Antonín Panenka

Antonín Panenka (born 2 December 1948) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent most of his career at Czechoslovak club Bohemians Prague before having spells with various Austrian clubs including Rapid Wien. Panenka won UEFA Euro 1976 with Czechoslovakia and gained recognition for his winning penalty kick in the shoot-out of the final against West Germany where he scored with a softly-chipped ball up the middle of the goal as the goalkeeper dived away. This style of penalty is now known as a panenka. He was named Czechoslovak Footballer of the Year in 1980. The sheer cheek of the goal led a watching French journalist to dub Panenka "a poet"; his winning kick is one of the most famous ever, making Panenka's name synonymous with that particular style of penalty kick.

Since 1976 there have been numerous attempts to emulate Panenka, both successfully and others unsuccessfully, at every level of the sporting pyramid across the world, including in critical match winning moments such as international cup finals. By mid-October, Panenka's condition had improved and he was discharged to continue his recovery at home.

Career statistics International

Scores and results list Czechoslovakia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Panenka goal.

Honours Rapid Wien Austrian Bundesliga: 1981–82, 1982–83 Austrian Cup: 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85

Czechoslovakia UEFA European Championship: 1976

Individual UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1976 Czechoslovak Footballer of the Year: 1980 ADN Eastern European Footballer of the Season: 1980 European Cup Winners' Cup Top Scorer: 1984–85 Golden Foot Legends Award: 2014