Throw-back: What goes into making a great penalty taker?

By Ameenu Shardow

It’s quiet funny to sometimes see great players completely fluff penalty kicks when it matters most while amateurs convert expertly when least expected.

A classical example is the infamous penalty miss by Asamoah Gyan in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Ghana’s star-man throughout the competition had an opportunity to smash an African record by being the first team to make a senior world cup semi’s by planting the ball into the net against Uruguay in the dying seconds. But then when it mattered most, Gyan’s kick hit with a lot of venom could only find Muslera’s cross bar.

However quiet recently at the just ended All Africa Games, striker Mahatma Otoo converted two consecutive kicks, (the second even better than the first) to earn a historic feat where the Black Meteors claimed Ghana’s first ever gold of the games.

This then begs the question, what does it take for any player to successfully convert penalty kicks even if he had to do it a thousand times?

Otoo, whose delightful but audacious chip for a U-23 player made the Amagluglug keeper look just ‘stupid’ in his post for his second kick attempted to answer this question.

“It is all about confidence,” he told GHANAsoccernet.com when asked.

“Yes, a lot of practice helps but without confidence even the best prepared person can lose his way.

“I had earlier told my colleagues that when given an opportunity this was what I was going to do to the goalkeeper, some doubted me, but for those who knew me very well, they weren’t surprised when it happened.”

But does this revelation in anyway suggest Asamoah Gyan who had been Ghana’s main-man at the 2010 World Cup was lacking any confidence at the time he was taking the eventually heart-breaking kick against Uruguay? I honestly don’t think so.

Some people just believe you are born with it and I am tempted to agree with that school of thought.

How much premium will you put to confidence as against pure technique or constant practice when it comes to penalty kicks?

Let us hear you by registering your thoughts in the box below.