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Antonín Panenka (born 2 December 1948 in Prague) is a Czech former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He played most of his career Czech club for Bohemians Prague. Panenka won UEFA Euro 1976 with the Czechoslovakia. In the final against West Germany, he scored the winning penalty in the shootout with a softly-chipped ball up the middle of the goal as the goalkeeper dived away; this style of penalty is now called the Panenka penalty. In 1980, he won Czechoslovak Footballer of the Year and his team finished third at Euro 1980.
Club career
An attacking midfielder known for the quality of his passing and his free kicks, Panenka played for Bohemians Praha for most of his career, joining the club in 1967. In 1981, Panenka left Bohemians for Austrian club Rapid Wien, where he won two Bundesliga titles and an Austrian Cup. In 1985 Rapid reached the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final; Panenka played as a substitute, but his side lost 3–1 to Everton. Later that year, Panenka moved to VSE St. Pölten and played two more seasons before moving into the lower leagues in Austria, playing from 1987–89 for Slovan Vienna, from 1989–91 for ASV Hohenau and from 1991–93 for Kleinwiesendorf.
Panenka penalty
Panenka came to international prominence playing for Czechoslovakia at UEFA Euro 1976, where Czechoslovakia reached the final, facing West Germany. After extra time, the match finished 2–2, and so the first penalty shootout in a European Championships final ensued. The first seven kicks were converted until West Germany's fourth penalty taker, Uli Hoeneß, ballooned his shot over the bar. With the score 4–3, Panenka stepped up to take the fifth Czechoslovakian penalty, to win the match under immense pressure. He feigned shooting to the side of the goal, causing German goalkeeper Sepp Maier dive to his left, and then gently chipped the ball into the middle of the net. The sheer cheek of the goal led a watching French journalist to dub Panenka "a poet", and to this day his winning kick is one of the most famous ever, making Panenka's name synonymous with that particular style of penalty kick.
The Panenka penalty has since been successfully duplicated by Gonzalo Pineda in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup, Sebastián Abreu in the 2010 World Cup, Younis Mahmoudand Omar Abdulrahman in the 2015 Asian Cup, both Andrea Pirlo and Sergio Ramos at Euro 2012 and in Euro 2016 qualifying, Hélder Postiga at Euro 2004, Francesco Totti at Euro 2000, John Stones against Juventus at the 2013 International Champions Cup and Jozy Altidore in his first game for Toronto FC. Other examples include Lionel Messi in a 2015 La Liga match against Getafe, and Alexis Sánchez at the 2015 Copa América and Arsenal 2-1 win over Burnley at EPL, the second player to win a major tournament with the Panenka. A few who have tried the kick unsuccessfully include Neymar, Mickaël Landreau, Antonio Calle, Rogério Ceni, Maicosuel, Marko Dević, Graham Zusi, Robin van Persie, Svetoslav Dyakov, Antonio Cassano and Alexandre Pato.
As well as winning Euro 1976, Panenka helped Czechoslovakia come third in Euro 1980 after once again scoring in a 9–8 penalty shootout win. In the finals of the 1982 World Cup, Panenka scored twice with penalties, though these were the only Czechoslovakian goals in the tournament, and the team did not progress beyond the first group stage.
Post-playing career
Today, Panenka works as a president of Bohemians 1905.
Honours
Club
- Rapid Wien
- Austrian Championship: 1981–82, 1982–83
- Austrian Cup: 1983, 1984, 1985
International
- Czechoslovakia
- UEFA European Football Championship: 1976
Individual
- UEFA European Football Championship Team of the Tournament: 1976
- Czechoslovak Footballer of the Year: 1980
- Golden Foot Legends Award: 2014