How about penalties from the goalkeeper's point of view? Proven positioning and deceptive moves

The penalty, or penalty kick, has been a part of football for more than 130 years, and although it was invented by goalkeepers, it represents a difficult to critical game situation for them. A well-known football rule even says that a penalty cannot be caught badly, only kicked badly. However, many goalkeepers have made very successful saves, which prove that the opposite is true. What are their tips for handling penalties physically and mentally? And what do the statistics or studies of sports psychologists say

Standing still and testing the opponent

Some goalkeepers manage penalties with icy calmness and instead of confusing the opponent with quick movements, they stay on the goal line until the last moment. Others, on the other hand, jump and spread their arms to make the goal look smaller and make the penalty taker nervous. Alternatively, they combine both approaches depending on who is on the other side. So there is no universal solution and most experienced footballers and coaches advise to focus on a specific player and adapt to the given situation, but this always requires a bit of luck and intuition.

The center of the gate as a surety?

In terms of statistical calculations, you have the best chance of taking a penalty from a position in the middle of the goal. Nevertheless, the overall probability of a successful procedure is only around 12 to 16 percent . According to experts, it pays to expose your opponent to unpredictable conditions and try to throw him off, either:

• by jumping
• by spreading the arms
• gesturing
• other significant movements

At the very least, you will partially divert his attention elsewhere and make the procedure more difficult for him. From the point of view of psychology, focusing attention on factors that can be influenced works better. And those are perhaps the aiming of the goal and the movement of the ball , but certainly not the behavior of the goalkeeper. This testing tactic has already proven itself many times for goalkeepers , which is also confirmed by various studies. But the question remains, to what extent to involve facial expressions when taking penalties, because we know many successful goalkeepers from the past with a stone face and a smile and an undisguised good mood.

When the details matter

The outcome of a football match can change in a second , during which the opponent scores a goal or just stops briefly to think about a penalty kick. The goalkeeper should be especially careful before such a shot, because according to the data, it ends up with a successful completion in up to 80 percent of the time, while it is less than 60 percent for penalties taken very quickly.

The goalkeeper's equipment can also be key , such as high-quality soccer cleats or goalkeeper gloves for maximum control over the ball. Although the first footballers started without them, the game was much slower back then and the role of the goalkeeper has also changed, as today he gets into the field much more often and generally has more options.

Inspiration from famous procedures

Although football is still developing, some of the saves of famous goalkeepers are still not surpassed . German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn or Pole Jerzy Dudek are great legends in this regard, but Petr Čech , who was known for his preparation and studying graphs, analyzes and video analysis, also raised concerns at one time . More than any other player, the goalkeeper pays to follow this information in order to be able to prepare for even the most risky game situation, which is a penalty.

Penalty kick during the match versus penalty shootout