Ahead of another semi-final that could well end up being decided on penalties, I thought I might have a quick root around in the archives to see exactly what the records of the two relevant nations are.
As we all know, Germany are (practically) unbeatable at penalties, while Italy could give England a run for their money in the ‘choking’ stakes. Let’s look at the numbers…
Germany have (including this tournament) been involved in 4 shoot-outs in World Cup history (1982, 1986, 1990, 2006), winning them all. They’ve taken 18 penalties in total and (amazingly) missed only one…back in 1982 (vs. France). The full run-down of ice cool Germans is: Kaltz, Breitner, Littbarski, Rummenigge, Hrubesch, Allofs, Brehme, Matthaus, Littbarski (again), Brehme (again), Matthaus (again), Riedle, Thon, Neuville, Ballack, Podolski and Borowski.
The sole misser, trivia-fans, was (as the above image confirms) none other than sweeper Uli Stielike. Still, I’m sure he’d have gotten over the disappointment of missing Germany’s third ever penalty in World Cup shootouts if he’d know that the next 15 Germans (and counting) would confidently dispatch theirs.
What of Italy? Well, they’ve participated in 3 shootouts (1990, 1994, 1998) in the finals and lost all three. Of the 15 penalties they’ve taken, they’ve scored only 8…which had them at the bottom of the all-time heap until England’s third such defeat on Saturday.1 The missers, in chronological order, were: Donadoni & Serena (1990), Baresi, Massaro & Baggio (1994), and Albertini & Di Biagio (1998).
All of this is a long-winded way of saying that in the event of penalties tonight…I know who I’ll be having my pfennigs on.
- England’s abysmal record now stands at Played: 3, Lost: 3, Taken: 14, Scored: 6. [back]
More to come when I recover my composure and sobriety (I’ve had a few pints), but THAT was a true World cup classic. Pulsating, constantly absorbing…simply magnificent. One of the best games I’ve ever had the privilege of watching at international level. Have a big smile on my face right now…
A match to treasure and delight.
July 4th, 2006 at 10:00 pmEven with it being scoreless almost until the death, it was the game I most enjoyed this World Cup. I was rooting for Germany, whose attacking attitude won me over, but there was no answer to the two cracking goals with which Italy won it. Great, great game.
July 5th, 2006 at 1:51 amCouldn’t agree more. Splendid stuff entirely - and ‘Demolition man’ was on another channel.
July 5th, 2006 at 8:30 amMy heart was with the Eye-ties throughout I have to confess despite the quantity of face and leg holding - the pups. Two great goals.
Guardian Blog - A Dull Old Game
July 5th, 2006 at 3:28 pmThat Guardian blog entry is hilarious and way off the mark. Sure if you look at the bare stats you’ll see that the goal count has been quite low, but nearly every team has been attack-minded and tried to play positive football.
This comment, from user DanSmith, sums it up for me:
Amen, brother. If you want scores every 5 seconds watch basketball (*shudder*). If you want unrelenting tension, intrigue, drama, spontaneous invention, blood, guts, and thunder: watch World Cup football.
July 5th, 2006 at 3:53 pmI know - fortunately he didn’t get away with it.
I particularly liked the following:
From PierreLittbarski:
and from crackerjack:
July 5th, 2006 at 4:37 pmC. Ronaldo is a cheating little shit.
Discuss.
also, on the topic of increasing the number goals - I would suggest that in the event of a scoreless draw all players involved should be forbidden from wearing designer clothes for a period of no less than one month.
July 6th, 2006 at 9:21 amJust came across this.
informationbuilders.co.uk
Not convinced though.
July 6th, 2006 at 4:06 pm