Pacman To The Point / Jamie "The Pacman" Pacheco / 14 October 2008 / Leave a comment

With a full round of World Cup qualifiers taking place this Wednesday, there will be plenty of penalties scored plus a couple that will inevitably be missed. But any misses are unlikely to be as costly to the team in question as these five described below, says Jamie "The Pacman" Pacheco.

In the days of the wild, wild west when two guys didn't like each other they met at dawn, put their hands by their pistol holsters and at the count of three they drew their guns. The quicker of the two wiped their stubbly chin, chewed some tobacco, put the gun back in its holster and walked into the horizon as tumbleweed rolled around his leather boots. The other guy left the scene in a coffin.

These days the closest you get to this sort of mano-a-mano confrontation is the penalty in football. It's a different sort of shootout of course but no less exciting for spectators. If the taker scores it, he's a hero, if he misses it he's a zero. Here we look at the five "costliest" penalty misses ever and discuss who exactly they were costly to.

In no particular order:

Number 5: Roberto Baggio

Match: Italy v Brazil: Penalty shootout in the 1994 World Cup Final.

The setting: Having missed twice already in the penalty shootout twice to Brazil's once, Italy needed their talisman Baggio to convert the fifth penalty and ensure Brazil had to score theirs to win the World Cup. Baggio had scored five goals in Italy's last three matches leading up to the final (including a penalty) and was in superb form, albeit less than 100% fit for the final. He couldn't miss could he? Baggio's kick flew over the crossbar and the image of the man they called the "Divine Ponytail" standing hands on hips as Brazil's players celebrate around him is one of the most memorable of that World Cup. "Everytime you take a penalty you lose out because you get no credit if you score because you're expected to and criticised if you don't but that's football" Baggio said in an interview a few years later when asked about the miss.

Costly to who? Baggio, who despite having a glittering club career with Juventus and AC Milan amongst a host of other Serie A clubs never tasted success with Italy, having been far too young to have been around when they won the World Cup in 1982 and having retired two years before Italy won it again in 2006.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voT5W9Doa-s

Number 4: Baumann - National football captain of the "Germans"

Match: Germans v Allies in "Escape to Victory"

The setting: Having clawed their way back from 4-0 at half-time to 4-4 (with Pele's bicycle kick to draw the scores level the pick of the goals), the Allies concede a dubious last-minute penalty as the less-than-neutral referee adjudges a tackle to be worthy of a spot-kick. The German national captain Baumann is happy to shoulder the responsibility and picks up the ball knowing it will be the last kick of the match as time has run out on the clock. Robert Hatch, Sylvester Stallone if you prefer, walks back to his goal line as his team mates look on helplessly and the largely-French crowd chants "Victoire". Baumann hits it cleanly enough but Hatch guesses which way it was going and denies the German skipper. The crowd goes wild, breaks through the barriers and the Allied players escape amidst the confusion and chaos.

Costly to who? Germany, to whom an unlikely draw for their brilliant national team against a team of malnourished prisoners of the war was the subject of great national embarrassment. Worse still, they may have taken a draw from this match but they went on to lose the Second World War.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHTmv1d-GzI

Number 3: John Terry

Match: Chelsea v Man Utd: Penalty shootout in the 2008 Champions League Final.

The Setting: Manchester Utd had just beaten Chelsea to the Premiership title a week before and the two sides went to a penalty shootout in the Champions League final after the score remained 1-1 after extra-time. Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 46 goals for club and country over the course of the season, was the unlikely villain for Man Utd as he missed his spot-kick and with the next few scoring for both sides it became a simple equation: if Chelsea scored they won the Champion League. If it's courage, composure and handling of pressure you need, then there are few better men for the job than Chelsea captain John Terry. But on this occasion Terry did feel the pressure and despite sending the goalkeeper the wrong way, he slipped as he took the kick and the ball hit the post and went out. Anelka then missed for Chelsea again and Man Utd won the Champions League for a second time. "You can see what it means to John," said team-mate Frank Lampard afterwards. "He's Mr Chelsea, Chelsea through and through. He wanted this more than anyone at the club. Not many centre-halves would have stood up there and taken the fifth penalty, a penalty of that importance, in the shoot-out. That's testament to the man."

Costly to who: Avram Grant. The Chelsea boss who succeeded Jose Mourinho earlier on in the season guided Chelsea to the runners-up spot in the Carling Cup, Premiership and with this defeat, the Champions League too. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich settles for no less than top spot though and Grant was sacked as manager shortly after the match.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS24b5GwtFo

Number 2: Gareth Southgate

Match: England v Germany: Penalty shootout in semi-final of Euro 96

The setting: Having not won a major tournament for exactly 30 years since they won the World Cup on home soil, this was England's best chance to win another given they were at home once more and boasted their best side in years with the likes of Shearer, Gascoigne, Adams and Sheringham at the peak of their careers. With the match finishing 1-1 after extra-time it went to penalties and with all of England's recognised penalty-takers having scored, it was left to centre-back Gareth Southgate to take England' sixth. Southgate went low and to the left but his shot was saved by Andreas Kopke and England's dream was over. When asked before the match if he'd be willing to take a penalty at Euro 96 if given the chance Southgate replied: "I've only taken one penalty before, for Crystal Palace at Ipswich. It was 2-2 in the 89th minute, I hit the post and we went down that year. But I think I'd be far more comfortable now than I was then." England fans wish he hadn't bothered taking a second.

Costly to who: England fans who were deprived of tasting football glory in their own backyard 30 years later and who had spent the last three weeks singing "Football is coming home" and waving Union Jack flags everywhere they went.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu4pGNwoxzY&feature=related

Number 1: Dennis Bergkamp

Match: Manchester Utd v Arsenal, FA Cup semi-Final replay, 1999

The Setting: With the score at 1-1 in the replay of the semi-final of the FA Cup and with Manchester Utd down to ten men after captain Roy Keane had been sent off, Arsenal are awarded a penalty in the last minute of injury-time of normal time left as Phil Neville brings down Ray Parlour. The superb Dennis Bergkamp, who had already scored in the match, stepped up and placed it to Peter Schmeichel's left but the man they called the "Great Dane" stuck out two huge paws and denied the Dutchman. To make matters worse, in extra-time Ryan Giggs latched onto a stray pass from Arsenal's midfield, dribbled past five players and drilled the ball into the roof of the net for what has been described as the best FA Cup goal ever.

Costly to who: Bookmakers all around the world who offered huge odds at the start of the season on Manchester Utd doing the Treble - winning the Premiership, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season. Six weeks after Bergkamp's miss, Man Utd were completing the Treble by again defying the odds to beat Bayern Munich with two injury-time goals to win the match 2-1 and complete the last leg of the Treble.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cilUpB9UUfc