Liverpool’s centre-back finds himself in good company
The pressure of a penalty kick can be too much for some players. Kicking the ball on target from twelve yards never takes on as much importance as it does during a nail-biting shootout. You can cement yourself as a hero – or a villain – within seconds.
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Perhaps that is what Liverpool centre-back Dejan Lovren – who has struggled to win over the Anfield faithful this season – was thinking when he put his hand up to take the fifth penalty for his side in their Europa League clash against Besiktas. The one thing Lovren couldn’t afford to do, with so much negativity coming his way, was miss.
But the Croatian is in decent company, as many a great, good, and a not so good player have missed a crucial spot-kick, here’s the top five that now stand alongside the former Southampton man…
5. Darius Vassell
It is a pub quiz question waiting to happen that Darius Vassell was the man who missed the penalty that led to England being knocked out of Euro 2004. Portuguese keeper Ricardo was so confident he would save the Aston Villa striker’s attempt, that he removed his gloves before Vassell’s feeble effort, before calmly scoring the winning spot-kick to send the hosts into the semi-finals.
4. Gareth Southgate
England had become gripped with Euro 96 after a mauling against the Netherlands, Gascoigne’s dentist chair celebration versus Scotland, and penalty practice against Spain in the quarter-final. The semi-final against Germany finished 1-1, so spot-kicks were required once again. Bizarrely for the English, they bagged their first five, making it nine consecutively for the tournament.
But the Germans had scored six on the night, therefore requiring Gareth Southgate to convert his kick to keep the game going. A weak effort consigned the tournament to the long line of what ifs of English football.
3. John Terry
The former England captain has been Chelsea’s Mr Reliable for a long time now, so it was only fitting that Terry would be the one to seal Chelsea’s first Champions League triumph in Moscow in 2008. But, the centre-back slipped at the crucial moment, only regaining his composure quickly enough to watch the ball strike the post and fly away from the goal. Team-mate Nicolas Anelka also missed, handing Manchester United victory.
2. Roberto Baggio
The Italian was one of the best players in the 1994 World Cup, and had decent claims to suggest he was the best in the world at that time. So imagine the confidence of the Azzurri when the playmaker stepped up to surely keep the final shootout going. But Baggio shocked the world by blazing his effort well over, and handing the World Cup to Brazil.
1. Chris Waddle
It had to be another Englishman at number one. Waddle was one of England’s best players at Italia 90, so it was only right that his name by tainted by penalty misery. Following Stuart Pearce’s miss, the midfielder had to score to keep England in with a chance of making the World Cup final. But Waddle seemed to forget all the basic requirements of the penalty kick, smashing it into the crowd, and handing Germany a ticket to the final.