After the penalty shootout that saw the World Cup final two in a row, it was clear that the match was not to be repeated. Sepp Blatter the all-powerful FIFA president has declared that penalties are not an option and that he is against seeing matches (or even World Cup matches) end this way. Problem is, however, what alternative is there?
We witnessed the first adaptation of penalties and possible avoidance of penalties in the 1996 European Championship. The so-called Golden Goal’ meant that extra-time would not be used, but any goal would automatically win the game. This was a mature version of the childhood favourite ‘next one wins’. This feature was most likely inspired by the 1994 World Cup semifinal in Pasadena between Brazil & Italy.
Personally, I can recall Gianluca Pgliuca, the Italian goalkeeper, scoring the closest. He fumbled a brazilian try, but it bounced back. That saved Sampdoria’s ex-stopper, who would have been immortalized in annual Christmas bloopers videos for decades. The dull affair ended in penalties. South American won their fourth title. The next major tournament was changed in hopes that ‘Golden Goal’ would trigger a similar reaction to the original playground game of putting men forward looking for goals. But what Mr. Blatter, and his many yes’ men failed to see was that a major event is different from the confused scene of twenty-odd twelve years olds forcing a ball into a goal made out of a bin & someone’s purse.
In the unlikely event that proceedings become too long, it’s unlikely that the top footballers will be similarly punished by a head of form. The 1996 tournament saw only one meeting before penalties were needed. And even that match was in the final. Oliver Bierhoff of Germany scored to make Bavarians scream. This way of avoiding penalties in deciding a fixture was used again in the 1998 World Cup that was held in France. Again, only one game was decided in this fashion (Laurent Blanc’s strike to end Paraguay’s dreams in round two). This idea has its flaws. It was based on the fact that losing via conceding was more stressful than scoring. The game ended up being less negative, even though France benefited from the system again in the European Championship final of 2000. David Trezeguet blew Italian hearts with a net-bursting strike.
Although there are some exceptions, it has been suggested that the’sudden-death’ periods of extra play actually prevent, not provoke, attacking play. Because the fear and risk of defeat outweigh the benefits of going forward in pursuit of a winning goal. The FIFA think tank was clear in its desire to evolve rather than’revolve’. They came up with the cleverly titled “Silver Goal”, which is basically a modified version of its predecessor. In this version, the winning side would win the tie if it leads in extra time. As a result, games got more negative, and there were more shootouts. Despite numerous attempts to avoid the inevitable twelve yard lotto’, it was still a common method of deciding fixtures which were level after ninety-minutes.
These ideas were dropped, and for 2006 we returned to the standard half hour extra time without any of these stipulations. And, of course, there were more penalties. The question is, what’s the answer? Replays are not feasible due to the limited time frame and constraints imposed by major media and sponsorship tieins for major tournaments. There are many creative and bizarre solutions to this huge problem. One theory states that players should be removed in a systematic manner at different times, in the hopes that fewer people will make it easier for them to play 맨션티비.
FIFA is also said to be considering this possibility. One concern is that it could lead to a bizarre situation where there are only four or maybe two remaining players on the field. While it is certainly a spectator’s dream scenario, there are serious practical issues. This could even make the humorous ‘extra time multi-ball’, which is featured in American beer manufacturers’ advertisements, viable. There have been other criticisms about penalties. They are not reflective of the skill level of the team.
This is a fact that can be affirmed without doubt. It was evident in the 1991 European Cup Final where Olymique Marseilles’ star studded team lost to Red Star Belgrade from the Yugoslavia. Red Star Belgrade played out the entire game with the aim of winning on penalties.