In 2008, John Terry, the captain of Chelsea, was to take the decisive penalty kick. If he scored, Chelsea would win the UEFA champions League for the first time in history. It is the dream of every football player to lift the big ears, it is even greater if one lifts it as the captain. Terry had been inspirational as a Chelsea captain and this win would cement his legacy as a Chelsea legend.
Well, John Terry missed the penalty. And Chelsea, eventually lost to Manchester United. He was inconsolable.
(Christiano Ronaldo had also missed his penalty on that day).
World Cup finals 1994, Brazil Vs Italy. Roberto Baggio, the pony-tailed talismanic Italian had the hopes of a nation in his legs. After an entertaining but goalless 120 minutes. It was the first time in World Cup history that the finals were to be decided by penalties.
3-2 was the penalty score. Roberto Baggio had one assignment, to score. If he scores, Italy stays in the game. If he misses, Brazil win. Did he score?
You guessed it. He flew the ball way over the cross bar.
It’s 2022, England Vs France World cup quarter-finals. At the 84th minute, Harry Kane only needs to score the penalty to level the match 2-2. He has done it before when he scored the equalizer from the same spot. He is already a hero. He only needs to put the freaking ball at the back of the net. One more time.
You know how the story ends.
I don’t want to write about the Asamoah Gyan Vs Uruguay penalty miss.
Why does he miss when he is most needed to score?
As the player walks towards the penalty spot, there is an internal conflict. He thinks of what will happen after the ball goes in, the celebration, the applause. He will be a hero. He even plans on how he will celebrate his goal.
But then, his mind quickly shifts to what will happen if the ball does not hit the back of the net. The disappointment on the faces of the fans, the pain, the unforgettable, unforgivable sorrow. The internal conflict clouds his mind and impairs his legs.
The consequences of scoring or a missing are salient in the mind.
During training, the footballer practices how to take a penalty kick. But in the defining moments, he gets to play a different game than the one he practiced for.
The game is not played at the football pitch.
It is played in the mind.
Life is life
Fabio