Is there a good time to eat a panenka – with Brentford paying the price?

In the 50 years since Panenka brought the penalty kick to the fore, it has gradually become more popular.

A number of top players, including Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Francesco Totti, have successfully used this penalty kick technique.

France legend Zinedine Zidane claims to have beaten a high-pressing Panenka in the 2006 World Cup final as his penalty hit the underside of the crossbar and crossed the goal line.

This may not be what he remembers most about that night.

England suffered at the hands of Panenka several times in the shootout, most famously when Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo beat Joe Hart carelessly to change the momentum of a penalty shootout in the 2012 European Championship quarter-finals.

“For me, Hart looked very confident,” Pirlo said. “I needed to do something to get over it.

He added, “Penalty kicks are a very personal matter, but when I saw him move, I decided to do it. It seemed like a psychological blow to us.”

Likewise in the 2022 UEFA Cup Final, where Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga put on a show trying to distract the Liverpool players, Fabinho responded by calmly curling his kick into the middle, much to the delight of the Reds fans behind the goal.

Psychological blow? Well, every Liverpool player went on to score as they won the shootout 11-10.

But despite all his notable successes, Ouattara is not the first to be absent from the artistic scene.

In 1992, Gary Lineker had the opportunity to equal Sir Bobby Charlton’s 49 goals for England in a friendly against Brazil, but he was thwarted by Panenka and ended up one goal short of the then-record.

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero is usually so reliable from the spot, but he looked foolish when he attempted a Panenka in May 2021, as Chelsea went on to win 2-1 after Edouard Mendy’s penalty save.

In January, Brahim Diaz tried to beat Panenka in the Africa Cup of Nations in stoppage time for Morocco. His effort was saved and Senegal emerged champions.