Ever known a professional footballer who has never missed a penalty? Looking at the best players ever, I’m beginning to think that players with no missed penalties are a myth.
Everyone makes mistakes. While this is more than obvious, some penalty shootouts were more tragic than the other ones. Let’s see what these “tragic” events are and which players left a traumatic mark on themselves, as well as the fans.
Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid versus Bayern Munich, Champions League 2011/12
I will start off with one of the funniest ones, Sergio Ramos’ catapult over Bayern Munich’s goalkeeper. It was the Champions League semi-finals. The aggregate was 3:3, and Los Blancos and the Bavarians went on to a penalty shootout.
Sergio Ramos kicked the ball high above Neuer’s head, after which Schweinsteiger scored for Die Bayern. This penalty is, in fact, tragic as it cost Real Madrid to lose to Bayern.
Michel Platini, France versus Brazil, 1986 World Cup
One of the biggest legends of football, Michel Platini, took a less-than-conventional penalty in one of his national team’s most important matches. More specifically, Ramos’ miss was pretty similar to that of Platini.
The Frenchman took a long run up and put a little too much pressure on the ball. It flew high above. Although France won this encounter, Platini got much scorn for this unwise move.
Pat Nevin, Chelsea versus Manchester City (1984/85)
Yet another funny penalty kick we have here. Pet Nevin, one of the best Chelsea players at that time, took the ball after the Blues were awarded a free kick. No one really knows what Nevin really wanted to do.
But many of us assume that he wanted to surprise United’s goalkeeper and roll the ball on the floor. All this ended in an easy catch. Like Platini, Nevin did not cost Chelsea the win. On the other hand, his tragedy involved a lot of mockery.
David Beckham, England versus Portugal, Euro 2004
The genius behind free kicks and corner kicks, David Beckham, had some not-brilliant penalty percentages. There are many England missed penalties that fans remember. But for some reason, this one is often mentioned and talked about.
The England superstar took a long run up and then launched the ball very high into the audience. Lots of fans and experts wonder about Beckham’s weird performance at the Euro.
Roberto Baggio, Italy versus Brazil, 1994 World Cup Final
I guess I’m a lover of vulgar displays of power. And I don’t mean any physical altercation. I aim here at the biggest penalty misses with players who kicked the ball too hard.
The same happened to Baggio, who needed to score in order to keep Italy alive. Well, he missed and let the Brazilians win this contest. Nevertheless, the Italian, and the rest of the players in this blog are not the ones with the most missed penalties in history.
