Panenka (penalty kick)

In association football, the panenka is a technique used while taking a penalty kick in which the taker, instead of kicking the ball to the left or right of the goalkeeper, gives a light touch underneath the ball, causing it to rise and fall within the centre of the goal, deceiving the goalkeeper who will most likely have committed to a dive away from the centre.

The technique was pioneered by Czech player Antonín Panenka when he scored the winning goal in the penalty shootout that decided the UEFA Euro 1976 final in Belgrade, beating West German goalkeeper Sepp Maier to claim the title for the Czechoslovakia national team. The technique garnered Panenka much media attention and praise, but it was likewise deemed risky. Due to it being difficult to execute correctly and relatively easy to save for the goalkeeper if anticipated, a panenka is rarely attempted at professional knock-out tournaments. Sports journalists have noted that generally only highly regarded players who can deal with the consequences of missing such an attempt have tried scoring with a panenka at major tournaments.

Originally, the Czech name for panenka was Vršovický dloubák ('Vršovice chip') — a reference to the Prague district of Vršovice, where Panenka's home club Bohemians is based. This style of penalty kick is also called Il cucchiaio ('the spoon') in Italy, cavadinha ('little dig') in Brazil and penal picado ('poked penalty kick') in Argentina and elsewhere in South America.