Antonín Panenka Explained

Antonín Panenka
Fullname:Antonín Panenka
Height:1.78m (05.84feet)
Birth Date:1948 12, df=yes
Birth Place:Prague, Czechoslovakia
Position:Attacking midfielder
Currentclub:Bohemians Prague (chairman)
Youthyears1:1958–1967
Youthclubs1:Bohemians Prague
Years1:1967–1981
Years2:1981–1985
Years3:1985–1987
Years4:1987–1989
Years5:1989–1991
Years6:1991–1993
Clubs1:Bohemians Prague
Clubs2:Rapid Wien
Clubs3:VSE St. Pölten
Clubs4:SK Slovan Wien
Clubs5:ASV Hohenau
Clubs6:Kleinwiesendorf
Caps1:230
Caps2:127
Totalcaps:357
Goals1:76
Goals2:63
Totalgoals:139
Nationalyears1:1973–1982[1]
Nationalteam1:Czechoslovakia
Nationalcaps1:59
Nationalgoals1:17

Antonín Panenka (born 2 December 1948) is a Czech retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent most of his career at Czechoslovak club Bohemians Prague before having spells with various Austrian clubs including Rapid Wien. Panenka won UEFA Euro 1976 with Czechoslovakia and gained recognition for his winning penalty kick in the shoot-out of the final against West Germany, where he scored with a softly-chipped ball up the middle of the goal as the goalkeeper dived away. This style of penalty is now known as a panenka. In 1980, he won Czechoslovak Footballer of the Year and his team finished third at Euro 1980.

Club career

An attacking midfielder known for the quality of his passing and his free kicks, Panenka played for Bohemians Prague for most of his career, joining the club in 1967.[2] He was named Czechoslovak Footballer of the Year in 1980.[2] In 1981, Panenka left Bohemians for Austrian club Rapid Wien,[2] where he won two Bundesliga titles and an Austrian Cup. In 1985, Rapid reached the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final; Panenka played as a substitute, but his side lost 3–1 to Everton. Later that year, Panenka moved to VSE St. Pölten and played two more seasons before moving into the lower leagues in Austria, playing from 1987 to 1989 for Slovan Vienna, from 1989 to 1991 for ASV Hohenau and from 1991 to 1993 for Kleinwiesendorf.

Panenka penalty

See main article: Panenka (penalty kick). Panenka came to international prominence playing for Czechoslovakia at UEFA Euro 1976, where his country reached the final, facing West Germany. After extra time, the match finished 2–2, and so the first penalty shoot-out in a European Championship final ensued. The first seven kicks were converted until West Germany's fourth penalty taker, Uli Hoeneß, ballooned his shot over the bar. With the score 4–3, Panenka stepped up to take the fifth Czechoslovak penalty, to win the match under immense pressure. He feigned shooting to the side of the goal, causing German goalkeeper Sepp Maier to dive to his left, and then gently chipped the ball into the middle of the net.[3] The sheer cheek of the goal led a watching French journalist to dub Panenka "a poet"; his winning kick is one of the most famous ever, making Panenka's name synonymous with that particular style of penalty kick.[4]

Since 1976 there have been numerous attempts to emulate Panenka, both successfully and others unsuccessfully, at every level of the sporting pyramid across the world, including in critical match winning moments such as international cup finals.[4]

Post-playing career

Following his career, Panenka worked as a president at former club Bohemians 1905. On 7 October 2020, the club confirmed that Panenka had been admitted to hospital and was in intensive care after testing positive for the novel coronavirus.[5] By mid-October, Panenka's condition had improved and he was discharged to continue his recovery at home.[6]

Honours

Rapid Wien

1981–82, 1982–83

1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85

Czechoslovakia

1976

Individual

1976[7]

1980[8]

1980[9]

1984–85

2014[10]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Antonin Panenka – International Appearances. The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  2. Book: Jeřábek, Luboš. Český a československý fotbal – lexikon osobností a klubů. Grada Publishing. cs. 2007. Prague, Czech Republic. 978-80-247-1656-5. 146.
  3. Web site: Football - Knowledge: the footballers who have moves named after them. Tom Bryant. The Guardian. 31 October 2007.
  4. Web site: The cult of the Panenka penalty . https://web.archive.org/web/20120628113325/http://www.fifa.com/newscentre/features/news/newsid=1655278/index.html . dead . 28 June 2012 . FIFA.com . 25 June 2012 . 3 July 2012.
  5. Web site: Penalty king Antonin Panenka in serious condition at Czech hospital. ESPN. 7 October 2020.
  6. Web site: Panenku propustili z nemocnice. 'Tátu jsem vyzvedl a odvezl domů,' vzkázal přes klub jeho syn. irozhlas.cz . Czech. 14 October 2020. 14 February 2022.
  7. News: 1976 team of the tournament . UEFA.com . 21 March 2016 . 2 January 2015 .
  8. Web site: Historie ankety Fotbalista roku. fotbal.cz. cs. 23 September 2015.
  9. Web site: Eastern European Footballer of the season. WebArchive . 5 July 2024 .
  10. Web site: Legends . Golden Foot . 23 September 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150925120930/http://www.goldenfoot.com/legends.php?l=en . 25 September 2015.