis of one of England's key failings; when it comes to shoot-outs, English players transform from Three Lions into psychological wrecks.
There was no better illustration of the difference in approach from twelve yards than the contrast between Andrea Pirlo's and Ashley Cole's spot-kicks. Pirlo's kick, which came immediately after team-mate Riccardo Montolivo had sent his penalty crashing wide, was the epitome of nonchalance.
Charged with the task of his keeping his nation in the contest, the veteran Juventus playmaker stepped up to simply chip Joe Hart from the penalty spot.
"At the moment I saw the goalkeeper making strange movements, so I waited for him to move and hit it like that," Pirlo explained. "It was easier for me to chip it at that stage. Maybe my effort put some pressure on England."
Pirlo's perfectly executed Panenka - a technique made famous by Antonin Panenka at the 1976 European Championships - did indeed put England pressure. Ashley Young, no doubt desperate to cement his status as a key player for his nation, smashed his spot-kick so hard it threatened to shatter the frame of the goal when it clattered against the crossbar.
Perhaps it was the sight of Young striking his penalty with so much conviction that put Ashley Cole off. The Chelsea defender successfully converted in the west London club's Champions League shoot-out win over Bayern Munich but the task seemed to overwhelm him against Italy.
Face to face with one of international football's most consistent goalkeepers, Gianluigi Buffon, Cole stuttered in his run-up, shot low across his body and watched in agony as Buffon got down easily to save.
"When we took it to penalties I was hoping this was our tournament but the practising didn't help," said Hodgson after the match. "I'd been watching Ashley Young and Ashley Cole smashing in penalties in training but you can't reproduce the tired legs, pressure and nervous tension," he added.
It was a nervous tension which seemed to consume the England players. Where Pirlo - who scored in the shoot-out as Italy won the 2006 World Cup on penalties - seemed to relish the responsibility thrust upon him, Cole's body language suggested the penalty spot was the last place he wanted to be. "It has become an obsession for us in English football," surmised Hodgson, and yet another shoot-out defeat will have done nothing to quell that obsession.
It will also arguably mask the technical deficiencies rife in the England set-up. For once the tabloid press refused to lionise England's chances, which perhaps explains the somewhat muted reaction to England's quarter-final exit.
For many critics, reaching the last eight represents a success for a not particularly talented team. Aside from a handful of key players - Hart, Cole, an out of sorts Wayne Rooney - there are few players of genuine international class in the England set-up.
That's unlikely to change during Hodgson's tenure as the affable coach attempts to lead England to the 2014 World Cup. It won't have gone unnoticed that the first Italian player to score in the shoot-out was Manchester City star Mario Balotelli. The English Premier League might be one of the toughest competitions in the world but that's largely because so many of its stars are foreigners.
In the meantime Hodgson needs to work out how to rejuvenate his disconsolate squad. In the past England's early exits were often portrayed as a case of so near, yet so far. Now they are merely predictable.
And unless Hodgson can inspire Rooney to rediscover his best form in an England jersey - let alone find a way to break the psychological stranglehold penalty shoot-outs have on his team - there's not much cause for optimism that England will do anything but exit the World Cup early in two years' time, provided they can qualify for Brazil 2014 in the first place.
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